Limited Stop bus service (like routes 50, 53, and 54) can easily be expanded by changing the ratio of local to limited stop buses in a given corridor. For this post we will use the Lake Street corridor and routes 21 and 53.
Currently during midday periods (EB from Uptown 11:20 am-5:40 pm, WB from Hiawatha 11:22 am-6:09 pm) route 21 runs every 6-7 minutes (9 buses per hour). The route 53 limited stop does not run during middays, only rush hours every 20-30 minutes (2-3 buses per hour). However limited service can be increased by changing the ratio of local buses to limited buses (currently 9:0 per midday hour) to 5:4/4:5 (depending on the hour, due to the irregular number of buses). This would provide faster service to those who are transferring and going to major stops, and provide less service to stops that only attract 1 or 2 riders for each bus.
Here is an example of a possible schedule of Lake Street bus routes from the Uptown Transit Station:
11:00 am – 53A (St. Paul)
11:06 am – 21A (St. Paul)
11:13 am – 53C (Midway)
11:20 am – 21D (St. Thomas)
11:26 am – 53A
11:33 am – 21A
11:40 am – 53C
11:47 am – 21D
11:53 am – 53A
12:00 pm – 21A
To simplify the schedule to 10 buses per hour (a ratio of 5:5) could be done but it would cost extra money for service that isn’t already at 100% capacity. The schedule is already costing extra money because 5 buses go to St. Paul verses the current 3 (this is to keep a similar level of local service between 27th and Cretin). The proposed schedule already cuts Selby Ave. service to 26-28 minute frequency. Unless more locals are added between St. Paul and Marshall/Cretin or Lake St. Limiteds (53s) become locals at Cretin, St. Paul will see a decrease in bus service. During shoulder hours buses run every 10-15 minutes, so additional buses will need to be added to maintain the balance of local and limited buses throughout the day. The local/limited mix should run from 6 am-7 pm to see if something like this will attract more riders to public transit in the corridor.
March 22, 2009 at 8:35 pm |
First of all, thanks for this site. I was always wondering if something like this existed locally, but I’ve been too lazy to search around. (I found you through Minnescraper)
As for the 53 running at midday, I’d like to see that, but probably not as often as you propose. My experience on that bus has been that people take it to get to downtown St. Paul quickly (like I used to) rather than to ride between local stops. The time savings, according to the schedules, is anywhere between 3-5 minutes between Uptown and Hiawatha. While that makes a difference, I don’t know that people will hop on a 53 to save that kind of time, especially since folks who don’t ride the 53 are never sure where it will stop. I’ve observed more than one cranky rider who was force to walk 3-4 blocks because the 53 didn’t stop at their intersection. Maybe it would help if all the 53 stops were posted along the route, like the Hiawatha posters, so people would know what they’re getting into.
I’ve also observed nearly empty 53s running between Uptown and Chicago/Lake. Very discouraging
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I just don’t know if there is the demand to run a 53 alternating with the 21, unless there is a big education campaign about the 53 all along the route.
March 24, 2009 at 4:40 am |
Well i’m not too familiar with the 21 but one thing i’ve noticed is there are stops close together on it. Seriously if i’m waiting at a stop and I can look down the street and see another stop sign not too far down then they are too close together. I think the stops along parts of the route should be combined, take K-Mart for example, and that might also help speed up service a bit.
As for limited stop service during midday I think that would be great, I agree with The other Scott about the need to promote/distinguish the limited stop service from the local stops as well. In my opinion something like special bus stop signs or even specially marked shelters in some cases would be more helpful than a little red # like they have on the Hi-Frequency routes now. With either the signs or shelters have a map and basic schedule like “This route stops here at :10, :30 &:50 after the hour every hour from 6am to 7pm or whatever it might be. That way perhaps someone out for a walk might see where that bus at the corner goes and be more likely to try it sometime.
