ROUTE 67A MONROEVILLE

ROUTE 67A MONROEVILLE Route 67A Monroeville is a radial service that operates between the Community College of Allegheny County Boyce (CCAC Boyce ) and downtown Pittsburgh via Churchill, Wilkinsburg, Point Breeze and Oakland. Variants provide additional connections to Garden City, Holiday Park and Wilkinsburg Station. Major destinations along the route include CCAC-Boyce, the Monroeville Mall, Penn Center, and other retail and office development in Monroeville, the major institutions in Oakland, Mercy Hospital and Duquesne University (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Route 67A Forbes Similar Routes Route 68A Monroeville Express Route 67A s express counterpart and operates between Turnpike Gardens in Monroeville and downtown Pittsburgh via the Monroeville Mall, Wilkinsburg, and the East Busway. The two routes use much of the same alignment between Monroeville and Wilkinsburg. From Wilkinsburg, Route 68A uses the East Busway to travel to Downtown. (Travel times on Route 67A are significantly longer, at 62 minutes between the Monroeville Mall and Downtown versus 47 minutes on Route 68A.) Route GC Garden City Express also operates between the Garden City Drive area of Monroeville and downtown Pittsburgh via the Monroeville Mall, Wilkinsburg, and the East Busway. Route GC also uses much of the same alignment at Route 67A, but as with Route 68A, uses the East Busway to travel to Downtown. Westmoreland Transit Routes 4 Greensburg-Pittsburgh and 4S Greensburg-Pittsburgh also follow a similar alignment between Wilkinsburg Station and downtown Pittsburgh via Oakland. Alignment/Service Patterns Route 67A primarily operates along the William Penn Highway (Route 22) between Monroeville and Wilkinsburg. From Wilkinsburg, it travels along Penn Avenue, Dallas Avenue, Wilkins Avenue and Forbes Avenue to the Boulevard of the Allies into downtown Pittsburgh. From Page 1

Downtown, Route 67A uses Fifth Avenue connecting back to the inbound alignment at Forbes Avenue. Route 67A has two inbound and four outbound weekday service patterns (see Table 1). There are additional variants associated with the Saturday and Sunday services. Table 1: Route 67A Inbound Weekday Service Variants Variant Designation Origin Destination Unique Feature Trips per Day I Boyce Park/Community College of Allegheny County Downtown Pittsburgh Primary Alignment 21 IG Boyce Park/Community College of Allegheny County Wilkinsburg Station O Downtown Pittsburgh CCAC- Boyce OA Downtown Pittsburgh CCAC- Boyce Short-trip to Wilkinsburg Station 2 Primary Alignment 18 Serves Greenleaf/Garden City en route to CCAC-Boyce OD Downtown Pittsburgh Holiday Park Serves CCAC-Boyce en route to Holiday Park OG Downtown Pittsburgh Garden City Terminates in Garden City. No service to CCAC-Boyce 2 1 1 Schedule Route 67A provides daily service. On weekdays, there are 22 inbound and 21 outbound weekday trips, on Saturdays, there are 25 inbound and 19 outbound trips, and on Sundays there are 11 inbound and 10 outbound trips. Weekday service operates approximately every 30 minutes during peak periods and hourly during the middle of the day (see Table 2). The end-toend travel time is approximately 90 minutes. Table 2: Route 67A Schedule Statistics One-Way Trips Headways Span of Service Inbound Outbound (minutes) Weekdays Early AM 5:11 am 5:59 am 2 1 30 AM Peak 6:00 am 8:59 am 5 5 25-30 Mid-day 9:00 am 3:29 pm 8 7 60 PM Peak 3:30 pm 5:59 pm 4 5 25-30 Evening 6:00 pm 10:48 am 4 4 60 Total 23 22 Saturday 7:34 am 11:43 am 25 19 30-45 Sunday 8:50 am 7:10 am 11 10 60 Page 2

