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A Change in Accessibility and Convenience? Implementing BRT and the Impact on Transit Riders. Cheryl Thole, Jennifer Flynn CUTR/NBRTI, Senior Research Associates Transit in GIS Conference September 14, 2011 St. Petersburg, Florida. Project Background. Greater station spacing for BRT
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A Change in Accessibility and Convenience? Implementing BRT and the Impact on Transit Riders Cheryl Thole, Jennifer Flynn CUTR/NBRTI, Senior Research Associates Transit in GIS Conference September 14, 2011 St. Petersburg, Florida
Project Background • Greater station spacing for BRT • 1/8 a mile versus ¼ to 2 miles • Replacement or complementary of local service • Decision on station locations/spacing • EmX case study
Project Background • Boston • Silver Line, Washington St. • Las Vegas • MAX • Oakland • San Pablo Rapid • Cleveland • HealthLine • Eugene • EmX
Boston Silver LineWashington Street Corridor • Replaced Route 49 • 12 stops per direction • Previously 20 • High ridership increase along corridor • Riders • 16 percent were new to transit for that trip • Over 2/3rds rated as excellent or above average for reliability • Below average dropped from 27 to 8 percent
Las VegasMAX • Ridership increase from 44,431 to 132,718 within first six months • Station locations • Ridership • Physical characteristics • Landscape • Location • Distance
Las VegasMAX • Complements Route 113 • Previously served 7,300 passengers/day • Boardings where stops adjacent to MAX decreased yet didn’t at other stops • Operates 24/7 • MAX from 5AM to 7PM • Passenger satisfaction on MAX • 40 percent travel time improved by over 15 min
OaklandSan Pablo Rapid • Replaced 72L (limited) because of poor schedule adherence, complicated fare collection system • Stop spacing was ~800 feet • With Rapid now ~2/3 mile • Other routes operate along corridor (72M) • End to end travel time reduced by 12 minutes
OaklandSan Pablo Rapid • Passenger satisfaction of Rapid • Rating of 4.3 out of 5 for travel time • Rated higher than conventional bus service agency wide • Previously drove a car ~19 percent
ClevelandHealthline • Aimed to improve service • Frequency and travel time • Reduce congestion • Customer amenities • 24 hour service to all 58 stops • Station location • Boardings for Route 6 • Trip generators • Easy/convenient transfers • Physical layouts
ClevelandHealthline • Replaced Route 6 • Ridership increase of over 45% first year, another 9.8% first eight months of year 2 • Travel time decreased end to end by 10 minutes • Transit zone
EugeneEmX • Replaced Route 11 • Stop reduction from 18 to 10 • To operate six minutes faster, 11 to 12 minutes within 20 years • Increased ridership • 2,667 weekday ridership Route 11 vs. ~5,000 within first year • Operating hours increased
EugeneEmX • On board surveys • Compared Route 11 to EmX • Small increase (2.6%) among riders with access to a vehicle • EmX consistently ranked higher in customer satisfaction
EugeneEmX • How did you get to this stop/station where you boarded the bus for this trip? • Majority for both Route 11 and EmX walked • Higher percentage of Route 11 walked ~80% versus ~47% • More EmX riders transferred from another route
EugeneEmX • How will you reach your final destination? • Majority of Route 11 walked (~75%), EmX (~55%) • More EmX riders transferred than Route 11
EugeneEmX • How long will it take you to reach your destination? • Inverse relationship occurred, may be due to need for riders to transfer • Eventually a continual trip will be available
EugeneEmX • Spatial analysis completed • Boardings and alightings for both Route 11 and EmX • Blue circles represent boarding/alighting of EmX • Smaller circles show frequencies for Route 11
EugeneEmX • Majority of Route 11 origins and destinations are in close proximity to current EmX stations • The majority of origins and destinations occurred on the EmX/Franklin corridor segment • Very few responses from Route 11 reported origins/destinations more then ¾ mile distance from Franklin corridor
Findings • All BRT routes have experienced increases in ridership • Service frequencies have increased • No negatives for either replacement or complementary situations, depends on community needs • Las Vegas (complementary) • Consistently report decrease in OVERALL travel time • Customer satisfaction surveys report high ratings for BRT
Thank you for your attention Cheryl Thole Senior Research Associate thole@cutr.usf.edu Tel: +1-813-974-9920 National Bus Rapid Transit Institute www.nbrti.org Center for Urban Transportation Research www.cutr.usf.edu University of South Florida Tampa, Florida, USA