[7] Provide
Appropriate Transit Service
Adapt transit service to meet 21st century needs. Identified needs include reduced auto
dependence, provision of essential mobility to those without cars (including
those with special needs), management of congestion, and support of local
development policy.
Expected Benefits
There are
multiple benefits from providing appropriate transit service to the Capital
District. These benefits are seen not
only in transportation service measures, although these are important, but also
in resource requirements and the reduction of external effects from
transportation. Adapting transit
service to meet 21st century needs makes the region more accessible. Congestion is reduced and the system is
better able to respond to disruptions.
Accidents and energy consumption go down. Relative to many measures, the Capital Region becomes a better
place to live, because quality of life and the region's economy benefit.
Implications
Supporting transit costs money.
Trying new approaches will require experimentation with different
techniques -- and not all of the experiments will work. What will be important, though, is a strong
regional commitment to continuous improvement of the transit system. In the long term, traditional federal and
state fund sources, especially for operating costs, may require
supplementation.
Actions
30) Restructure transit service to meet 21st century needs.
During the 1970's, CDTA "regionalized" the transit services in
the Capital District by integrating the previously separate transit services of
Albany, Schenectady and Troy into a single system. Part of that effort included adjustment of service design and
service frequency to bring about consistency.
In recent years, CDTA has improved passenger counts to allow for careful
examination of route-specific operating performance. Census journey-to-work information and CDTC's STEP model trip
origin and destination forecasts can be used to explore existing and potential
transit markets. Geographic Information
System (GIS) technology will assist analysis of specific markets.
Use Service Standards
CDTA has committed to working with CDTC in
2000-01 on a study to develop
service standards or guidelines that indicate the type and frequency of service
that can be provided to various markets consistently across the region at
various funding levels. These standards
or guidelines will be valuable both during times of service expansion and
during periods of service contraction.
Such standards or guidelines should include performance thresholds for
cost per passenger that account for the multiple objectives of transit. (For example, different cost-per-passenger
thresholds may be appropriate for commuter services and neighborhood
routes.) In cooperation with CDTC,
these guidelines should be extended to also cover publicly supported private
transit operations in the Capital District.
Route Restructuring/Transfer Centers/Improved Transfer Processes
The current route structure is largely based on the radial and loop
routes that have been in place for many years.
The demands of 21st century travel require restructuring to serve a
wider array of trip locations.
The fixed guideway investigation revealed that
transit demand is very responsive to feeder service. Feeder service has its greatest impact on measures of access -- the measure of the percentage
of trips that can be served by transit.
This is of particular value to those without access to autos and to
their employers. It also increases the travel choices available to those who
normally use autos. If implemented in
conjunction with improved "trunk line" route service and an efficient
transfer process, it holds the potential of providing competitive transit travel
times to a significantly expanded portion of the market area. The demand investigation indicated that the
prime markets for feeder or circulator service are in the central suburban
areas of the region. These include the
Wolf Road/Airport area and the State Office Campus/State University to New
Karner Road/Pine Bush area. This type
of service can be initiated and has been initiated as a short term action
whose success will help implement longer term transit service development. CDTA's "ShuttleBug" service in the
Pine Bush was an initial effort in this arena, followed by ShuttleBee and
ShuttleFly services in North Greenbush and the Wolf Road Airport areas.
Many trip combinations that transit can theoretically serve are lost to the transit market because of the
need to transfer between buses and the waiting time at the transfer point. Techniques to improve transfer processes
include:
·
advanced technology
that improves the information base and allows communication between drivers and
customers about expected arrivals of buses at transfer points (and allow for
holding buses at transfer points to ensure connections);
·
greater use of
feeder service in combination with trunk lines;
·
development of
formal transfer stations and conversion of most fixed route service into a
"timed transfer" or "pulse" system design.
Conversion to a timed transfer or pulse system
design would be parallel to the airline industry's conversion to its "hub
and spoke" service design. The
approach would move away from the traditional radial route pattern
characterized by multiple, linear, parallel and sometimes-intersecting routes
of varying frequency. Instead, service
would be designed around a smaller number of high frequency routes on main
corridors and a series of supplemental routes that efficiently connect with the
high frequency service. The tradeoffs
in this service conversion are much the same as the tradeoffs seen in
conversion to the hub-and-spoke airline service design. While the number of trips requiring a
transfer increases somewhat, the total number of trip origins and destinations
that are adequately served by the system increases noticeably. With careful timing of bus arrivals at
transfer points, the length of the average transfer wait can decline.