March 27, 2009 at 4:14 am |
I like your idea for increasing limited stop runs along Lake St. I also agree with the commenter that a time savings of 5 minutes or so is not necessarily worth the hassle of figuring out where the 53 actually does stop compared to the 21.
I think the solution to this problem is to incorporate re-branded, increased frequency limited stop service with signal priorities at intersections. And by that I dont mean the weak version of signal “priority” that amounts to holding some green lights a little bit longer, but true signal priority in which buses will always find green lights ahead of them. Signal priority might bump the travel time savings up to 10 minutes or so (compared to the regular 21). Rebranding (perhaps with different colored buses and visible station stops with maps and schedule information) would help people understand that the 53 is a distinct service from the 21.
August 12, 2009 at 7:07 pm |
A couple of comments here:
1. Cutting service on the Selby section of the line to every 26-28 minutes is probably not a good idea. The line is rather well-patronized along that section with the current 20 minute headways and reducing it beyond that would make it much less useful (I think it should have more frequent headways, every 15 minutes, anyway). There’s a lot of land along Selby which is either vacant or parking, and better transit service might serve as a catalyst for redevelopment. A better economy would help, too, of course.
2. The 21D is a farce. Supposedly it was wrangled by Saint Thomas in order to have better transit, but it is usually empty until it clears the river. The worst part is, however, that the 20 minute headways on the 21D match the 20 minute headways on the 63 which ends at the same stop, but no one at MetroTransit has ever thought of interlining (I asked). How much sense would that make? Lots. Grand Avenue’s line would no longer dead-end at Saint Thomas, providing access from Grand to the LRT (to Minneapolis and the airport) and Uptown.
Furthermore, of the buses that run west from Saint Paul more than twice an hour (the 3, 16, 21, 63, 74 and 54), the 63 is the only one without a western “anchor.” The 3 and 16 run to the U and downtown Minneapolis, the 21 to Uptown and the 54 and 74 to the Light Rail. The 63 ends in a residential neighborhood in Saint Paul. Finally, going from Grand Avenue to Downtown Minneapolis requires two transfers (unless you go east to Saint Paul, not feasible from the western part of the route), which is time consuming and inconvenient. Interlining with the 21D would solve many problems with little or no additional service required (except, perhaps, when the 21D doesn’t run at rush hour). Running the 63 in to Minneapolis seems almost intuitive. I guess that’s why it hasn’t been done.
3. The bus stops along the 21 line from Uptown to Hiawatha (and in most of the Twin Cities) are way too close together. Since there is often someone getting on at every block, the bus winds up pulling in and out of every stop. No wonder it is scheduled to complete this section of route in 25 minutes, at a speed of less than 10 mph. If bus stops were halved few people would notice the longer walk (still generally under 1/10 miles) and the buses would be speedier. Plus, what it its real utility when it doesn’t run at rush hours?!
4. Finally, the jog to University is very helpful for people who want to transfer there, but very time-consuming for through-riders on the 21. Perhaps the midday 53 could, instead of using the Interstate from Snelling to downtown, use Selby, with stops every 1/2 mile at major cross streets (Hamline, Lexington, Victoria, Dale, Western).
When this was changed some time around 2004 (from the historic Selby-Lake route dating back to the streetcar era), it increased the utility for travel to University and a transfer to the 16, but decreased the utility for cross-town trips by adding to the already-long run time of the bus. Considering how many people transfer to and from the 21 at University, it seems like it would almost make sense to have one leg of the 21 run on Selby to University and Snelling, and then west on University to Minneapolis, and another to run on University from Saint Paul to Snelling, and then west on Marshall and Lake to Uptown. Better 53 service would, of course, help as well, and just cutting off that jog, with half a dozen lights and a mile of extra route, would cut service times.
This comment has been cross-posted at The Amateur Planner.
minneapolistransit replies: I have thought of interlining the 21D and 63 lines as well. The 8 and the 67 would combine well, but the new plan is to extend the 67 to Highland Park.