The February 2012 service change was massive in scope not just because it reduced our bus service by 20 percent, but also because the local service network was redesigned. With such a huge change in the system, it was inevitable that some adjustments would be needed.
A couple weeks ago, the agency made adjustments to the Route 113 schedule to improve connections between buses and ferries in Mukilteo. It took several weeks to design a change that didn’t carry too many impacts down the line, then get the change out to drivers and customers.
On April 9, several other adjustments will take place.
Route 196 afternoon and evening buses between Edmonds and Alderwood will start five minutes later to help get trips on schedule. Behind-the-scenes, some driver work will change as part of this adjustment. Our hope is that these changes will help this new route stay on schedule on trips that have been notoriously behind schedule since the new route started in February.
In Bothell, Route 435 will hold at Canyon Park for up to five minutes in the morning to allow for incoming Route 105/106 and 120 buses to make that connection to downtown Seattle. This means customers already on board will have to wait a bit longer, but this is a connection that was supposed to happen and has been hit-and-miss in reality.
On Route 120, an early afternoon adjustment in how drivers switch off will help to keep more trips on schedule. This is an example of making changes in off-service work that positively affects the in-service experience.
When these changes go into effect next week, 82 weekday trips and 31 Saturday trips will have been adjusted since the Feb. 20 service change.
Our Planning and Transportation staff continue to monitor other trips and routes to see where improvements can be made to the massive February service change. It’s likely there may be more adjustments coming in June and September.
The challenge is to allow enough time for drivers and customers to adjust to the initial changes, then track schedules over a period of time long enough to tell us that late trips or missed connections are truly a systemic problem, not something that changes from day to day.
Without money for new service hours, the next step is to find ways to adjust driver work or make minor tweaks to the schedule that can improve the customer experience. And, of course, the laws of transit dictate that every action has an unintended consequence; when you start tweaking schedules you start impacting the travel of those who have found a way to make the system work for them. We want to keep those downstream impacts to a minimum.
As more adjustments are made, we’ll discuss them here, and send out announcements through rider alerts. Sign up for our electronic alerts if you haven’t already.
Showing posts with label schedules. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schedules. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Service Change - Bus Stop Locations
The service change that took place yesterday was in the works for nearly a year. That's the time it took to get guidance from our Board (once we knew how much money we needed to save), develop three alternative scenarios, present them to the public and gather feedback, go through the Board decision process, then fully schedule the final service plan, train drivers, produce signage and information materials and start the new service.
It is near the tail end of that process, after we have fully scheduled the service plan, that we reach out to cities and the county to talk about where we want to locate new bus stops. Each jurisdiction has a separate bureaucracy for dealing with such requests, with their own criteria and timelines.
What we submit are requests based on what we feel is the best place for riders to catch a particular bus. This year, our route shuffling was designed to eliminate loops and deviations - in other words, make the routes as direct as possible to save time and money. Most requests are granted, but not always; sometimes we are given alternatives to consider, and sometimes flatly denied.
Sometimes the process goes beyond the time frame in which we need to produce Bus Plus, maps and other public information.
Just last week, we were granted permission to put two new temporary stops on Marine Drive outside the Warm Beach Senior Community near Stanwood. The timing on that decision was close! We are still awaiting decisions from the City of Lynnwood on stop requests for Routes 112 and 196 near the Lynnwood Transit Center. Obviously, the new service has already started, so the omission of those stops is glaring. We are forwarding comments from our customers to the city, but it is their decision to make. The service still works without those stops, but it may not be as convenient for some customers.
We can add stops at any time during the year, not just at a service change. With the vast number of changes that took place this week, there are bound to be some tweaks here or there. Most tweaking will happen when we publish new schedules on Oct. 1, but if stop requests are granted before then, we could make some changes sooner.
It is near the tail end of that process, after we have fully scheduled the service plan, that we reach out to cities and the county to talk about where we want to locate new bus stops. Each jurisdiction has a separate bureaucracy for dealing with such requests, with their own criteria and timelines.
What we submit are requests based on what we feel is the best place for riders to catch a particular bus. This year, our route shuffling was designed to eliminate loops and deviations - in other words, make the routes as direct as possible to save time and money. Most requests are granted, but not always; sometimes we are given alternatives to consider, and sometimes flatly denied.
Sometimes the process goes beyond the time frame in which we need to produce Bus Plus, maps and other public information.
Just last week, we were granted permission to put two new temporary stops on Marine Drive outside the Warm Beach Senior Community near Stanwood. The timing on that decision was close! We are still awaiting decisions from the City of Lynnwood on stop requests for Routes 112 and 196 near the Lynnwood Transit Center. Obviously, the new service has already started, so the omission of those stops is glaring. We are forwarding comments from our customers to the city, but it is their decision to make. The service still works without those stops, but it may not be as convenient for some customers.
We can add stops at any time during the year, not just at a service change. With the vast number of changes that took place this week, there are bound to be some tweaks here or there. Most tweaking will happen when we publish new schedules on Oct. 1, but if stop requests are granted before then, we could make some changes sooner.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Service Changes on Monday, Feb. 20
Next Monday, Community Transit bus service will change significantly.
For local riders in Snohomish County, there are major changes to the route network, as well as schedules. Several routes have been eliminated and others serve different destinations. Peak hour schedules (5:30-8:30 a.m. and 3:30-6 p.m.) will be largely the same, but off-peak schedules will have fewer trips, especially away from the urban areas. On Saturdays, buses will run less frequently than they have throughout the county.
Also, the latest any buses will operate is between 10-11 p.m.
