Archive for July, 2013

The Cost of Doing Nothing

July 23rd, 2013 Comments off

What happens if Metro Bus-Nationals-071912-16completes MetroForward and ceases there? Simply put, the region cannot afford for Metro to get the system back to where it should have been, but stop short of preparing the system for the growth that has already created overcrowding conditions and service disruptions, let alone prepare for additional growth that has yet to come.

Note that the region is already the most congested area in the country, and Metro is a huge part of what keeps this region moving and working in spite of its transportation gridlock. Stopping short of implementing Metro 2025 and Momentum means that the region’s attractiveness as a place to live and work may be threatened. The region could face the following consequences:

  • Metro will degrade quickly with more delays and service disruptions – visible progress will be lost;
  • Shoulder-to-shoulder, rush hour conditions experienced today on an increasing number of rail lines and stations will grow system-wide and become worse;
  • Crowding similar to Presidential Inauguration Days will likely become the norm;
  • Customers will be left with 1970s-era communication and trip planning services;
  • Residents would have fewer jobs within an acceptable commuting distance and employers would have access to a much smaller pool of employees; and
  • The regional transit system will advance towards antiquity, harming the region’s competitive advantage for talent, jobs and investment dollars.

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Measuring the Impact of SmarTrip® Initiatives

July 22nd, 2013 8 comments

Metro first rolled out SmarTrip® on rail in 1999, breaking new ground as the first contact-less smart card used for transit in the United States. Metro began rolling out SmarTrip® on bus in 2002 and then to Metrorail parking facilities in 2004.   While the utility of SmarTrip® was immediately obvious to many customers, others required a bit of encouragement to switch to the fare media that is most cost-effective for Metro and customers alike.

Usage of SmarTrip® on rail has been growing steadily since its launch, but use on bus seemed to plateau around 20% on bus starting in about July 2006 until about January 2008.  That was the date when Metro began its first major initiative to encourage people to move to SmarTrip by implementing a $0.10 surcharge for using cash on bus.

Since then, Metro has rolled out new SmarTrip features and additional incentives to continue the increase in SmarTrip use rate.

The chart below illustrates the changes in SmarTrip use rate on both bus and rail, overlaid with the dates of the initiatives and feature releases that helped motivate customers to switch to SmarTrip.  The usage rate now is nearly 90% on both bus and rail! Read more…

Related and Supporting Studies in the Region

July 22nd, 2013 Comments off

Momentum builds upon and advances Momentum Covera number of regionally significant planning studies that are either recently completed – or underway. They include:

  • Region Forward: A vision for the DC region created by the MWCOG. It addresses the interrelated challenges of population growth, aging infrastructure, traffic congestion, energy costs, environmental impacts, affordable housing and sustainable development, as well as disparities in education, economics and health (2010)
  • Economy Forward: A companion piece to Region Forward that reinforces the importance of transit to the region’s overall competitiveness (2012)
  • Financially Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan (CLRP): The region’s official long-range transportation plan that outlines the priority projects to be implemented in the region between 2012 and 2040 as prioritized  by the Transportation Planning Board (TPB) and local jurisdictions (2012)

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Visualization of Metrorail Station Activity

July 19th, 2013 Comments off

Metro planning staff have been working to showcase Metro data in new and unique ways.  We recently posted a visualization in a calendar format that displayed 9 years of rail ridership in one graphic.  We are currently working on animations of ridership data as well.  Below is our first volley into that arena, a visualization of one day’s worth of station-level activity in 15-minute intervals.

Before hitting play, please note the following:

  1. The video is available in high definition (720p), which is the recommended viewing resolution.
  2. The dots are sized according to total station volume (entries plus exits) per 15-minute interval.
  3. The color of the dot represents what percent of the volume is entries vs exits. Magenta dots are 100% exits, blue dots are 100% entries, and purple dots are 50/50, with other colors representing ratios between these three.

The visualization is of data from April 10, 2013, which hit the 4th highest ridership mark that day.   A combination of cherry blossom peak bloom and two sporting events ratcheted ridership up to 871,000 for the day, compared to an average weekday ridership of around 750,000.  Note the high level of activity at the Smithsonian station all day long, and big dots that grow and shrink as the sports games begin and then end near Gallery Place and Navy Yard-Ballpark stations.

What other unique activity can you spot in this animation?  What other types of animations of Metrorail and Metrobus would be informative?

