Buses Done Right


Streetfilms has a great video of the bus system in Boulder, CO. Erik is going to salivate.

I particularly like the bike storage in the luggage compartment. We could use room for six bikes on the #96, which I’ve pretty much given up on because the bike racks are always full.


34 responses to “Buses Done Right”

  1. I’ve read that those buses run at a higher frequency than RTD (the regional transit agency) is willing to support, and the city of Boulder makes up the difference. Also, the fact that RTD contracts out much of their service might also have something to do with it.

    Regarding luggage compartments, I know Sound Transit is using some long distance-type buses that probably have them. Do they let passengers use them? Another thing that was mentioned in the video was music. Should TriMet put radios on their buses? I know SMART in Wilsonville has them on at least some of theirs.

  2. Wow. Just WOW!

    TriMet needs to learn. People **WILL** ride buses, people will be attracted to buses, if you spend the time, energy and money to invest in buses. And Boulder isn’t really doing anything different other than marketing – the buses are basically the same (although I bet they are all A/C equipped). When was the last time Fred Hansen actually actively advertised and promoted the bus system? If the GM doesn’t care, why should I?

    Jason McHuff wrote: Regarding luggage compartments, I know Sound Transit is using some long distance-type buses that probably have them

    Yes, MCI D4500/D4505 buses. These vehicles would be a great fit for the 94, 96 and 99 routes, as well as potential future services to Salem or a Forest Grove/Cornelius express route replicating the old 58 Sunset Highway Express or a Troutdale/Wood Village/Fairview Express.

    According to Sound Transit’s website, their MCIs are equipped with conventional two-bike bike racks. I’m sure that if there was enough demand that Sound Transit may consider using the luggage storage area underneath for bike transport

  3. RTD is also the winner of ATPA’s “2008 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award” in the more than 30 million rides a year category.

  4. I’d still love to see ridership numbers etc on this system. Even though it is only Boulder, Denver the big city is going heavy handed after light rail and even commuter rail to increase capacity and ridership.

    As for the naming, increased bike capacity, and all the other things they’re doing, I’ve long since said we need to return to humanizing the services. #whatever just doesn’t cut it.

    We need to add that element just like we did in the past when we actually had pride in our services; Super Chief, Daylight, etc. We named them because we rode them, now our bus lines and many other things are either numbers, colors, or sad names.

    WES unfortunately fits into the sad name category.

  5. Adron wrote: I’d still love to see ridership numbers etc on this system. Even though it is only Boulder, Denver the big city is going heavy handed after light rail and even commuter rail to increase capacity and ridership

    The difference is that Denver, like other cities, are building a “total transit system” that includes investments in bus service, in addition to light rail.

    Portland is not investing in bus service. The TIP, while it (finally!) makes considerable mention of what investments the bus system needs, makes virtually zero effort to actually find money for it. Talk is cheap, but where’s the beef?

    I had someone send me some photographs from up north in Seattle. Two buses had an advertising sign that read “I do make a difference by riding the bus.” When I was last in Seattle, another advertising sign read “I have seen the future…and I even took a nap on it” with a picture of a bus.

    C-Tran promotes “Earth Day…Every Day” on its hybrid buses.

    In Portland, how do we promote buses? By putting up signs that read “Tired of high gas prices? Ride the bus…or talk to us” with a car advertisement. Hardly a ringing endorsement by TriMet when it can’t promote it’s own bus system but allows advertisements that mock bus service. The days of specially wrapped buses are long gone; even the Washington Park Shuttle buses lost their distinctive wrap. ART, the Cultural Bus is still around but for who-knows-how-long. The Zoo bus has been long retired. The hybrid buses used to have distinctive advertisement signs but not anymore. “The Local” buses with their “neighborhood” motif disappeared and were never replaced.

  6. BTW, if people are scratching their head at who gave Denver RTD the award, it’s the APTA. I must have made that post too early in the morning. :)
    Also, according to the quarterly report on APTA’s website, RTD’s ridership is up 8% versus the same period last year.

    When I was last in Seattle, another advertising sign read “I have seen the future…and I even took a nap on it” with a picture of a bus.
    That’s interesting, I was under the impression that sleeping on a bus in Washington violated an RCW.

    In Portland, how do we promote buses? By putting up signs that read “Tired of high gas prices? Ride the bus…or talk to us” with a car advertisement.
    TriMet lost the lawsuit where they argued they have the right to approve advertisements on buses. Therefore, their only options is accepting all advertisements from anyone regardless of content, or not accepting any advertisements from anyone. No inbetween anymore.

  7. I don’t know about just Boulder, but I’ve read that TriMet does better (in at least some categories) than RTD/Denver metro area. Part of it is because people are more spread out there.