For commute riders to downtown Seattle, several routes have been eliminated but most other routes remain the same, with fewer trips. Expect more riders on the remaining buses. Based on current ridership numbers, there should be seats for every rider if people store their belongings on their laps or beneath seats. Some trips may experience standing loads, especially in the afternoon when more people try to take the same bus back to Snohomish County.
Routes to UW are largely unchanged, except for some trip times.
If you have not planned your trip for next week (and maybe considered a Plan B), pick up a copy of the Bus Plus schedule book on buses or use the online Trip Planner. All new route schedules are available online, along with stop lists to tell you where the bus stops along each route.
While Monday is Presidents Day, there will not be a holiday schedule. All buses will run according to the new regular schedule. The Customer Information line (425 353-7433) will be open that day from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Community Transit employees will be at various locations to help people with their trips on Feb. 20 and 21.
Community Transit is reducing service because of low revenues due to the economy. The agency is pursuing new funding options during the State Legislative session.
For local riders in Snohomish County, there are major changes to the route network, as well as schedules. Several routes have been eliminated and others serve different destinations. Peak hour schedules (5:30-8:30 a.m. and 3:30-6 p.m.) will be largely the same, but off-peak schedules will have fewer trips, especially away from the urban areas. On Saturdays, buses will run less frequently than they have throughout the county.
Also, the latest any buses will operate is between 10-11 p.m.
For commute riders to downtown Seattle, several routes have been eliminated but most other routes remain the same, with fewer trips. Expect more riders on the remaining buses. Based on current ridership numbers, there should be seats for every rider if people store their belongings on their laps or beneath seats. Some trips may experience standing loads, especially in the afternoon when more people try to take the same bus back to Snohomish County.
Routes to UW are largely unchanged, except for some trip times.
If you have not planned your trip for next week (and maybe considered a Plan B), pick up a copy of the Bus Plus schedule book on buses or use the online Trip Planner. All new route schedules are available online, along with stop lists to tell you where the bus stops along each route.
While Monday is Presidents Day, there will not be a holiday schedule. All buses will run according to the new regular schedule. The Customer Information line (425 353-7433) will be open that day from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Community Transit employees will be at various locations to help people with their trips on Feb. 20 and 21.
Community Transit is reducing service because of low revenues due to the economy. The agency is pursuing new funding options during the State Legislative session.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Reality Check - Changes Coming!
Community Transit staff have been out at park & rides and on board buses reminding riders that a major service change will take place on Feb. 20. Many people are aware of this, and many have gone online or read the Guide to Service Change to see how their travel will be impacted. But there are still quite a few people out there who think these changes are negotiable and may not realize they are going to happen, soon!
To date, we have spoken to more than 1,700 riders about the upcoming service change. We get that number by adding the number of conversations we've had to the number of people on buses that we hop on and make an announcement. In some cases, we may have a five- or 10-minute conversation with someone waiting for their bus; in others there is a 25-second announcement that the changes are coming Feb. 20 and all the details are in the Guide to Service Change and on our website.
Given that we have about 40,000 boardings a day on our buses, that comes down to just south of 20,000 actual daily riders. We hope to speak to maybe 3-4,000 in person before the service change, and those people may talk to others. Through this blog, our electronic alerts (13,000+ subscribers), our website and our Facebook page, we hope the word is getting out to more. And, of course, everyone who rides the bus has a chance to see the materials on board.
But again, not everyone pays attention or realizes the urgency. Even on these pages we see commentors suggesting alternatives to the changes. It's always great to get feedback, but the public comment period for these changes took place last summer; these changes are final.
Maybe that fact will sink in when the printed Bus Plus schedule books arrive on buses later this week.
The changes are not perfect. Service cuts never make people happy. But nearly everyone should be able to still use our service with some adjustments. And we'll be making adjustments later this year. If a connection just is not working out, or trip times need to change, we can do that. For now, we are trying to make people aware that changes are coming, soon.
We'll be out by the Albertson's in Mukilteo, at the Ash Way Park & Ride and the Lynnwood Transit Center this week, and at Mariner Park & Ride, Boeing and Everett Station next week. What question will you be asking?
To date, we have spoken to more than 1,700 riders about the upcoming service change. We get that number by adding the number of conversations we've had to the number of people on buses that we hop on and make an announcement. In some cases, we may have a five- or 10-minute conversation with someone waiting for their bus; in others there is a 25-second announcement that the changes are coming Feb. 20 and all the details are in the Guide to Service Change and on our website.
Given that we have about 40,000 boardings a day on our buses, that comes down to just south of 20,000 actual daily riders. We hope to speak to maybe 3-4,000 in person before the service change, and those people may talk to others. Through this blog, our electronic alerts (13,000+ subscribers), our website and our Facebook page, we hope the word is getting out to more. And, of course, everyone who rides the bus has a chance to see the materials on board.
But again, not everyone pays attention or realizes the urgency. Even on these pages we see commentors suggesting alternatives to the changes. It's always great to get feedback, but the public comment period for these changes took place last summer; these changes are final.
Maybe that fact will sink in when the printed Bus Plus schedule books arrive on buses later this week.
The changes are not perfect. Service cuts never make people happy. But nearly everyone should be able to still use our service with some adjustments. And we'll be making adjustments later this year. If a connection just is not working out, or trip times need to change, we can do that. For now, we are trying to make people aware that changes are coming, soon.
We'll be out by the Albertson's in Mukilteo, at the Ash Way Park & Ride and the Lynnwood Transit Center this week, and at Mariner Park & Ride, Boeing and Everett Station next week. What question will you be asking?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Where's My Bus?
