The Port Authority, through its Connect ‘09 system redesign process, is developing a new transit vision for the region, one that best balances the contemporary development patterns and lifestyle trends with available resources. There are many different ways to provide transit service, and we have to find one that works for us.
Which brings me to a discussion I had with a veteran member of the Pittsburgh planning community last year when the Port Authority was trimming its existing route structure to improve the efficiency of the system. When I asked him what he thought, he told me: “They’re not cutting enough.”
After I recovered from my shock, he explained what he meant.
The Port Authority system spreads out all across Allegheny County, and, according to my planning friend, spreads service too thinly. (If the agency had a map of the network on its website, you’d see that bus routes touch nearly every corner of the county. But it doesn’t, so you can’t.) Nearly everybody has access to some service, but few areas have enough service to make it a robust, convenient, and competitive option to driving.
His suggestion was to eliminate routes traveling through most of the county and concentrate nearly all the service along the busways and two or three other highly traveled corridors. But make the service robust and frequent. So much so that if you lived in the neighborhoods and communities along those corridors, you basically wouldn’t need a bus schedule. You’d just walk to the bus route and something would be along in a few minutes to pick you up.
It’s a different kind of transit service model than what we have now. If you wanted to use transit, you’d be limited in the areas where you could live. But if you lived in those transit-rich communities, service would be so much more frequent and reliable.
There is not a single “right way” to design a transit system. It depends on what a community wants, the choices that it makes, and the amount of resources available. Something to keep in mind as the Connect ‘09 process continues. It looks like Joe Grata might be preparing something about it for Saturday’s Post-Gazette.
Posted by: Ken Zapinski
4 comments
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September 20, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Jefferson
One way to achieve the kind of service you’re talking about is by creating a top-notch system of (free) park-n-rides in the suburbs, and offloading the “last mile” of service to the rider. This also allows reducing the number of stops.
September 21, 2008 at 5:50 pm
jet
Interesting. I probably wouldn’t mind walking 15-30min to the bus stop nearly as much if I knew there was going to be a bus in the near future. If it’s after noon, I find the bus schedules out here in the boonies (Forest Hills) pretty useless.
Also, I don’t commute to downtown, only to Oakland, so I probably won’t benefit from this sort of model unless CMU/Pitt warrant notice.
September 22, 2008 at 8:37 am
drew lessard
This makes so much sense. Regardless of your coverage area, the system is only as good as its reliability. People give up on public transit when the schedules become “useless” (as jet points out) or the frequency of pickups is too scarce.
A more concentrated effort over a smaller area would bolster those real estate markets as well. In my previous experience in Boston, new T-stops and subway expansion meant big growth for the effected neighborhoods.
January 16, 2009 at 4:25 pm
jermaine
Nice blog! Looking forward to reading some new posts…