ROUTE 75D PENN HILLS-MONROEVILLE

ROUTE 75D PENN HILLS-MONROEVILLE Route 75D Penn Hills-Monroeville is a crosstown route that operates between Verona and the Monroeville Mall. It travels through local streets for much of its length serves retail, office and residential development in Verona, Penn Hills Park, Crescent Gardens, East Vue, Pennridge, Stoneledge and Monroeville (see Figure 1) including the Monroeville Mall. Service is provided with Small Transit Vehicles (STVs), which have a seating capacity of 24 passengers. Figure 1: Route 75D Penn Hills-Monroeville Page 1

Similar Routes Route 75D has a unique routing that connects with other routes and provides links to downtown Pittsburgh and other parts of Allegheny County. Connections from Route 75D are available at the Monroeville Mall with Routes 67A Monroeville, 68A Monroeville Express, 75A Monroeville Shopper, 75B Monroeville - Pitcairn, and 79A Regent Square), along Frankstown Road with Route 77B Penn Hills, and at Verona Drive with Routes 77A Oakmont and 78A Oakmont Express. Alignment/Service Patterns Route 75D has two inbound and two outbound variants: Inbound 75D-I: This variant provides six trips per day between the Verona Giant Eagle and Monroeville Mall and is considered the regular inbound service pattern. 75D-IA: This variant begins service at the Harmar Garage at Alpha Drive and travels across the Hulton Bridge en-route to Verona. By beginning service at the Harmar Garage, deadhead time is significantly reduced. It also provides a link for passengers traveling across the Hulton Bridge. There are six trips per day on the variant. Inbound 75D-O: This variant provides six trips per day between the Monroeville Mall and the Giant Eagle in Verona. It is considered the regular outbound service pattern. 75D-OA: Similar to variant 75D-IA, this variant ends service at the Harmar Garage at Alpha Drive rather than the Giant Eagle in Verona. Ending service at the Harmar Garage limits vehicle deadhead time and provides a link for passengers traveling across the Hulton Bridge. There are six trips per day on the variant. Schedule Route 75D operates on weekdays and Saturdays, with 12 inbound and outbound trips each day. Service is primarily scheduled during the midday (see Table 1). Service is scheduled approximately every 70 minutes and travel times, end-to-end, are about one hour. Table 1: Route 75D Schedule Statistics One-Way Trips Headways Span of Service Inbound Outbound (minutes) Weekdays AM Peak 6:00 am 8:59 am 1 0 N/A Mid-day 9:00 am 3:29 pm 6 6 70 PM Peak 3:30 pm 6:59 pm 3 3 70 Evening 7:00 pm 11:21 pm 2 3 70 All Day 4:46 am 11:21 pm 12 12 Saturdays 6:57 am 11:28 pm 12 12 70 Page 2

As part of the June 2007 service changes, Route 75D s routing was altered to eliminate service to Seneca Hills and Shop-N-Save. Other trips, however, were extended to Verona and Oakmont. Ridership Average daily ridership on Route 75D in 2008 is approximately 230 passengers, which represents a decrease in ridership from 2006 when the route carried 277 passengers, but is higher than in 2004 (218) or 2002 (195). The most recent data collected in July 2008 measured 246 passengers, suggesting that ridership is increasing on this route. Ridership on Route 75D is well balanced overall in terms of inbound and outbound trips (see Table 2). Most riders travel during the midday, and travel during peak periods is light. This suggests many Route 75D s riders are using the service for shopping, medical, and social trips and few are using it to get to and from work. Table 2: Route 75D: Ridership by Time Period and Per Trip Weekday Ridership Ridership/ Trip Inbound (to Monroeville) AM Peak 18 18.0 Mid-day 74 12.3 PM Peak 22 7.3 Evening 0 0 All Day 113 Outbound (to Penn Hills and Verona) AM Peak 0 0 Mid-day 66 11.0 PM Peak 14 4.7 Evening 38 12.7 All Day 118 Both Directions 231 * Route 75D vehicles have a seating capacity of 24 people. The large majority of all trips are to and from locations along the southern end of the route and the Monroeville Mall. These trips are made in low volumes from locations spread alone the route, and there are no individual stops other than the mall that handle large volumes of riders (see Figure 2). That said, however, most of the ridership on the route, takes place on the southern end of the route, between Crescent Gardens and Monroeville. For example, ridership data by segment shows that about 32 passengers (26%) board in Verona and Rosedale (up to Frankstown Road) and 63 passengers (51%) board in Penn Hills Park, Cresecent Gardens, East Vue and Pennridge. Another 19 passengers (15%) board along Rodi Drive. Most passengers along Rodi Road (29 passengers, 25%) and the Monroeville Mall (71 passengers, or 60%). Page 3