Icy, Snowy Conditions Make It Difficult to Keep to Schedule
Day Three of the 2012 snow storm is nearly complete, and buses are still on the road. Demand has been down this week, but many, many people are relying on Community Transit buses to get to work or wherever they need to go.
Today, our local buses deviated from our regular schedule because many roads were in bad condition due to accumulated snow and ice, and because predictions for today were worse than what actually materialized.
A combination of factors led to this schedule: we can't use articulated buses on icy roads (unless we chain them but those chains then break or severely slow down the buses on clear roads); like any business, we don't get everyone to show up on bad weather days; and our buses are interlined so that one bus may serve, say Route 120 for a trip, then it turns into Route 118. With fewer buses running and trips taking longer, the trips we can actually provide is like a patchwork among our routes.
This is hard to message to riders. What we said this morning is that we'd serve the first and last trips on each route, and there would likely be some buses in between. Not too helpful. We encouraged people to call customer information to learn if a bus was running on their route.
The good news is that buses were running all day on all routes, just not on regular schedule. That also may not be very helpful if you're trying to figure out when to travel, but we were able to provide a lot of service today. We also got more than 1,800 phone calls as riders asked where their bus was. Again, we couldn't tell them where it was but at least could say there was one out there, on the way.
On Seattle commuter routes, the Double Talls have proven their value. Not only can they fit more people than a regular bus, but they operate just fine in these conditions. By replacing old articulated buses with these double deckers, we have greatly increased the capacity we have for commuter service on snow days.
We have, and will continue to send alerts on any reroutes or major changes to service. Those are also posted on our website as soon as we get the information. Like our drivers and maintenance crews, our customer service and communications staff are working long days to provide you service.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Weather Can Be Unpredictable
Last night, after a day of reroutes and bus delays from the snow that had fallen in parts of Snohomish County, we expected major revisions to today's (Tuesday's) bus service. Forecasters were calling for lots of snow overnight and into this morning.
On our website we put up an alert (as we do every night before bad weather) saying that service would be very limited, commuter buses would be first and last trip only, etc., etc. This morning, that all changed.
Buses were on regular routes and regular schedules today. But many people relied on last night's alert, and we were slow to change that. Our mistake. On top of all that, there was a glitch with our electronic alert vendor so the revised alert we sent out at 5 a.m. took up to an hour to reach some customers.
My point is, forecasts change. We are committed to keeping our website updated with the latest information so you can check just before you leave your house and know whether your bus is running, your route is diverted or you should expect delays. And, if you sign up for electronic alerts by route or park & ride, you should get that information sent to your email address or a text to your phone.
Despite having fewer communications staff available (one gone, one soon leaving due to the layoffs), we are dropping everything else on snow days to provide the most up-to-date information. Please keep riding!
On our website we put up an alert (as we do every night before bad weather) saying that service would be very limited, commuter buses would be first and last trip only, etc., etc. This morning, that all changed.
Buses were on regular routes and regular schedules today. But many people relied on last night's alert, and we were slow to change that. Our mistake. On top of all that, there was a glitch with our electronic alert vendor so the revised alert we sent out at 5 a.m. took up to an hour to reach some customers.
My point is, forecasts change. We are committed to keeping our website updated with the latest information so you can check just before you leave your house and know whether your bus is running, your route is diverted or you should expect delays. And, if you sign up for electronic alerts by route or park & ride, you should get that information sent to your email address or a text to your phone.
Despite having fewer communications staff available (one gone, one soon leaving due to the layoffs), we are dropping everything else on snow days to provide the most up-to-date information. Please keep riding!
Monday, January 9, 2012
New Schedules Online
The new bus schedules effective Feb. 20 are now online at the Community Transit website.
This is the piece of information many riders have been waiting for since the Board of Directions made a service change decision last September. With the schedules, riders will be able to see what times their bus will run, and how their transit connections might work once service has changed on Feb. 20.
Meanwhile, integrating the new schedule information with our online Trip Planner is a more complicated project, so you cannot yet plan a trip for Feb. 20 using that tool. That update will be complete in early February. That trip planning tool is the same one our customer information staff use, so until early February they will not be able to plan complex trips for after the service change.
In early February, Bus Plus schedule books will also be available on buses. Those books contain the print version of the schedules that you can now get online.
Last week, more detailed service change route information was made available online and on buses, and now schedules are available. Later this week, staff will begin an outreach effort to make sure riders are aware of the upcoming changes and answer questions. Community Transit staff will be at the Canyon Park Park & Ride this Thursday during the afternoon commute hours, then they will be at Edmonds Community College on Jan. 18 and Everett Station the morning of Jan. 19, weather permitting.
Riders with web access can get information easily through the Community Transit website. Discussions about the service change are going on here on the blog and on our Facebook page. Specific questions can always be sent to riders @ commtrans.org or asked via phone at (425) 353-7433 (RIDE).
This is the piece of information many riders have been waiting for since the Board of Directions made a service change decision last September. With the schedules, riders will be able to see what times their bus will run, and how their transit connections might work once service has changed on Feb. 20.
Meanwhile, integrating the new schedule information with our online Trip Planner is a more complicated project, so you cannot yet plan a trip for Feb. 20 using that tool. That update will be complete in early February. That trip planning tool is the same one our customer information staff use, so until early February they will not be able to plan complex trips for after the service change.
In early February, Bus Plus schedule books will also be available on buses. Those books contain the print version of the schedules that you can now get online.
