If someone gave you money to fix up Metrobus stops in our region, what would you spend it on? Metro is trying new ways to get customers involved in answering that very question.
Love Your Bus Stop campaign logo
Metro recently launched the ‘Love Your Bus Stop’ Campaign, and is encouraging customers to express their preferences and desires on how bus stops can be improved through a Bus Stop Improvement Survey. The results of the survey, which asks existing and potential riders to rank a variety of bus stop amenities, will help Metro better understand the public’s preferences for bus stop features and allow them to prioritize future investments in bus stop improvements. The Federal Transit Administration’s Livable Communities Initiative awarded Metro nearly $2 million for this project shortly after Metro completed an extensive inventory of the system’s bus stops. This funding source will be the first to be deployed using this new dataset of public preferences, and future funding will be able to draw upon the data as well to create improvements that the public wants to see most.
The Bus Stop Improvement Survey and associated outreach campaign are designed to be accessible to all Metrobus riders with a particular focus on reaching minority, low-income, and Limited English Proficiency populations. The Love Your Bus Stop Campaign is designed to reach these communities through three distinct strategies:
- Event-based outreach;
- Print, radio and digital media strategy; and
- Targeted outreach to community-based organizations.
Read more…
The distance between stops is of key concern to Metro and its customers. More closely spaced stops provide customers with more convenient access, as they are likely to experience a shorter walk to the nearest bus stop. However, closely-spaced stops are also likely to result in a longer ride for customers because of the number of times the bus stops — to decelerate, come to a complete stop and then accelerate and re-merge into traffic — is increased.
Having fewer stops along a bus route benefits passengers not only by reducing the time it takes for them to make their trip, but by making the service more reliable and predictable. Customer benefit is maximized when the only stops considered for removal have low average weekday ridership for boarding and alighting. We have chosen the 96/97 line, known as the East Capitol Street-Cardozo line, which runs between Capitol Heights Station, Stadium-Armory Station, Union Station, U Street Station, Woodley Park Station, and Tenleytown Station. Some of the bus stops in the Woodley Park area are also served by the X3 route.
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Metrobus in cooperation with Arlington County and Fairfax County recently completed a seven month long Service Evaluation Study (SES) for the Pershing Drive – Arlington Boulevard Line (Route 4A,B,E,H). The line serves Rosslyn, Arlington Boulevard and Pershing Drive, terminating at Seven Corners and Culmore.
The goals of the Service Evaluation Study are to:
1) Review the capacity, productivity, reliability, and quality of the service;
2) Identify the needs for facilities along the line and
3) Recommend changes to improve service delivery.
The study team reviewed existing operational and traffic conditions along the line, and then conducted a riders survey and a public outreach effort, using one focus group and two public meetings, to gain input from riders. After assessing all the available data and rider inputs, service recommendations were proposed for:
- Service Hours
- Frequency
- Reliability
- New Limited Stop Service
- Route Simplicity
- Bus Stop Distance and Amenities
- Traffic Operations
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The Martin Luther King Jr. Highway Line (consisting of routes A11 and A12) is one of the busiest Metrobus lines in Prince George’s County. The line provides service from Capital Plaza to Addison Road Metro Rail Station via Landover Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Highway. On an average weekday, this route has nearly 3,000 riders. On-time performance (OTP) is generally good, averaging more than 80% for the past year.
Metro Bus Planning initiated a study of this line in June 2013, looking to improve service and efficiency. Some of the issues identified so far include:
- Route directness and convenience
- Low frequency of service during peak periods on weekdays and on weekends
- Peak period traffic congestion problems along sections of Landover Road and Martin Luther King Jr Highway
- Survey indicated that riders require more late night and weekend services, more frequency and better reliability
- Too many bus stops too close together
- Missing bus stop amenities
Metro will also host a public meeting to discuss the findings as well as the preliminary service improvement proposals.
The meeting will be open house style so you can drop by anytime. Metro Planners and project staff will be on hand to speak one-on-one with participants and get feedback about potential options for service improvement. Please also give us your comments below and/or complete the survey available online. For further information, check metrobus-studies.com. Read more…
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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Metrobus planning staff recently hosted the final public meeting on Metrobus Route 80, the “North Capitol Street Line.” The purpose of this meeting was to share with the public a summary of the issues experienced by Route 80 riders and discuss possible recommendations for restructuring service, stops and route alignments to help alleviate crowding, reduce delay and increase service frequency.
The presentation boards are available for download. (PDF, 15MB) The key issues and a summary of preliminary recommendations are listed below. Read more…
Metro Bus Planning is studying the H lines in the District of Columbia including:
- Brookland-Potomac Park (H1),
- Crosstown Line (H2, H3, H4), and
- Park Road-Brookland Line (H8, H9).
This is an “emerging corridor”–a corridor which was not included in the original Priority Corridor Network studies–but one with heavy and growing ridership. On an average weekday, 10,000 people ride the H lines; the Sautrday average is 6,300 with 4,500 on Sunday. On-time performance overall for April, 2013 is close to 70%, well below Metro’s goal of 78%. All three lines do meet Metro’s ridership and productivity thresholds. Read more…
The final public meeting for the study of Metrobus Route 80 (The North Capitol Street Line) will take place next week!
You’re invited to come see and comment on the draft recommendations for improvements. The study team hopes to submit the final recommendations to the Metro Board this summer for approval.
The meeting is open to the public and will take place on:
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Anytime between 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm
St. Anthony’s School
12th & Lawrence Streets NE
Cafeteria entrance at 3400 12th Street NE, ground floor
Read more…
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