Houston dramatically improves mass transit system without spending a dime

Apps · Feb 18, 2015

Or so this article says. There's a nifty little slide image that shows the pre-existing bus routes and the new ones.

http://www.vox.com/2015/2/18/8056039/houston-transit-reimagining

While it's fun to write about bad transit projects, it's also nice to see that sometimes great transit projects get put into place. The recent "reimagining" of Houston's bus network — officially approved on February 11 — is a great example of doing things the right way, drastically increasing the utility of the city's bus fleet for most people without incurring any increase in operating costs.

The new one is, plainly, much more extensive and broadly useful. With it, a person willing to make a transfer can get from most areas of the city to most other areas of the city without needing to rely on any extremely infrequent buses.

How is Houston able to pull that off with no additional funding? Well, as Jarrett Walker, one of the plan's lead designers, explains it's all about prioritizing rides that will plausibly attract riders. The old system, like many bus routes in the United States, expended a lot of resources on very low-ridership routes for the sake of saying there's "a bus that goes there." The new plan says that the focus should be to provide reasonably frequent service on routes where reasonably frequent service will attract riders. That does mean that some people are further than ever from a transit stop. But it means that many more Houstonians will find themselves near a useful transit stop.

Focusing transit planning on the goal of promoting transit services that are actually used strikes me as common sense. But it's also the best way to create a virtuous circle of sound urban planning and transportation management. A system with a lot of riders is a system with a lot of advocates for expansion and improvement.

Houston's ability to make things so much better without spending money is amazing, but sometimes more money really is needed. Having a system that is used by more people and that is spending the money it already has in a responsible way can build support for getting that money when it's needed. A system that promotes ridership also helps create a city whose electorate contains more people who don't rely on cars for every trip and who can conceivably lobby for sensible parking reforms and other sound urbanist measures.
Click to expand...

LosPollosHermanos · Feb 18, 2015

damn, da1 missed one.

ItsMyFault · Feb 18, 2015

Really surprised da1 didn't start this thread.

TheMystery008 · Feb 18, 2015

Da1 is slacking off.

Second time now.

Air Langhi · Feb 18, 2015

Well the reason why is the buses don't really go to most of houston which kind of defeats the purpose of public transport.

Commodore · Feb 18, 2015

classic Vox, no increase in spending equals no spending

Apps · Feb 18, 2015

Commodore said: ↑

classic Vox, no increase in spending equals no spending
Click to expand...

Well if there's a baseline figure that the city's going to be spending regardless, why not optimize the service? Surely this is a positive thing if true, wouldn't you say?

Apps · Feb 18, 2015

LosPollosHermanos said: ↑

damn, da1 missed one.
Click to expand...

ItsMyFault said: ↑

Really surprised da1 didn't start this thread.
Click to expand...

Hey, he's not the only person with an interest in city planning and public transportation.

heypartner · Feb 18, 2015

Air Langhi said: ↑

Well the reason why is the buses don't really go to most of houston which kind of defeats the purpose of public transport.
Click to expand...

Doesn't the article say the opposite? It seems to say that the buses go to too many places with unreasonable frequency just to say they go there. That it is better to have reliable frequency at less places that diluted routes that have enormous waits for a transfer while standing in the Houston heat.

Jontro · Feb 18, 2015

da1 needs to get his act together. Don't know how much more of this we can take.

Sajan · Feb 18, 2015

this was my thought process:

"hmm..transportation thread...da1 posted it?"

"wait..who is this Apps person?"

"prepare for clutchfans asking about da1"

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