IndyGo will remove more than 500 of its bus stops in what it says is an effort to make bus travel more efficient.
Overall, the changes will result in about a 15% decrease in bus stops, many of them on Indianapolis' near north and east sides.
The transit agency said it is looking to increase the space between stops on some routes.
"Many stops are placed too close together, causing excessive stopping, slowing IndyGo's fixed-route service and impacting on-time performance and reliability," documents from IndyGo's board meeting last week said.
The effort to make buses run on time will also lead to fewer places to board on some of the busiest routes. Generally the busiest routes require the most buses, which means passengers are picked up more frequently. When those buses have fewer places to stop, it makes service faster.
"As a motorist, imagine if you had to stop at a red light at every block," IndyGo spokesperson Faith Chadwick said. "It would take much longer to get where you needed to go. On some of our higher frequency routes, stops are that close together, and that's what we're trying to improve with this project."
If the stop nearest you is removed, IndyGo said the most you should need to walk to reach another stop should be about five minutes, about a quarter of a mile. If a rider is not able to walk the extra distance, Chadwick encouraged them to look into IndyGo's Open Door program, which provides reservation-based, shared rides.
The project will also add 45 stops. The board documents said the total number of bus stops will fall from 3,385 to 2,861, a decrease of 524. When moved bus stops are factored in, the total number of affected bus stops is 544, Chadwick said. IndyGo will not change routes as part of this project.
Starting on Aug. 31, IndyGo will place stickers on stops that will close. Stops with stickers will continue to be used until they are physically removed. The transit agency will begin removing stops on Sept. 14 and complete the removing process by Oct. 11.
More than 60% of the bus stops that will be removed had fewer than two boardings per day on average, IndyGo said in a Monday morning news release.
"Many factors were considered by IndyGo staff when making bus stop balancing decisions, including existing pedestrian infrastructure and accessibility, opportunities to transfer to other routes, and land use and zoning, as well as average daily ridership," the release said.
Ridership in 2020 was down 32% compared to 2019 through the end of July, according to board documents.
The transit agency reduced its weekday service from March 29 until June 1 due to the pandemic. IndyGo installed shields and increased cleaning efforts to keep passengers safe.
Overall ridership has increased each month since April, according to board documents. While passenger trips were nearly 40% lower in July 2020 than July 2019, traffic this July grew about 9% from June.
The Red Line, which will mark its one-year anniversary in September, has seen ridership increase since May.
IndyGo did not answer questions about whether they expected the bus stop removals to affect ridership.
The pandemic also led IndyGo to delay a set of controversial changes that had been set for June. Unlike this new set of changes, the postponed plan would have changed routes.
While IndyGo said the changes would have increased service and made it easier for riders to transfer lines, some residents said it would have made it difficult for them to get where they needed to go.
IndyGo received more than 800 comments about the proposed changes in January. The changes were postponed in April and remain on hold today, according to Monday's news release.
To see an interactive map of which bus stops will be removed or added, go to indygo.net/stopchanges. To reach IndyGo's customer service team, call 317-635-3344.
Will a removed bus stop change the way you get around Indianapolis? What do you think of the changes? Let me know what you think by emailing emay@indystar.com or calling 317-402-1058. You can also mention me on Twitter at @EthanMayJ.
"bus" - Google News
August 26, 2020 at 01:52AM
https://ift.tt/3gr3BCA
IndyGo will remove more than 500 bus stops - IndyStar
"bus" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rp2JL3
https://ift.tt/3aT1Mvb
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "IndyGo will remove more than 500 bus stops - IndyStar"
Post a Comment