Last week, more detailed service change route information was made available online and on buses, and now schedules are available. Later this week, staff will begin an outreach effort to make sure riders are aware of the upcoming changes and answer questions. Community Transit staff will be at the Canyon Park Park & Ride this Thursday during the afternoon commute hours, then they will be at Edmonds Community College on Jan. 18 and Everett Station the morning of Jan. 19, weather permitting.
Riders with web access can get information easily through the Community Transit website. Discussions about the service change are going on here on the blog and on our Facebook page. Specific questions can always be sent to riders @ commtrans.org or asked via phone at (425) 353-7433 (RIDE).
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
"Minor" Holiday Service
For transit agencies, figuring out how much service to put on the road on holidays is a guessing game. In good times, you might err on the side of providing more service and risk having empty buses. In frugal times, you might constrict service to the point that it inconveniences some riders.
Well, these are frugal times and many riders have been inconvenienced by the fact that Community Transit no longer operates on six “major” holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The rationale for cutting service on those days, along with Sundays, was that those holidays are more universally observed and transit demand was much lower. Plus, drivers were paid premium pay to drive on those low ridership days, making that service very expensive to operate.
Community Transit still operates on four “minor” holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Friday. These are days when some businesses are closed and transit demand is lower than a typical weekday, but there are still a significant number of people riding the bus.
On these minor holidays, Community Transit usually runs a regular local service schedule. Even if people aren’t working those days, they still travel to do shopping, run errands or visit family.
On these days we reduce commuter service to downtown Seattle and the University District based on expected demand. For instance, this Friday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. History tells us that few people change their work schedules and demand for commuter service that day remains high, so we’re running a regular schedule on all service that day. However, on Thanksgiving Friday, Nov. 25, we will operate only Route 414 with extra trips into downtown Seattle and only Route 855 to the University District. Past experience has shown that few people (about 20 percent) take our buses to Seattle on “Black Friday.”
As we prepare to cut service a second time in three years, it is a coincidence that our first day of the new service change is Presidents Day, Feb. 20, 2012. We might have run a reduced commuter schedule, but because our service will be reduced from what we operate now, we have decided to run a regular schedule that day. We’ll see how that goes.
Do you, or did you ever ride the bus on holidays?
Well, these are frugal times and many riders have been inconvenienced by the fact that Community Transit no longer operates on six “major” holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The rationale for cutting service on those days, along with Sundays, was that those holidays are more universally observed and transit demand was much lower. Plus, drivers were paid premium pay to drive on those low ridership days, making that service very expensive to operate.
Community Transit still operates on four “minor” holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Friday. These are days when some businesses are closed and transit demand is lower than a typical weekday, but there are still a significant number of people riding the bus.
On these minor holidays, Community Transit usually runs a regular local service schedule. Even if people aren’t working those days, they still travel to do shopping, run errands or visit family.
On these days we reduce commuter service to downtown Seattle and the University District based on expected demand. For instance, this Friday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. History tells us that few people change their work schedules and demand for commuter service that day remains high, so we’re running a regular schedule on all service that day. However, on Thanksgiving Friday, Nov. 25, we will operate only Route 414 with extra trips into downtown Seattle and only Route 855 to the University District. Past experience has shown that few people (about 20 percent) take our buses to Seattle on “Black Friday.”
As we prepare to cut service a second time in three years, it is a coincidence that our first day of the new service change is Presidents Day, Feb. 20, 2012. We might have run a reduced commuter schedule, but because our service will be reduced from what we operate now, we have decided to run a regular schedule that day. We’ll see how that goes.
Do you, or did you ever ride the bus on holidays?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Viaduct Closure Could Delay Later Commuter Buses
By Tom Pearce, Public Information Specialist
While Community Transit does not operate bus service on the Alaskan Way viaduct, there are 110,000 reasons a nine-day closure of that structure starting Oct. 21 could impact the agency’s service. Each day the week of Oct. 24-28, there could be 110,000 cars forced onto city streets instead of their regular trip along the viaduct.
The City of Seattle expects delays of about five minutes to cross downtown on city streets from all that extra traffic. In Community Transit’s case, those five minutes will add up, literally. Many Community Transit commuter buses make their first trip through the city, then return for a second, third and even fourth trip. That’s a five-minute delay each trip. And that doesn’t account for other potential delays – heavy traffic, accidents, traffic signals. We expect delays of 20 minutes or more on some of our later trips due to the closure.
So what’s a commuter to do? Here are a few suggestions:
• Try to take an earlier trip, before those delays have a chance to pile up.
• Look at other Community Transit routes. Several routes go to more than one transit center, offering several alternatives to a destination.
• If you travel with an ORCA card, you can ride a bus to one transit center, then transfer to a local bus to get to where you parked without paying extra.
• Talk to your boss about flexing your schedule or even working from home.
• Consider taking Sounder. Trains should not be impacted by the viaduct closure, and buses connect Sounder with several transit centers.
The viaduct closure will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21. It will allow crews to demolish the southern mile of the viaduct and attach the remaining portion to the new Highway 99. The Washington State Department of Transportation expects to work to be completed by 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31.
Of course, all the media hype about our own Northwest "Carmageddon" could influence enough people not to drive their cars downtown that week, and things won't be so bad. That's reason enough to watch the morning traffic report and check our online Rider Alerts to see how things are going during the closure. With some advance planning and flexibility, we’ll all get through this.
While Community Transit does not operate bus service on the Alaskan Way viaduct, there are 110,000 reasons a nine-day closure of that structure starting Oct. 21 could impact the agency’s service. Each day the week of Oct. 24-28, there could be 110,000 cars forced onto city streets instead of their regular trip along the viaduct.