A zip file containing the base data for this animation is available for download:  Metrorail Station Activity at 15-Minute Intervals, April 10 2013


Special thanks to Michael Schade at Mobility Lab for hosting the recent Data Visualization Hack Day and guiding me through some of the tricks and tips.  Check out his lesson plan for animating data using Processing.

 

Next Generation Communications

July 19th, 2013 Comments off

A next generation communications PIDSsystem would expand current communications infrastructure to provide an integrated one-stop communications hub for the region’s transit customers. Proposed improvements will capitalize on efforts already underway to improve the functionality of the rail control software. They include the next generation of the Passenger Information Display System (PIDS), new public address systems, improved station signage, and equipping station managers with mobile devices. Bus and train information will also be integrated, with real-time information displays to well-used bus stops.

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Goal 3 – Improve Regional Mobility and Connect Communities

July 18th, 2013 Comments off

Metro will be the region’s transit planner, providing leadership for the transit map of the future. 

The region’s public transit needs are great, Regional Weeday Ridershipand the current multi-party approach has flaws that threaten the overall viability of the network. Metro is the only entity that is capable of and chartered to provide regional transit leadership.

Metro has and will continue to make these and other investments, but it should be noted that jurisdictional partners will also have to do their part in order to ensure that these investments result in significant improvements. This means cooperating on mobility policies, coordinating on capital investments such as traffic signal prioritization, and making land use decisions that support transit usage and ridership gains, especially in areas where Metro has underutilized existing capacity.

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Critical Board Accomplishments

July 17th, 2013 Comments off

Since 2010, the Board of Directors Grosvenor-Sta-night-121010-13has been laying the foundation to rebuild Metro itself.  From hiring a new General Manager to beginning the largest capital program since the inception of Metro, the Board has taken numerous actions to better equip the agency to succeed, including providing a stronger governance foundation.

Under the leadership of the Board, Metro has made substantial progress on improving system safety, reforming the agency’s governance, and stabilizing its finances

The Board has made strategic investments in infrastructure, equipment and workforce training, and developed policies that have markedly improved safety, as recognized by the NTSB and FTA and documented in the Authority’s publicly-reported Vital Signs score card.

Governance reforms undertaken over the last two years have modernized Board leadership, strengthened the Authority’s governing structure, improved the Board’s partnership with the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer, enhanced internal management, and prioritized public dialogue. The Board also adopted governance reform measures that strengthened its Code of Ethics and provided its first-ever bylaws, which detail the Board’s focus on policy, financial direction, oversight and Metro’s relationship with its customers and jurisdictional partners.

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Improving Quality of Life

July 16th, 2013 Comments off

Metro also delivers quality-of-life benefits to individuals by reducing the costs of travel and minimizing environmental impacts. Without transit:

  • Congestion at peak times would increase 25 percent, costing over $1.0 billion annually in wasted time.
  • Households would spend an additional $500 million/year in auto expenditures, including an additional 41 million gallons of fuel annually.
  • Air quality would worsen because of an additional 260 tons of volatile organic compounds, 22 tons of particulate matter and 500,000 tons of CO2 equivalent in the air, the equivalent of 9 billion party balloons. Emissions Avoided because of Metro

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Metro Will Hold Two Public Meetings For The Hunting Point Lines

July 15th, 2013 Comments off

Metro Bus Planning is studying the Hunting Point Lines in Virginia. The lines under study include:

  • 10 A,E – Hunting Point to Pentagon Line
  • 10B – Hunting Point to Ballston Line

The Hunting Point Lines are one of the busiest services operating in Virginia and ridership has been growing steadily over the past five years. On an average weekday, over 5,000 people ride the Hunting Point Lines; the Saturday average is over 3,000 with 1,800 on Sunday. On-time performance (OTP) is generally good, averaging about 80% for June 2013. The lines meet Metro’s ridership and productivity thresholds.

Some of the issues identified in the existing conditions report include:

  • Route directness and convenience
  • On-time performance for the 10B on Saturday afternoons
  • Traffic congestion problems at Mount Vernon Avenue on Saturdays
  • Survey indicated that the main issues for riders are service frequency and reliability
  • Too many bus stops too close together
  • Missing bus stop amenities

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Categories: Metrobus Studies Tags: , ,

Today’s Planned Transportation Investments – the Constrained Long Range Plan (CLRP)

July 15th, 2013 1 comment

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), adopts the region’s constrained long-range plan (CLRP) annually. Only projects included in this regional transportation plan are eligible for federal funding, and since 1991, federal law requires the CLRP to be constrained financially. This regional transportation plan includes only projects that are reasonably expected to be fully funded.Momentum_Schematics_CLRP_7

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