Ridership Route 67A ridership is approximately 2,240 trips per weekday. This represents a 40% increase over 2006 when ridership was 1,590. Between 2002 and 2006, ridership ranged between 1,568 (2002) and 1590 (2005). Ridership is well balanced inbound and outbound and consistent throughout most of the day (see Table 3). Mid-day service is particularly well utilized with 67 riders per trip inbound and nearly 59 riders per trip outbound. Ridership is lowest on early morning outbound and evening inbound services. Table 3: Route 67A: Ridership by Time Period and Per Trip Weekday Ridership Ridership/ Trip Inbound Early AM 71 35.5 AM Peak 270 54.0 Mid-day 536 67.0 PM Peak 222 55.5 Evening 83 20.8 All Day 1,182 Outbound Early AM 11 11.0 AM Peak 208 41.6 Mid-day 411 58.7 PM Peak 261 52.2 Evening 165 41.3 All Day 1,056 Both Directions 2,238 Route 67A is generally well utilized throughout the line, However, as shown in Figure 2, passenger boardings are clustered around three key locations: The CCAC Boyce, where 88 passengers board (8% of total). The Monroeville Mall and vicinity (and including the park and ride lot) where 227 passengers board (19% of total). Penn Center Boulevard, where 114 passengers board (10% of total). By segment, the key markets for passenger boardings include: the Monroeville Mall (227, 19% of total). Between the Monroeville Mall and Wilkinsburg (298 passengers, 25% of total). Wilkinsburg and Oakland (201 passengers (17% of total). Major locations for passenger alightings are: Page 3

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Figure 2: Route 67A Ridership by Stop: All Day Outbound 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 BOYCE CAMPUS EAST PKG LOT @ STEPS BEATTY RD @ OPP COLLEGE PARK OLD WM PENN HWY @ OPP ROTH OLD WM PENN HWY @ OPP SCOTT OLD WM PENN HWY @ #4533 WM PENN HWY @ MCMASTERS WM PENN HWY @ CENTER WM PENN HWY @ OPP DENNY'S WM PENN HWY @ NORTHERN PIKE MONROEVILLE MALL MALL BLVD @ STEPS MONROEVILLE MALL @ PARK-N-RIDE SHELTER MALL CIRCLE DR @ MALL BLVD WM PENN HWY @ ROOMFUL EXPRESS WM PENN HWY @ CIRCUIT CITY Passengers PENN CENTER BLVD @ ECKERD DRUG DRVWY PENN CENTER BLVD @ OPP BLDG #7 PENN CENTER BLVD @ PENN TOWERS (LOWER) RODI RD @ DURR MARKETING MCCRADY RD @ CHAPEL HILL MCCRADY RD @ BEULAH CHURCH BEULAH RD. @ WM PENN HWY. WM PENN HWY @ #2295 WM PENN HWY @ GRAHAM PENN AVE @ FINDLEY DR EAST PENN AVE @ BRITTANY APTS (#1717) PENN AVE @ AMBASSADOR APTS PENN AVE @ WEBER PENN AVE @ ANGELA WALLACE AVE @ SWISSVALE WALLACE AVE @ MILL WALLACE AVE @ WOOD PENN AVE @ OPP WEST PENN AVE @ BRUSHTON PENN AVE @ OPP CARNEGIE PENN AVE @ HOMEWOOD PENN AVE @ MURTLAND DALLAS AVE @ PENHAM DALLAS AVE @ REYNOLDS WILKINS AVE @ OPP WORTH WILKINS AVE @ OPP BARNSDALE WILKINS AVE @ SHADY WILKINS AVE @ OPP MURRAY WILKINS AVE @ WIGHTMAN WILKINS AVE @ FAIROAKS BEELER ST @ OPP BEELERMONT BEELER ST @ UNGER FORBES AVE @ DEVON FORBES AVE @ MOREWOOD FS FORBES AVE @ CRAIG 5TH AVE @ TENNYSON 5TH AVE @ THACKERAY 5TH AVE @ OPP CRAFT 5TH AVE @ OPP LAMAR MEDIA (#2610) 5TH AVE. @ HALKET- NO STOP 5TH AVE @ OPP FALEDER MONUMENTS 5TH AVE @ KIRKPATRICK FS 5TH AVE @ OPP SENECA 5TH AVE @ OPP GIST 5TH AVE @ OPP VAN BRAAM FS 5TH AVE @ STEVENSON 5TH AVE @ WASHINGTON DIAMOND ST. @ 6TH-NO STOP FORBES AVE @ CHERRY WAY FORBES AVE @ WOOD & MARKET (REVCO) Load Out From Stop Total Ons Total Offs Load Out From Stop Page 4