The City of Seattle expects delays of about five minutes to cross downtown on city streets from all that extra traffic. In Community Transit’s case, those five minutes will add up, literally. Many Community Transit commuter buses make their first trip through the city, then return for a second, third and even fourth trip. That’s a five-minute delay each trip. And that doesn’t account for other potential delays – heavy traffic, accidents, traffic signals. We expect delays of 20 minutes or more on some of our later trips due to the closure.
So what’s a commuter to do? Here are a few suggestions:
• Try to take an earlier trip, before those delays have a chance to pile up.
• Look at other Community Transit routes. Several routes go to more than one transit center, offering several alternatives to a destination.
• If you travel with an ORCA card, you can ride a bus to one transit center, then transfer to a local bus to get to where you parked without paying extra.
• Talk to your boss about flexing your schedule or even working from home.
• Consider taking Sounder. Trains should not be impacted by the viaduct closure, and buses connect Sounder with several transit centers.
The viaduct closure will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21. It will allow crews to demolish the southern mile of the viaduct and attach the remaining portion to the new Highway 99. The Washington State Department of Transportation expects to work to be completed by 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31.
Of course, all the media hype about our own Northwest "Carmageddon" could influence enough people not to drive their cars downtown that week, and things won't be so bad. That's reason enough to watch the morning traffic report and check our online Rider Alerts to see how things are going during the closure. With some advance planning and flexibility, we’ll all get through this.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Potential Board Action on 2012 System Change
One of the action items on the Aug. 4 Community Transit Board of Directors meeting agenda is the February 2012 System Change - the proposed service cuts for next year.
Although this is a scheduled action item, depending on the board discussion there may or may not be a vote.
Over the past two weeks, since a July 21 board workshop on the service alternatives and public comment, a new hybrid alternative has emerged. Details are available on the website, but in a nutshell the hybrid alternative combines the commuter network of Alternative I with the local route network of Alternative III, with some modifications.
Although this is a scheduled action item, depending on the board discussion there may or may not be a vote.
Over the past two weeks, since a July 21 board workshop on the service alternatives and public comment, a new hybrid alternative has emerged. Details are available on the website, but in a nutshell the hybrid alternative combines the commuter network of Alternative I with the local route network of Alternative III, with some modifications.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Bus Plus Survey: Seattle and Real-Time Schedules
At the beginning of November, Community Transit received more than 1,000 responses to our survey about bus route information. This information will be used to help improve our rider materials and the way we communicate with our customers. Many people added additional questions or comments. I responded to some in an earlier post.
Bus stop posters in Seattle: One person asked why we took the schedule information off the bus stop at Terrace & 5th. King County Metro Transit prints and posts our information at stops in King County, and we weren’t aware that several of the Community Transit route schedules no longer appear at that stop. So, thanks for mentioning that (we’re working with Metro to get it fixed). If you ever notice a missing schedule poster or other problem at a bus stop, please notify our Customer Information staff and provide the location and stop ID number (on the pole and schedule).
Another person asked why some of the Seattle stop posters list times from stops several blocks earlier in the trip. Again, we send Metro our schedule information and they post it. Community Transit has a practice of posting the estimated arrival times at stops in between our designated timepoints. But Metro’s practice is to list only the official timepoints on stop posters - the same select stops listed in Bus Plus books and on bus driver schedule instructions. So that’s what you get in downtown Seattle.
You can use the “Find Next Bus” feature of our Trip Planner to find the next four estimated arrival times for any stop in King, Pierce or Snohomish counties. Just be aware that the times are estimates, and buses may arrive early.
Or late. Real-time bus information was the most requested feature in all the survey comments. As someone who experienced an afternoon commute home from Seattle last week (one of the days when we used our electronic alerts to warn “I-5 Accident Causing Delays”), I personally understand the demand for knowing when your bus is actually going to show up. The short answer is “We’re working on it.”
Planning and IT staff just returned from a week-long test of our real-time technology, and many issues remain to be resolved in the coming year.
When we’re done, we will feed real-time data to the public via the Web, mobile devices and by telephone (when you call in a stop number). We will have real-time signs at Ash Way Park & Ride, Lynnwood Transit Center, Mountlake Terrace Transit Center and at every Swift Station. Another part of the project is electronic signs on board every bus that will list the next stop as the bus approaches, and audio call-outs of stop names and important landmarks.
In the meantime, the information we have to convey to customers can be limited. Riders often know a bus is late before we do, and our Customer Information and Communications staff often won’t know precisely why or when it will arrive. We are committed to communicating with riders when there are system-wide delays or major reroutes. We also put in special effort when winter weather impacts our service – and I don’t mean rain!
Bus stop posters in Seattle: One person asked why we took the schedule information off the bus stop at Terrace & 5th. King County Metro Transit prints and posts our information at stops in King County, and we weren’t aware that several of the Community Transit route schedules no longer appear at that stop. So, thanks for mentioning that (we’re working with Metro to get it fixed). If you ever notice a missing schedule poster or other problem at a bus stop, please notify our Customer Information staff and provide the location and stop ID number (on the pole and schedule).
Another person asked why some of the Seattle stop posters list times from stops several blocks earlier in the trip. Again, we send Metro our schedule information and they post it. Community Transit has a practice of posting the estimated arrival times at stops in between our designated timepoints. But Metro’s practice is to list only the official timepoints on stop posters - the same select stops listed in Bus Plus books and on bus driver schedule instructions. So that’s what you get in downtown Seattle.
