Shrinkage

By: Mr. Wilson on March 6, 2009
StarTran's Larry Worth is proposing to replace 15 city buses with shorter, bike rack-equipped models. What a great idea! It's such a fantastic idea, you'd think public transportation advocates would have been suggesting something similar for eons now...

Comments

See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.

foxspit
March 6, 2009 at 2:48PM

Brilliant! Why didn’t somebody think of that sooner!?

foxspit
March 6, 2009 at 2:49PM

Seriously, I am glad that they are considering this. It will make it a lot easier for some people to use the buses. It also shows a responsiveness that they should get credit for.

Mr. Wilson
March 6, 2009 at 2:55PM

A not-so-rhetorical question: Is well more than a decade of stubborn refusal to see the benefits of smaller buses a demonstration of “responsiveness”?

Nikkidemas
March 6, 2009 at 3:14PM

I would love that when/if it happens.

I saw an LJS comment about the new routes sucking - which I also tend to agree with.

Mr. Wilson
March 6, 2009 at 3:25PM

I haven’t ridden the buses since the route switch. What sucks about the new routes? Is it something specific, or is it just similar to the problem with the previous route structure (you can go anywhere as long as it’s Downtown)?

Gene
March 6, 2009 at 4:24PM

What don’t you like about them? I suppose what worked great for some people before is now not so hot. I actually managed to benefit when they switched. I still worked on East Campus and was able to catch the 42/43 bus from my neighborhood and not have to transfer at all.

Nikkidemas
March 6, 2009 at 8:00PM

Here’s the map

2 routes that used to run right past my office are now gone.

Also, the route which runs by my house now goes nowhere near my office without a transfer.

These are individual issues, so I hope the routes are working better for others.

I also tried figuring out a route for a friend to get from her house to her school in the evenings.  We gave up.  (This one is likely my fault, and we only looked for a few minutes)

On a separate note, here’s my next wish for the bus system: 
- I’d love an Expedia or mapquest-style program on the website that would automatically find you the best route. (i.e.  When are you leaving?  From where?)  The it would give you the best routes (Board Bus 48 from SouthPointe at 12:45pm; Get off at 11th & N at 1:15pm; Board Bus 45 at 2:10pm; Arrive at 17th & Lake at 2:55pm)

...These examples are based on the time sheets on the site, which are helpful, but how cool would it be to be able to just type in your to/from locations & times & have it figure out the best routes for you?  Sometimes it’s better to transfer at a location other than downtown, or better to walk/bike a few blocks & catch another bus.

It may sounds lazy of me - but I think people who are in a hurry, people who don’t normally use public transit, and people whose routes vary would like it too.

There’s got to be some helpful codemonkey in this town that can make it happen 😊

Thoughts?  Am I wrong?

foxspit
March 6, 2009 at 10:22PM

<blockquote>A not-so-rhetorical question: Is well more than a decade of stubborn refusal to see the benefits of smaller buses a demonstration of

Gene
March 9, 2009 at 5:33PM

If it’s taking away service from you, then I think you have a right to be ticked.

Andrea Davis
March 10, 2009 at 1:59AM

First, I’m obviously going to be stoked about the bike-racked models.  I’m more excited about the fact that the Transit Manager of Star Tran is pulling for it.

I’m sorry about the route problems you are having. I can relate. I TOTALLY agree with the website needing a route-finding application. Someone of an awesome development talent needs to rule their website.

I got confused enough about routes at first that I just went to the bus stop and asked a person who was riding where it stopped, and what connections to take to get where. I’m pretty outgoing, though, and the kind of person who digs talking about bus-route hacking with a stranger. 😊 I know not everyone is comfortable doing it, but I hope you don’t give up on finding your route.

blankphotog
March 10, 2009 at 1:20PM

Has anyone superimposed the new/old bus routes with a bike trail map to see where it would make sense to take a bus to get to somewhere to bike?

Andrea Davis
March 10, 2009 at 8:23PM

AWEsome idea, blankphotog.

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