A Change in Accessibility and Convenience? Implementing BRT and the Impact on Transit Riders Cheryl Thole CUTR/NBRTI, Senior Research Associate Tampa, 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 case study
Project Background Boston Silver Line, Washington St. Las Vegas MAX Oakland San Pablo Rapid Cleveland Healthline Eugene
Boston Silver Line Washington 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 Vegas MAX Ridership increase from 44,431 to 132,718 within first six months Station locations Ridership Physical characteristics Landscape Location Distance
Las Vegas MAX 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
Oakland San 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
Oakland San 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
Cleveland Healthline 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
Cleveland Healthline 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
Eugene 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
Eugene On board surveys Compared Route 11 to Small increase (2.6%) among riders with access to a vehicle consistently ranked higher in customer satisfaction
Eugene 90 How did you get to this stop/ station where you boarded the bus for this trip? Percentage 80 70 60 50 40 Majority for both Route 11 and walked 30 20 10 Higher percentage of Route 11 walked ~80% versus ~47% 0 50.0 Walked Drove Driven by someone else Mode Bicycle Taxi Other More riders transferred from another route Percentage 45.0 40.0 35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 Walked Drove Taxi Bike Dropped off Transfer from bus route Mode Other
Eugene How will you reach your final destination? Majority of Route 11 walked (~75%), (~55%) More riders transferred than Route 11 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 Percentage 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 11 0.0 Walk Drive Taxi Bicycle Will be picked up Mode Transfer to bus Other
Eugene 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 50.0 45.0 40.0 35.0 Percentage 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 11 0.0 1-5 minutes 6-10 minutes 11-20 minutes Longer Time
Eugene Spatial analysis completed Boardings and alightings for both Route 11 and Blue circles represent boarding/alighting of Smaller circles show frequencies for Route 11
Title of Individual Slide Title of Individual Slide Line 2
Eugene Majority of respondents that boarded and alighted Route 11 did so within close proximity to where stations are currently located The majority of boardings and alightings occurred on the / Franklin corridor route Very few respondents from Route 11 boarded and alighted the vehicle 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