You can use the “Find Next Bus” feature of our Trip Planner to find the next four estimated arrival times for any stop in King, Pierce or Snohomish counties. Just be aware that the times are estimates, and buses may arrive early.
Or late. Real-time bus information was the most requested feature in all the survey comments. As someone who experienced an afternoon commute home from Seattle last week (one of the days when we used our electronic alerts to warn “I-5 Accident Causing Delays”), I personally understand the demand for knowing when your bus is actually going to show up. The short answer is “We’re working on it.”
Planning and IT staff just returned from a week-long test of our real-time technology, and many issues remain to be resolved in the coming year.
When we’re done, we will feed real-time data to the public via the Web, mobile devices and by telephone (when you call in a stop number). We will have real-time signs at Ash Way Park & Ride, Lynnwood Transit Center, Mountlake Terrace Transit Center and at every Swift Station. Another part of the project is electronic signs on board every bus that will list the next stop as the bus approaches, and audio call-outs of stop names and important landmarks.
In the meantime, the information we have to convey to customers can be limited. Riders often know a bus is late before we do, and our Customer Information and Communications staff often won’t know precisely why or when it will arrive. We are committed to communicating with riders when there are system-wide delays or major reroutes. We also put in special effort when winter weather impacts our service – and I don’t mean rain!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Bus Plus Survey: The Good News
Community Transit has a robust list of bus riders and others who subscribe to our electronic alerts system. A week ago Wednesday we sent an email to 5,000 bus route subscribers asking them to take a survey on our schedule and route information. Many thanks to the more than 1,000 people who took the survey. I will try to respond to some of the comments and questions about bus information in a series of posts here.
The comments about route connections and schedule timing will go to our Planning Department, though anyone who asked for additional service might do well to read about our budget challenges. For those concerned about crowded buses, please read my blog post – and contact riders@commtrans.org if it’s a recurring problem. We are looking forward to putting our Double Tall buses into service next year, since they have more seats than articulated buses, thus increasing passenger capacity without increasing operating costs.
This post is going to focus on the good news – things people asked for that we already provide in some way.
List all bus stops: Community Transit buses serve about 1,800 stops in Snohomish and King counties. We list every bus stop by route on our website, and it’s among our most popular pages. We show all the stops in order in one direction, then the other. There’s a link to this page from each individual route schedule on the website as well. From the stop list you can pull up the actual schedule poster that is posted at that stop (provided it is a Community Transit stop vs. King County or Everett). That is a very cool feature if you use the same stop every day and want to know the estimated departures of all the buses that stop there.
When we upgraded our Bus Plus maps a few years ago we considered whether we could show every bus stop on the route maps. We realized that the maps just weren’t detailed enough, and the stops too many, to show effectively. We do have detail maps in Bus Plus (and on the web) of downtown Seattle, University of Washington and the Everett Boeing plant where we show all stops.
Individual Schedules: Rather than print these ourselves, we make a PDF of every route schedule and map available on our website. Just go to the "Schedules" page and sort by route, or go to an individual route’s schedule page. Printing individual schedules for our buses or outlets would require an entirely new display and distribution system for Community Transit. Our buses operate on a variety of routes each day, so it would be hard to have the right schedule on the right bus. Plus, we know that many people use multiple routes and appreciate having our comprehensive book.
A final note: We are very aware that we conducted this survey primarily online, though we did also get more than 130 paper surveys completed in-person by local bus riders this past week. We are NOT considering the end of printing Bus Plus – even our online audience uses Bus Plus at least as often as our website. Both sources are important to different customers, at different times and for different types of information.
The comments about route connections and schedule timing will go to our Planning Department, though anyone who asked for additional service might do well to read about our budget challenges. For those concerned about crowded buses, please read my blog post – and contact riders@commtrans.org if it’s a recurring problem. We are looking forward to putting our Double Tall buses into service next year, since they have more seats than articulated buses, thus increasing passenger capacity without increasing operating costs.
This post is going to focus on the good news – things people asked for that we already provide in some way.
List all bus stops: Community Transit buses serve about 1,800 stops in Snohomish and King counties. We list every bus stop by route on our website, and it’s among our most popular pages. We show all the stops in order in one direction, then the other. There’s a link to this page from each individual route schedule on the website as well. From the stop list you can pull up the actual schedule poster that is posted at that stop (provided it is a Community Transit stop vs. King County or Everett). That is a very cool feature if you use the same stop every day and want to know the estimated departures of all the buses that stop there.
When we upgraded our Bus Plus maps a few years ago we considered whether we could show every bus stop on the route maps. We realized that the maps just weren’t detailed enough, and the stops too many, to show effectively. We do have detail maps in Bus Plus (and on the web) of downtown Seattle, University of Washington and the Everett Boeing plant where we show all stops.
Individual Schedules: Rather than print these ourselves, we make a PDF of every route schedule and map available on our website. Just go to the "Schedules" page and sort by route, or go to an individual route’s schedule page. Printing individual schedules for our buses or outlets would require an entirely new display and distribution system for Community Transit. Our buses operate on a variety of routes each day, so it would be hard to have the right schedule on the right bus. Plus, we know that many people use multiple routes and appreciate having our comprehensive book.
A final note: We are very aware that we conducted this survey primarily online, though we did also get more than 130 paper surveys completed in-person by local bus riders this past week. We are NOT considering the end of printing Bus Plus – even our online audience uses Bus Plus at least as often as our website. Both sources are important to different customers, at different times and for different types of information.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
OneBus Away Posts Community Transit Data
Kudos to the folks at OneBusAway for doing both the leg-work and head-work to procure and convert Community Transit schedule data for use in their online transit applications. While the same schedule data is available on our own website, OneBusAway has many mobile-friendly apps.
