As I explained in a post on nextSTL.com today, when you remove MetroLink, MCT buses, express buses, and the 99 Downtown Trolley from the Metro system map, a service gap downtown makes itself crystal clear. My question, does anybody else think this is a problem? Should Metro reroute some buses to serve the downtown core? What streets should they take?
I agree it's a problem. For example, it shouldn't take 20+ minutes to get from Soulard to the Downtown Core because you are either routed through the Bus Center or have to walk to the core from the edges. Suggested streets: Tucker, Market, Chestnut, Locust
When they moved the downtown buses to the Civic Center station that pretty much removed my desire to take a bus to work downtown. In the past, buses would connect to MetroLink at the Convention station or 8th and Pine. I'd suggest adding more bus lines to Broadway and 4th along with the other streets listed here.
my two cents worth, Having a centralized downtown bus stop next to a metrolink stop/intermodal station isn't all that bad especially if you can tweak some things and want to provoide express service from edges of the county in the near future.
What I think is lacking is a vision to take the 99 Downtown Trolley and expand upon. The reality is that you won't funding for a North South Line in the foreseeable future. So the quesitons that Metro and/or Downtown NOW should be asking the community about 99 Downtown Trolley in my mind are
1) Do you increase frequency?
2) Do you have more then one loop? Fouce on a Financial District/Wash Ave Loop/Laclede's Loop - a West Downtown/Soulard loop, etc.
3) Do you make the 99 free? Setup a Downtown TDD to support as such
4) Do you start planning studies on fixed transit loop? Roll the TDD into supporting operating costs
Changing some bus routes will surely help but will also take away from a central intermodal location that connects downtown pretty well with the airport and some major institutions (BJC to UMSL/Wash U to CBD and so on). But I also think a lot more can be done downtown with all its amenities, event generators and convention presence, growing loft/residential sector, and the stabilized and possibly growing employment.
Manage to run the bus past 11:40 on Sunday and go from there. Figure out how to install schedules at all stops and a system map at those which have shelters citywide would be a good start. Downtown is a small population compared to our city and region, while most people who work then leave downtown on transit already have Metrolink. I think we should plan better for those who traverse our city and that starts with a damn posting of when the bus arrives.
It's pretty crazy to talk about improving transit service when transfer times are horrible and bus schedules are not posted at stops. Transit needs to be improved city wide not simply for downtown. I don't know how people manage here, probably since they're driving. We need to show the money to make the changes needed otherwise they will be cut from other areas as what happened to downtown in 2009. But then again how much does it cost to post a schedule at every stop?
Sorry if I am being excessive, but I wonder how people get around in St. Louis City without a car? From the people I've talked to it's quite a b****.
If they installed gps tracking on the buses and there was an app to see where and when the next bus was.... I would actually take the 99. But if I have no idea when the next one is and it could take up to 15 mins for it to come, I just say screw it and I walk instead.
I love the 99 idea though. It would be great to expand on that like they did for the forest park buses. Add a dedicated themed route from downtown and soulard.
Why does there have to be an investment of this sort at all? Why can't all the buses just make a loop around downtown and drop people on sidewalks? A lot more job sites and train stations could be connected that way. Spend money on better bus stops, not concrete bunkers. Let us transfer at bus stops.
DaronDierkes wrote:Why does there have to be an investment of this sort at all? Why can't all the buses just make a loop around downtown and drop people on sidewalks? A lot more job sites and train stations could be connected that way. Spend money on better bus stops, not concrete bunkers. Let us transfer at bus stops.
Why not both?
I think the term Bus Rapid Transit is being loosely used and what I see in Metro's thinking is actually two distinct systems. First, Grand Ave offers the opportunity for what I would consider true to Bus Rapid Transit with the city setting aside a dedicated bus lane and metro adding amnenitities/fixtures to bus stops. Unfortunately, think the actuall length might not be sufficient (guessing on my limited knowledge on what it takes to make BRT work). Instead I wish SLU ann Grand Center would align to purse a streetcar line.
The second system that Metro appears to be considering is Express Bus Service utilitzing existing freeways with no dedicated bus lanes. Just can't see Metro trying to convince MoDOT and the community of giving up lanes on the area freeways. Heck, people would have a cow if HOV was introducted. To me Express Bus Service is serving distinct client, commuters from outlying areas, to a distinct location, St. Louis mini finanical district/convention area. In my mind, the options being pursued for a second transit service make sense. Personally I would love to see Metro take over the ground level of an existing parking garage as I think Wash Ave is not to far from seeing infill.
Which gets back to my first question, why not both? - better downtown loop service/re-aligned ciy bus routes along with a small transit hub serving express bus commuters
I saw this out the window in Lucerne. They have no rail streetcars anymore, they said, but they do have electric buses, some with overhead wires, and some without. And they have some dedicated bus lanes and very long articulated buses that almost look and work like the streetcars we rode in Amsterdam. DSCN1671 by Gary Kreie, on Flickr DSCN1673 by Gary Kreie, on Flickr
There were, at one time, electric busses with overhead wire in San Francisco, as I recall. In the early eighties. They're doubtless more common in Europe though. That said, I did not witness any triples when I was last there oh so very long ago. That is most impressive. Reminds me a little of that link someone posted of the Chinese trackless trolley experiment.
