Metro envisions huge ridership gains through focus on key corridors

Metro envisions huge ridership gains through focus on key corridors

By Dug Begley
November 13, 2013

Transit officials say they can increase ridership on Houston area buses and trains up to 25 percent by shifting resources from covering a broader area to offering faster trips to key spots.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority said the proposed plan would leave fewer than 2 percent of existing riders without adequate access to a bus stop.

Currently, Metro operates on a philosophy that half its resources should go toward high-performing routes and half to making sure everyone has convenient access to a bus stop.

By re-directing most of those resources, the same number of buses can provide more frequent service on fewer routes, which advocates say could make more people want to ride.

"It is not just about people who are riding today," Metro board member Christof Spieler said. "It is about people who are not riding today."

Increasing the number of buses on key routes and running faster service in fewer places could increase ridership as much as 25 percent, consultant Geoff Carleton told a Metro committee Tuesday. Refocusing 90 percent of resources on ridership areas, would leave fewer than 2 percent of current riders without a bus stop within a half-mile of where they live, he said.

The new figures, Carleton said, show Metro will see greater ridership gains for less sacrifice than estimated when discussions started in September. By adjusting some bus lines and, essentially, redrawing all the routes, planners found they could cover more area than initially thought, while keeping bus service close enough to where more riders live.

"People are willing to walk farther for faster, more frequent service," Carleton said.

Transit officials have been receptive to more focus on ridership, but most prefer a 70-30 or 75-25 division between ridership and coverage. By putting 70 to 75 percent of its resources toward routes where ridership is likely to grow, Metro estimates increased ridership of 12-to-15 percent. That plan would leave fewer than .05 percent of Metro's tens of thousands of daily riders without access to buses within a half-mile of their homes.

Though tiny, the number of displaced riders is a concern to officials, who said they recognize the importance of providing bus service in some cases, even at extreme costs. To defray costs, but keep some routes active, Metro this year switched to smaller buses on some routes with fewer riders.

Spieler warned that many riders will be in for a surprise, even if their bus access stays relatively the same. They may retain bus service, he said, but more frequent buses on fewer routes means adjustments to daily schedules will have to be made.

"People are used to what they have right now," he said. "Change is hard and we expect to get a roomful of people when we roll out the changes."
Months of planning and public meetings await any changes, he said. New routes likely will not go into effect until 2015 at the earliest.

Downtown riders on Tuesday said they would welcome more frequent service, but remained skeptical of any plan to cut routes.

"I'm sure if you're on a route that gets cut, you're not going to like it," said Melissa Gowdy as she waited on a Route 37 bus by Main Street Square.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...dership-gains-through-4979336.php?cmpid=btfpm