Their web-based schedule-finder makes it easy to find stops and their schedules using a Google map. Zoom in close to see all the stops in an area and select for schedule info. Here's what a co-worker had to say bout the Android app: " I have just been scrolling around the beautiful map, touching different stops and looking at available routes, 'starring' my favorite stops and routes, etc. looks great! i am even more psyched we are on there now, and i see why everyone loves it."
I did have some trouble accessing stop-based schedules using my phone or text message. Each transit agency has its own set of stop ID numbers. OneBusAway has a zip code feature to help sort out which area you are traveling in and thus which agency’s stop information you want. Apparently, I had improperly or never set my "default location," and the system thought I was in California. When I reset my location and entered a Community Transit stop # (find yours by route on Community Transit's website or posted on the bus stop itself), I heard just how many minutes until each bus route was scheduled to arrive at that stop.
Snohomish County residents and travelers also can access Sound Transit and King County Metro Transit data at OneBusAway. In the case of data from King County, it is "real-time" based on GPS input from the buses as they travel their routes. Community Transit doesn't yet have that technology, so our data on OneBusAway is identical to what you see printed online and on paper, based on schedules, not actual arrivals.
While I'm talking about cool things other people have done to make transit information more accessible, see this map of all ORCA card retail and customer service locations. It's as up-to-date as the regional ORCA website (which is to say a little behind). For a current list of outlets in Snohomish County - without maps - see our web page.
Their web-based schedule-finder makes it easy to find stops and their schedules using a Google map. Zoom in close to see all the stops in an area and select for schedule info. Here's what a co-worker had to say bout the Android app: " I have just been scrolling around the beautiful map, touching different stops and looking at available routes, 'starring' my favorite stops and routes, etc. looks great! i am even more psyched we are on there now, and i see why everyone loves it."
I did have some trouble accessing stop-based schedules using my phone or text message. Each transit agency has its own set of stop ID numbers. OneBusAway has a zip code feature to help sort out which area you are traveling in and thus which agency’s stop information you want. Apparently, I had improperly or never set my "default location," and the system thought I was in California. When I reset my location and entered a Community Transit stop # (find yours by route on Community Transit's website or posted on the bus stop itself), I heard just how many minutes until each bus route was scheduled to arrive at that stop.
Snohomish County residents and travelers also can access Sound Transit and King County Metro Transit data at OneBusAway. In the case of data from King County, it is "real-time" based on GPS input from the buses as they travel their routes. Community Transit doesn't yet have that technology, so our data on OneBusAway is identical to what you see printed online and on paper, based on schedules, not actual arrivals.
While I'm talking about cool things other people have done to make transit information more accessible, see this map of all ORCA card retail and customer service locations. It's as up-to-date as the regional ORCA website (which is to say a little behind). For a current list of outlets in Snohomish County - without maps - see our web page.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Is the bus on time?
We publish schedules for our bus routes that list what time the bus will be at select stops along the route – these scheduled stops are called “timepoints.” Most timepoints are at park & rides or major connecting points to assist people in planning and in making transfers between buses.
We also post schedules at every Community Transit bus stop. Unless the stop is also a “timepoint” the posted time is only an estimate. Route 113 between Mukilteo and Lynnwood, for instance, has 51 northbound bus stops but only seven scheduled timepoints. All the other posted stop times are estimates. To plan a trip, you look at the timepoint before your stop and figure the bus will be at successive stops sometime soon after.
Nobody likes to wait for a bus very long, and it’s even worse if the bus comes early and you miss it. Experienced bus drivers know what parts of the route they tend to run ahead on (and thus they may drive a bit more slowly), and where they tend to run behind (but know they’ll catch up later). If a bus arrives early at a scheduled timepoint, it will pause at that stop until it is officially time to go. That usually blocks a lane of traffic for a few seconds and makes passengers wonder what’s up.
The bottom line is, getting bus schedules right is important. Community Transit regularly tracks the on-time performance of our system as a whole. In May, 93 percent of trips surveyed departed on time. When you consider the vagaries of rain squalls, traffic jams and even the extra time of having lots of passengers board and deboard, that’s not bad. We also have occasional delays due to mechanical breakdowns, passenger or driver illness and construction reroutes.
Last week Community Transit Service Planners asked for my help checking the on-time performance of Routes 105/106, Routes 115/116 and Routes 201/202. I spent four hours at Ash Way Park & Ride in Lynnwood watching buses come and go while also answering customer questions, handing out the new Bus Plus book and learning about transit scheduling from the agency perspective (I already experience our scheduling as a passenger on a weekly basis). I wrote down exactly when buses arrived and departed so that Service Planning can assess whether their route schedules are accurate. Some of the buses I timed started their routes more than 20 miles away in Arlington. We had staff checking the times all along the way – such extensive surveys happen only a few times each year.
We only change bus schedules twice a year, so the public won’t see results of this test until next February (though internal driver departure times and non-timepoint scheduling could change before then). It takes many months to consider changes, test timings and synchronize the schedules in time for sharing with transit partners, coordinating bus and driver needs and publishing Bus Plus books.
Right now we use a combination of sophisticated software and low-tech manual timing surveys and bus driver reports to develop and refine bus schedules. Sometime next year we hope to launch a real-time information system that will make the art of bus scheduling a bit more of a science. No matter what, whether the bus is on time or not will always depend most upon people – the ones inside the bus driving or riding, and the ones outside the bus setting traffic signals, making public policies or causing traffic.