The pulse system would require CDTA to develop a number of transfer
stations. Each would be designed to
include adequate layover space for buses, a safe and comfortable waiting area
for customers and accurate displays of expected bus arrival times. Ideally, such stations would be located at
major trip generators (such as the Empire State Plaza) or built at the junction
of major transit corridors (such as downtown Albany, Schenectady and Troy or
Wolf Rd/Central Ave.).
The overall benefit from improving the transfer process is measured in
increased transit use. CDTC's modeling
efforts indicate that one could expect a 20% system ridership difference
between a system with an average transfer time of ten minutes and an ideal
system with seamless transfers. For
this reason, efforts to redesign the transfer process hold great potential for
ridership gains.
Serve the Mobility Impaired
One of transit's
public objectives is to provide access to those without vehicles, including
those with impaired mobility. CDTA's
vehicle purchases and service design will include special consideration of
transportation of the disabled both on the regular route system and through
STAR paratransit service for those who cannot use the regular route system.
Over time, the continued/expanded provision of
appropriate equipment and service to meet the needs of special populations will
require increased financial resources.
STAR service usage continues to climb at a healthy pace. CDTA enlisted three times as many new STAR
clients in 1996 as in 1992. The number
of people in this special population group will continue to increase as the
"baby boom" ages. Further,
the expected success in serving this population group will argue for expanded
STAR service, a broader service area and additional customer amenities. There is mounting pressure to expand the
geographic coverage of the existing paratransit system (i.e. STAR) so that
heavily populated suburban areas (such as Clifton Park) are served.
New vehicles for fixed route service will be fully equipped to handle
disabled travelers. CDTA's upcoming
vehicle purchases will be low-floor buses that meet all Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
Non-CDTA service, including NYS Office of General Services peripheral
park-and-ride service and all private services, will also require additional
investment to fully meet the letter and spirit of the ADA.
Mobility training programs targeted at mobility impaired persons who
currently use STAR or rely on family members and friends for transportation will
maximize the use of investments in making the bus fleet accessible. Many mobility-impaired persons could use
accessible bus transit for most of their transportation needs, if they were trained regarding how the
fixed route system works and how it can be accessed. Such training aids in the transition from dependence on
paratransit service to accessible fixed route service. CDTA previously sponsored mobility-training
programs, which are being continued by the Capital District Center for
Independence as a fee for service program.
Integrate Special Service Transportation
Efficiency, improved service quality and lower unit costs are gained by
service integration. A prime
opportunity for such integration is in the realm of human service
transportation; a wide range of providers and service arrangements exist for
delivery of client-oriented and special transportation. Many dozens of public and private,
non-profit organizations use a combination of volunteer, paid and contract
transportation services.
Coordination
of all agency operated special transportation vehicles is one way to improve
service integration. Vehicles operated
and maintained by the agencies in the coordinated group can provide trips to
and from day treatment programs and adult day care centers. Savings are realized by having one vehicle
deliver service to participants of several individual programs, rather than
each agency sending out their "own" vehicle to provide these trips. Trip requests for accessible demand
responsive transportation can also be coordinated (particularly for
long-distance and rural trips). This
will greatly improve the efficiency of agency provided specialized
transportation and ultimately increase the number of trips provided to the
elderly and disabled population.
Another approach is to improve the interface of demand responsive trips
provided by vans owned by senior centers, churches, and other like
organizations with fixed route transit service. For example, a church van could pick up elderly persons in a suburban
neighborhood and drop them off at a transfer facility, such as Crossgates
Mall. At the Mall, they could access
the "Four mall" bus or a bus travelling to the medical center area.
Limited success has been achieved in the past in coordinating and consolidating
human service transportation. CDTA's
current "SCOTS" (Statewide Coordination of Transportation Services)
grant has successfully enlisted area human service transportation providers in
cooperative service delivery with CDTA.
With the assistance of the Community Transportation Association of
America, support for a brokerage arrangement has grown among county and local
officials responsible for client transportation. The CDTA board
volunteered to take the lead in implementing a regional brokerage
through a new CDTA subsidiary. It began
in September 1998 using CDTC TIP financial support with the Medicaid programs
operated by Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties. The broker
arranges transportation for Medicaid clients by using the lowest cost,
most appropriate transportation provider.
This reduces total costs, improves quality and eliminates the
duplication of service (and duplication of vehicle travel). In Phase Two, the brokerage will extend the
operation to the health care sector by contracting with hospitals and
HMO’s. Phase Three will tackle the
challenge of transitioning citizens from welfare to work by transporting
residents of municipal housing authorities to employment opportunities. The brokerage will become an integral part of
the region’s ability to cope the initiatives of managed care, block grants, and
welfare reform.
In coming years, funding pressures on human service agencies as well as
CDTA and continued growth in demand for expanded CDTA STAR service make it
imperative that the region achieve more significant successes in service
integration.