Oakland (295 passengers, 30% of total) Between Wilkinsburg and Oakland (264 passengers, 27% of total) Downtown Pittsburgh (256 passengers, 26% of total). Consistent with other radial services traveling from the Pittsburgh s eastern communities through Oakland into downtown Pittsburgh, Oakland is a more important market for the route than Downtown. Because there is a lot of ridership turnover along the route, maximum loads are significantly lower than ridership per trip. The average maximum load for all of Route 67A s trips is 29 passengers inbound and 27 passengers outbound. However, as shown in Figure 3, many trips operate at close to seated capacity or with standees. This is especially the case during the peak period in the peak direction. 80 Figure 3: Route 67A Maximum Loads by Time of Day (All Sampled Trips) 70 Inbound Outbound 60 50 Maximum Load 40 30 20 10 0 5:12 5:44 6:06 6:30 6:57 7:00 7:29 8:11 8:36 9:12 10:24 11:22 11:55 12:49 13:19 13:46 14:16 14:25 15:12 15:34 16:13 17:03 18:09 18:56 20:05 21:19 Productivity Route 67A has strong ridership, but due to its long length, its productivity is below average (see Table 4). Page 5

Operating Cost per Passenger: Route 67A costs $3.40 per passenger to operate, about 20% higher than average for radial routes. Considering the route s long length, which increases costs, this is a relatively good figure. Ridership per Unit of Service: Route 67A carries 38.3 passengers per revenue vehicle hour, 29.4 passengers per total vehicle hour, and 2.6 passengers per revenue mile. All figures are slightly below average. Table 4: Route 67A Weekday Productivity Radial Route 67A Average Operating Cost/Passenger $3.40 $2.81 Passengers/Revenue Vehicle Hour 38.3 42.9 Passengers/Total Vehicle Hour 29.4 33.3 Passengers/Revenue Mile 2.6 3.1 Total Vehicle Hours/Rev Vehicle Hours 1.30 1.29 Average Speed 14.9 14.0 Bus Stops/Mile 6.8 5.9 Directness 0.79 0.65 Number of Weekday Variations 6 7.5 Total Vehicle Hours Versus Revenue Vehicle Hours: The ratio of total vehicle hours to revenue vehicle hours is average, at 1.30. The long length of the route (20 miles for its longest variant) results in unproductive vehicle time associated with vehicle pull-ins and pullouts. Average Speed: The average speed is slightly higher than average, at 14.9 mph. Bus Stops/Mile: Route 67A has an average of 6.8 stops per mile, which is higher than the radial average of 5.9. Number of Variations: Route 67A has two inbound and four outbound weekday service patterns, some of which are not needed. Service Design Route 67A s service design is straight-forward and easy to understand. It is designed as a radial route that provides extended coverage to eastern Allegheny County as well as fairly direct service from the Monroeville Mall, Oakland and downtown Pittsburgh. Route 67A travels a long distance and provides well utilized connections between several key markets that include CCAC Boyce, the Monroeville Mall, and the Penn Center, Oakland, and Downtown. However, the generally sound service design is weakened by the operation of a number of low ridership variants that complicate service. Page 6

Service Improvement Opportunities Route 67A is an important route in the PAAC network and can be strengthened to improve productivity. Potential improvements could include: Consolidate Service Variants. Route 67A operates with several variants, especially for outbound services, that provide connections to Garden City and Holiday Park. Ridership on these variants is low and in each case the destinations are served by other radial services. Elimination the service variants would cause minimal disruptions to passengers and make the route easier to understand. Fewer variants would also improve service quality and route productivity by reducing travel distances, improving travel times and increasing service reliability. Consolidate Stops: Route 67A currently has 6.8 stops per mile, which is high considering the operating environment which is primarily on higher speed arterials routes. Consolidating stops at the outer end of Route 67A around park and ride lots or select locations would work to improve travel times and service reliability. Operate Service with Regular Headways: Headways on Route 67A are irregular, and the operation of more regular headways would make the service easier to understand. This is especially true for services at the outer end of the route. Operate Service on Clockface Schedules: The route would be easier to understand and use if buses operated cording to a clock face schedule, every 20 or 30 minutes. Improve Coordination with Route 75A Monroeville Shopper and Route 75D Penn Hills Monroeville: Routes 75A and 75D operate to and from the Monroeville Mall, and the development of timed-transfers between the three routes could facilitate regional travel. Page 7