We also post schedules at every Community Transit bus stop. Unless the stop is also a “timepoint” the posted time is only an estimate. Route 113 between Mukilteo and Lynnwood, for instance, has 51 northbound bus stops but only seven scheduled timepoints. All the other posted stop times are estimates. To plan a trip, you look at the timepoint before your stop and figure the bus will be at successive stops sometime soon after.
Nobody likes to wait for a bus very long, and it’s even worse if the bus comes early and you miss it. Experienced bus drivers know what parts of the route they tend to run ahead on (and thus they may drive a bit more slowly), and where they tend to run behind (but know they’ll catch up later). If a bus arrives early at a scheduled timepoint, it will pause at that stop until it is officially time to go. That usually blocks a lane of traffic for a few seconds and makes passengers wonder what’s up.
The bottom line is, getting bus schedules right is important. Community Transit regularly tracks the on-time performance of our system as a whole. In May, 93 percent of trips surveyed departed on time. When you consider the vagaries of rain squalls, traffic jams and even the extra time of having lots of passengers board and deboard, that’s not bad. We also have occasional delays due to mechanical breakdowns, passenger or driver illness and construction reroutes.
Last week Community Transit Service Planners asked for my help checking the on-time performance of Routes 105/106, Routes 115/116 and Routes 201/202. I spent four hours at Ash Way Park & Ride in Lynnwood watching buses come and go while also answering customer questions, handing out the new Bus Plus book and learning about transit scheduling from the agency perspective (I already experience our scheduling as a passenger on a weekly basis). I wrote down exactly when buses arrived and departed so that Service Planning can assess whether their route schedules are accurate. Some of the buses I timed started their routes more than 20 miles away in Arlington. We had staff checking the times all along the way – such extensive surveys happen only a few times each year.
We only change bus schedules twice a year, so the public won’t see results of this test until next February (though internal driver departure times and non-timepoint scheduling could change before then). It takes many months to consider changes, test timings and synchronize the schedules in time for sharing with transit partners, coordinating bus and driver needs and publishing Bus Plus books.
Right now we use a combination of sophisticated software and low-tech manual timing surveys and bus driver reports to develop and refine bus schedules. Sometime next year we hope to launch a real-time information system that will make the art of bus scheduling a bit more of a science. No matter what, whether the bus is on time or not will always depend most upon people – the ones inside the bus driving or riding, and the ones outside the bus setting traffic signals, making public policies or causing traffic.
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Fuss About Bus Plus
I like to call Community Transit’s map and schedule book the “best read book in Snohomish County.” Each year we print and distribute more than 300,000 books on our buses and in the communities we serve. If that sounds like a lot, consider that we had about 9.6 million riders on our buses in 2009. I did the math and concluded that our printing costs amounted to 2.2 cents per ride (and we have reduced printing costs 20 percent below that number for 2010).
Even so, printing map and schedule books is a significant expense for any transit agency. We try to order the right number based on ridership trends, past usage and the changing nature of how people get information. We know from surveys last spring that about a third of our riders now plan most of their bus trips online. But even those people like having a book to refer to (50 percent of online survey respondents have a book). Plus, many regular riders keep one Bus Plus at work and one at home (and one in my briefcase, too).
The books are sort of a “bible” for transit users, with information on fares, park & rides, rules, holiday schedules and what to do if you lose your umbrella on the bus (answer: call the RideStore – they’ve found hundreds!). Most importantly, they contain route maps and schedules – hard to plan a bus trip without that.
Community Transit’s Sales & Distribution supervisor called me last week in his semi-annual panic mode. “We’re running low on Bus Plus books!” he said. We are only one-third of the way through the six-month life of this edition, but we have gone through more than two-thirds of our commuter books. It reminded me of a song: “Where have all the Bus Plus gone?”
So, here’s a reminder of the “re” message we’ve been putting out for the past year: reduce, re-use and re-read Bus Plus.
Finally, did you know you can now print or save your own, customized Bus Plus pages right off our website? Just go to your favorite route schedule page (mine is here) and open the PDF at the top labeled “Print or save map and schedule.” Then, instead of carrying an entire book with you, you can just have the pages you use. That helps you – and Community Transit.
Even so, printing map and schedule books is a significant expense for any transit agency. We try to order the right number based on ridership trends, past usage and the changing nature of how people get information. We know from surveys last spring that about a third of our riders now plan most of their bus trips online. But even those people like having a book to refer to (50 percent of online survey respondents have a book). Plus, many regular riders keep one Bus Plus at work and one at home (and one in my briefcase, too).
The books are sort of a “bible” for transit users, with information on fares, park & rides, rules, holiday schedules and what to do if you lose your umbrella on the bus (answer: call the RideStore – they’ve found hundreds!). Most importantly, they contain route maps and schedules – hard to plan a bus trip without that.
Community Transit’s Sales & Distribution supervisor called me last week in his semi-annual panic mode. “We’re running low on Bus Plus books!” he said. We are only one-third of the way through the six-month life of this edition, but we have gone through more than two-thirds of our commuter books. It reminded me of a song: “Where have all the Bus Plus gone?”
So, here’s a reminder of the “re” message we’ve been putting out for the past year: reduce, re-use and re-read Bus Plus.
Finally, did you know you can now print or save your own, customized Bus Plus pages right off our website? Just go to your favorite route schedule page (mine is here) and open the PDF at the top labeled “Print or save map and schedule.” Then, instead of carrying an entire book with you, you can just have the pages you use. That helps you – and Community Transit.
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