One of the eye-opening realities of American life for Jon Ruto when he moved from Kenya to Houston was the distance between things that seemed so necessary and the people who relied on them.
“The hospitals, the factories, the jobs, they are so far away,” Ruto said at a bus stop near his apartment in Gulfton. “I spend as much time going as I spend where I go.”
Getting Gulfton riders on the move is about to run Metropolitan Transit Authority in circles as it brings targeted bus service to the neighborhood. In mid-August, Metro plans to debut a Gulfton circulator that aims to connect transit-dependent riders in the community outside Loop 610 near Bellaire with quicker trips around the neighborhood and to transit centers for further excursions.
“I think you will see us roll out more and more of these as time goes on,” Metro board member Jim Robinson said. “I see a tremendous future for more circulators.”
Circulators typically are buses that operate in a tight circle or neighborhood to help with both travel around a bustling area and access to major transit centers. Downtown circulators are common where people may need trips across a traffic-clogged street grid, complementing a web of longer bus routes across an entire region.
Transit advocates and area social service providers cheered the addition of service in often-overlooked communities such as Gulfton. Apartments built as Houston sprawled in the two-decade boom times before 1980 are now a landing spot for newcomers of numerous nationalities. The once-suburban area with around 50,000 teeters on turning into a mini-city with homes, schools, shops and social services all within a long walk. Nearby nonprofit agencies and schools make it an attractive starting point for recent immigrants.
Many, however, lack automobiles and come to Houston from places where catching a bus or train is far more typical and available.
“Public transit is absolutely critical,” said Anne Whitlock, founding director of Connect Community, which works with Gulfton residents on neighborhood development.
The circulator comes as Gulfton goes through a mobility renaissance after years of neglect. The city is narrowing Hillcroft to add room for wider sidewalks for bikes and pedestrians and to make bus stops more accessible.
About 12 percent of the 16,455 households in Gulfton lack a vehicle, compared to 6 percent in all of Harris County. Other neighborhoods such as Kashmere Gardens, Sunnyside and Third Ward have even higher percentages of carless households, but in some cases have fewer residents who rely on public transportation, making Gulfton fertile ground for investment, officials and community advocates say.
“It is so important we create a user experience that can compete with cars,” Whitlock said. “What we ultimately want to do is decrease congestion in that area.”
Supporters optimistic
The goal of the Gulfton circulator, which will cost Metro about $1.9 million annually, is to close what transit officials call the first-mile/last-mile problem of people accessing frequent transit. One of the largest obstacles to using mass transit is a potential rider getting those few blocks to a bus stop, or getting from a stop to a destination. Anything transit agencies can do to make it easier, bus shelters more comfortable and buses come faster addresses those concerns.
Circulators are not the only option Metro has deployed in spots where a 40-foot local bus may not be the best solution. In Acres Homes, Missouri City and Kashmere, Metro created community connectors that offer on-demand van rides within a set zone where transit use is limited. Those vans can take people to transit centers where they can travel around the region.
Not all circulators, however, have panned out. GreenLink shuttles in downtown Houston were discontinued early in the pandemic because of low use and changes in how people traveled around the central business district.
Gulfton community groups are more optimistic the service will work because of high bus use in the area. It makes trips faster by connecting to such major transfer points as the Bellaire Transit Center, Westpark Lower Uptown Transit Center and Hillcroft Park and Ride lot.
“This is a good thing that will get lots of usage,” Metro board member Sanjay Ramabhadran said, noting the circulator can connect riders to the fledgling Silver Line bus rapid transit via the Westpark transit center.
Bus rapid transit is a major component of Metro’s future transit plans because it uses large buses and dedicated lanes to deliver rail-like service along Houston’s abundant freeways and streets far more cheaply than laying railroad tracks. As BRT takes hold in the region, with 75 miles planned, access to future transit stations will mean faster trips around the region, Ramabhadran said.
Reliable, easy-to-navigate circulators can make those connections and — supporters hope — relieve some of the uncertainty of transit use in Houston. Along routes where buses come only every 30 or 60 minutes, inconsistency can be the difference between long, grueling waits in the sun and making it to work or school on time.
“You want the bus to arrive when you will expect it will, not early or late,” said Jonathan Brooks, director of policy and planning for LINK Houston, which advocates for more transit investment in some neglected communities.
Lately, local riders dependent on transit said they just hope their bus comes at all. As Metro re-establishes service at levels near those in February 2020, riders have said some buses seemingly are empty while others are filled to uncomfortable crowds.
“You never know what to expect,” rider Sam Thomas said, waiting for a Route 9 bus along Westpark.
Slow return to normal
Returning to pre-pandemic transit service will take months, officials said, as demand returns quickly along some key routes but much more gradually on others.
Commuter bus routes from suburban park and ride lots, for example, could operate less frequently until August 2022, and in some cases never return to exactly how things were. Service was expanded in early June as some workers returned to offices and demand was increasing, but the return of commuters to bus seats has been slow.
“We are still far below the ridership levels we had before even though the seating capacity we are offering right now is 14,000 seats,” Jim Archer, director of service planning and scheduling for Metro, told board members on June 8.
On the first day of expanded commuter bus service on June 7, Metro officials reported about 4,000 of those seats were used, though they cautioned the early counts may not reflect all use.
Overall, travel by bus continues to lag, even as the economy has reopened and pandemic restrictions have lifted in Texas. In April, weekday local bus use averaged almost 102,000 riders, a 27 percent increase from April 2020. That, however, was 46 percent below the 191,000 who used local buses in April 2019.
Riders returning will take time, transit advocates said, but also require Metro to make services more appealing to people who ride. While some services are aimed at luring new riders, advocates say Metro needs to improve service for the people already riding — which in turn will attract more people.
Brooks, with LINK Houston, said the Gulfton shuttle was a good start, along with more service returning to regular shifts in August.
“Are they all the changes Houston needs? No, but they get the ball rolling,” he said.
dug.begley@chron.com
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