Figure 2: Route 75D Ridership by Stop: All Day Inbound 1 Passengers 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Total Ons Total Offs Load Out From Stop ALPHA DR @ FREEPORT (HARMAR) ALLEGHENY AVE @ PENNSYLVANIA RIVERTOWN PLAZA @ GIANT EAGLE GRANT ST @ E RAILROAD DEMOR TOWER @ ENTRANCE SOUTH AVE @ ALLEGHENY RIVER VERONA RD @ MOUNT DEMOR TOWER @ ENTRANCE JAMES ST @ E RAILROAD E RAILROAD AVE @ SOUTH SOUTH AVE @ ALLEGHENY RIVER VERONA RD @ ELLIOTT VERONA RD @ POKETA POKETA RD @ OPP CLAYMONT POKETA RD @ ROCKCLIFF POKETA RD @ HULTON HULTON RD @ HEBERTON HULTON RD @ SALTSBURG FRANKSTOWN RD @ CRESTVIEW SHENANDOAH DR @ EVERGLADE SHENANDOAH DR @ OPP SHENANDOAH DR @ OPP STOTLER RD @ #369 STOTLER RD @ #333 ANTHON DR @ #179 STOTLER RD @ ORCHARD STOTLER RD @ OPP ST SUZANNA STOTLER RD @ OPP #56 ANTHON DR @ ANGE ANTHON DR @ #227 CHARLESTON DR @ N JOSLYN CHARLESTON DR @ ANGE ANGE DR @ ANTHON UNIVERSAL RD @ JOSLYN UNIVERSAL RD @ JOSLYN UNIVERSAL RD @ STOTLER UNIVERSAL RD @ COLLINS UNIVERSAL RD @ GREENWAY UNIVERSAL RD @ VOLUNTEER JEFFERSON MANOR @ ENTRANCE DUFF RD @ OPP #15 PENN HILLS SC @ PHAR-MOR PENN HILLS SC @ AMES PENN HILLS SC @ GIANT EAGLE RODI RD @ OPP MORROW RODI RD @ PURITY RODI RD @ OPP MCCRADY PENN CENTER BLVD @ OPP PENN PENN CENTER BLVD @ OPP BLDG SEARS FIRE LANE @ SEARS WM PENN HWY @ KOHL'S DRVWY EXPOMART DR @ WEST ENTRANCE MONROEVILLE MALL @ 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Load Out From Stop Route 75D service is provided with STVs, which have a capacity of 24 passengers. With boardings of between 10 and 20 passengers, most trips operate well below capacity, with the most heavily utilized observed trip having a maximum load of 20 passengers (see Figure 3). In general, inbound trips (towards Monroeville) carry more riders than outbound trips. In addition, there are several outbound trips (towards Verona) that are underutilized, with maximum loads of about five passengers. Productivity Route 75D s productivity is poor. It has high operating costs and low ridership and thus under performs other PAAC crosstown routes in nearly every measure (see Table 3). Operating and Subsidy Costs: The operating cost per passenger for Route 75D is $11.93, more than double the average for crosstown routes in the PAAC system. Ridership per Unit of Service: Trips on Route 75D are not well utilized, and on average, carry only 10 passengers per revenue vehicle hour and 8.4 passengers per total vehicle 1 Dips in the load out from stop bar on the graph are associated with the variants, which have lower ridership as compared with the regular route. Page 4