Beyond human service agency transportation, there are other opportunities
and needs for service integration.
Among these are the State University of New York at Albany (SUNYA) bus
service; the OGS peripheral park-and-ride service and major private transit
operations such as Upstate Transit's commuter services. Integration does not necessarily imply CDTA
operation of these services. It does
imply improved coordination of schedules, fares, transfers and service
quality. It also implies exploring ways
of eliminating service duplication (such as between uptown and downtown Albany)
at every opportunity. The
jointly-funded "Urban Corridor" study of 1998-99 has led to first
steps in such a coordinated approach.
Secure More Flexible Labor Rules
Public transit authorities nationwide have been working for some time to
avoid the double bind of public expectations of extensive, innovative and
cost-effective service on the one hand and a strong bargaining position of
labor unions on the other.[1] Success
has varied from transit property to transit property in the extent to which
flexible labor rules have been negotiated to allow implementation of new
services in a cost-effective manner.
The service recommendations listed above, ranging from developing new,
circulator feeder services to conversion of the entire route structure into a
time-based pulse transfer system require cooperation between management and
labor on work rules. Greater flexibility
in the use of part-time workers and private contracting of certain services may
be necessary in order to both deliver cost-effective services and protect
transit workers' jobs.
31) Support transit through design of the built environment and use of technology.
Transit ridership is highly dependent upon travel
time in comparison to auto travel. Bus
transit in mixed traffic cannot compete head-to-head with auto based on travel
time for the vast majority of trips. At
present, only 19% of peak hour trips can be made by transit in a reasonable
amount of time (relative to the auto) when walk, wait and transfer times are
considered in the total travel time.
Less than one-half of one percent of trips can be made faster by transit.
In the future, buses in mixed traffic will serve even a smaller fraction
of trips well. The combination of
increased congestion (from which the bus cannot escape) and continued
scattering of development (which is more difficult for the bus to serve with
frequent service) significantly reduces the measures of access described
above. Under trend forecasts, the
percentage of trips which can be made in a reasonable amount of time drops to
less than 14%; only 0.3% will be able to be completed in less time by bus than
by auto.
Preferential Treatment
A major feature of
fixed guideway transit is the ability of the transit service to bypass
congestion and provide a travel time advantage to transit users. Some portion of that advantage can be
provided to bus transit through preferential treatment in important corridors
and service areas. Preferential bus
treatment includes:
·
traffic signal priority that allows early or extended green time when a
bus approaches a traffic signal;
·
slip ramps between Interstate Highways and park-and-ride lots that can be used only
by buses (or carpools); and
·
limited congestion bypasses or more extended bus lanes that allow the bus to avoid
recurring highway delay.
The fixed guideway market assessment identified
significant market potential for priority bus treatment on the Northway from
Exit 9 south. Bus lanes, an
"O-bahn" bus guideway or express buses on "High Occupancy
Vehicle" (HOV) lanes are all preferential bus transit alternatives to
light rail service or commuter rail service.[2] While
bus lanes are commonly associated with freeways as a restrictive version of
"High Occupancy Vehicle" (HOV) lanes, they have applications on other
facilities. For example, the BRT system
examined in the NY 5 Land Use and Transportation Concepts Study includes median
or curb bus lanes with frequent service.
This service would be supported by stations at regular intervals,
supplemental feeder service and traffic signal preemption to assure reliable
and competitive operating speeds.
Because of its potential to provide competitive travel times for
transit, preferential bus treatment is being fully explored in the primary
transit markets suggested for fixed guideway transit if fixed guideway options
are not pursued in those markets.
Bus
Rapid Transit
Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) describes an approach to transit service that focuses on
integrated information, passenger amenities, technology, expedited fare
collection, vehicle design and roadway treatment to improve transit reliability
and speed. The New Visions 2021 Plan
supports implementation of BRT in the NY 5 corridor, per the anticipated NY 5
Land Use and Transportation Concepts Study recommendations, as well as further
extensions of the service as appropriate.
Intensify Transit Corridors
As noted earlier, an important opportunity present in the Capital
District is the opportunity to build upon a strong base of walkable, mixed land
use development in the cities and along transit corridors linking these
cities. Private sector initiatives
supported by public policies should be encouraged to invest in development
along traditionally-strong and potentially-strong transit corridors, such as NY
5, NY 32, US 20, US 4, NY 7, US 9 and others.
The opportunity to constrain the growth in vehicle travel associated with
new economic activity is maximized when development is located within walking
distance of transit routes.
Opportunities for large-scale, new mixed-use development exist within
the strong transit service area.
This action effectively increases the size of the transit market without
requiring increases in overall levels of activity or overall development
densities. The number of trips that can
safely and conveniently use the transit is increased.