25 Figure 3: Route 75D Maximum Loads by Time of Day: All Sampled Trips 20 Inbound Outbound 15 10 5 0 6:28 7:59 8:11 9:04 9:17 9:35 10:12 10:37 10:41 11:45 11:48 12:40 12:55 13:48 14:06 15:17 15:18 16:25 16:32 17:18 17:39 Maximum Load 18:45 19:58 21:06 Table 3: Route 75D Weekday Productivity Crosstown Route 75D Average Operating Cost/Passenger $11.93 $4.22 Passengers/Revenue Vehicle Hour 10.0 27.9 Passengers/Total Vehicle Hour 8.4 21.3 Passengers/Revenue Mile 0.5 2.1 Total Vehicle Hours/Rev Vehicle Hours 1.2 1.31 Average Speed 19.4 13.5 Bus Stops/Mile 4.6 5.1 Directness.54.41 Number of Variations 4 5.2 hours. In terms of passengers per revenue mile, Route 75D carries 0.5 passengers for every revenue mile. In each of these measures, Route 75D is less than half as productive as other crosstown services. Total Vehicle Hours Versus Revenue Vehicle Hours: The ratio of total vehicle hours to revenue vehicle hours is low, at 1.2. While this is better than the average for crosstown routes, it higher than expected given the service start location at the Harmar Garage. Schedule data shows that the unproductive vehicle time results from high layover times, which account for 16% of all vehicle time. Page 5

Average Speed: The average speed of Route 75D is 19.4 mph, considerably faster than most crosstown routes, which travel an average of 13.5 mph. The faster speeds are likely attributable to few stops along the Frankstown Road and Rodi Road, and low vehicle dwell times, rather than any advantageous routing. Bus Stops/Mile: Route 75D has an average of 4.6 stops per mile, slightly less than the average for all crosstown routes. Number of Variations: Route 75D has four service variants. Service Design Route 75D is designed as a crosstown service, linking communities, employment and shopping centers in the eastern suburbs. The service is straightforward and easy to understand. Service Improvement Opportunities Route 75D primarily travels through suburban communities with low and medium-to-low density development. Much of the route has no sidewalks, crosswalks or other pedestrian facilities. In addition, the routing is not very direct, making detours to circle to neighborhoods, such as Ange Drive and Anton Street. This routing increases coverage but also travel time, decreasing the attractiveness of the route to many. Finally, with the exception of the Monroeville Shopping Center and the Penn Hills Shopping Center, there are no significant destinations along the route to attractive enough riders. In particular there are a few destinations in Oakmont, Verona, Rosedale and Penn Hills, thus boardings on the northern half of the route are lower as compared with the southern half of the route. In summary, Route 75D suffers from a poor operating environment and few significant destinations. Shorten Route 75D: Over half of all riders board Route 75D on the southern half of the route and nearly all alight at the Monroeville Mall, Route 75D may be truncated so that it operates as a feeder service between Crescent Gardens and the Monroeville Mall. If Route 75D is converted to a feeder service, it will need improved coordination with Routes 67A, 68A and GC routes so that transfers are effective and straight-forward. Extend the Northern End of Route 75D: Route 75A has few significant destinations, especially at the northern end of the service. A potential strategy to improve ridership on the route would be to link to another important destination, such as the Waterworks Mall, or other PAAC services, such as Routes 77A and 78A in Oakmont. Linking to another anchor or transit hub may increase the attractiveness of the route. Reduce Span of Service: Route 75D has ends relatively late (11:21 pm) for a route with such low ridership. Most of the late night services have low ridership. Operating costs could be reduced by terminating service earlier. Convert to Flex-Service: Fixed-route feeder service could be replaced by flex-services that depart from and arrive at the Monroeville Mall and/or the River Town Shops at Page 6

scheduled times and provide service to any location within the service area. This type of service design may increase the attractiveness of the route to some riders, providing a more convenient and direct service. (Flex service would require a dispatching system to take reservations for pick-ups, but this may be coordinated with local ACCESS services.) Convert to Lifeline Service: Ridership and productivity is low, but Route 75D does provide service to areas that are not served by other routes. If the route were shortened, one vehicle could provide service every 120 minutes to reduce operating costs while maintaining a minimum level of service for the area s neediest residents. Page 7