    “Tired of high gas prices? Ride the bus…or talk to us”

    I actually thought it was honest and didn’t find it as condescending (towards transit). However, I can see how someone with a negative attitude towards riding buses might read it otherwise. I should also note the ones I’ve seen have not been on the newer buses.

    ART, the Cultural Bus is still around but for who-knows-how-long

    I don’t know if the muraled bus is really still ART since it isn’t specially assigned to the 63 or some other route. And, yes, it probably will get retired pretty soon.

  8. What I would like to know is why the seats in Seattle’s buses are so comfortable and Portland’s so uncomfortable, relatively speaking?

    When I rode a Sound Transit #510 bus to Everett, it was like a 2100 series Trimet bus with plush seats and personal reading spotlights! Even the seats on the local Metro buses are rather plush. Big difference in the ride quality.

    Trimet buses ride like tanks.

  9. Jason McHuff wrote: I don’t know about just Boulder, but I’ve read that TriMet does better (in at least some categories) than RTD/Denver metro area.

    Boulder’s population is 101,000. This puts Boulder slightly larger than either Hillsboro, Beaverton or Gresham.

    How would one compare RTD service in Boulder with TriMet service in those three cities?

    I will grant that TriMet, in 1998, did vastly improve service in Beaverton and Hillsboro, but some of those routes have been eliminated or cut back since then, and articulated bus service on the 57 was eliminated yet ridership didn’t drop as TriMet had expected.

    I actually thought it was honest and didn’t find it as condescending (towards transit).

    Then why are those ads not on MAX trains? And further, why does TriMet NOT create ad campaigns that truly encourage bus ridership?

    I don’t know if the muraled bus is really still ART since it isn’t specially assigned to the 63 or some other route.

    No, it’s assigned to Merlo and runs any route that doesn’t require a D40LF or a 1900. I’ve ridden it on the 92 and 94 and I’ve seen it on the 43 and 76.

    I believe the 63 requires a 1900, and thus ART wouldn’t be assigned to it.

  10. Erik Halstead:

    Then why are those ads not on MAX trains? And further, why does TriMet NOT create ad campaigns that truly encourage bus ridership?

    Encouraging bus ridership has certainly been the intention of all of the ad campaigns, but it’s extremely difficult to establish whether or not advertising has ever been the driver (sorry) for increased ridership. Most of the more recent TriMet efforts have specifically targeted off-peak ridership, or pitched frequent service. Whether the campaigns have been effective is a subjective call; ridership is certainly up but how much credit is due to advertising?

  11. I believe the 63 requires a 1900

    Well, it didn’t in the past. Though I’m unsure if there ever was enough ridership to justify a 40′ bus. And I don’t think there’s any route that truly requires a low floor bus, given that I’ve seen older buses on so many of them (including Frequent Service ones).

    Also, I’d like to note that in the newest buses, TriMet has gotten improved seating.

  12. Matthew wrote: TriMet BUS ridership is up 9.3% vs Sept last year.

    According to TriMet’s ridership profile, BUS ridership DECREASED from 63,129,600 boarding rides in 2006 to 62,882,400 boarding rides in 2007.

    During the same period, RTD’s BUS ridership INCREASED from 57,662,075 boarding rides to 62,007,583 boarding rides, or a 7.5% increase. (This is on top of the 65.4% LRT increase they also experienced during the same period.)

    Source: http://www.rtd-denver.com/Projects/Financial_Documents/pdf/Part_III_Service_Ridership_and_Community.pdf

    What is conveniently overlooked is that bus ridership has declined in 2006 and 2007 in TriMet – yet those same years were banner years for most other transit agencies enjoying a resurgence of ridership due to higher fuel prices – which continued into 2008. TriMet only began to experience the ridership increases in 2008, but not the prior years.

  13. “Then why are those ads not on MAX trains?”

    Because the ad says “Bus” in the title, and it wouldn’t be very effective on a MAX trains.

    There are Scion and Mini ads on the MAX, that tie into the fact that it is a train. (The Scion ad says something like “Future Scion owner” with a big arrow pointing in the window, and Mini ad says “Mini line” and compares where it goes to the Yellow line. But I’ve only seen the Mini ads on high floor cars, and most high floor cars are on the Blue line, but whatever…)

    There are also some apartment/condo ads that say “Tired of running for the train?” for apartments along MAX lines, but the picture of the person running for the train, is someone running for what looks like a Chicago L train, and not a MAX train, and so the ad didn’t actually get it’s message across because I was bugged by the picture. Which is why I think that putting an ad that says “Bus” on the side of a train might not be very effective…

  14. I really like what they’ve done. It shows that bus service can survive and do well in a town the size of Gresham. We hit 100,000 in February, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re closing in on 101,000 based on our monthly average growth.

    Instead, we have very few bus lines, and even fewer that run outside of commuter hours. The Powell #9 bus only runs half of its buses out here for much of the day. The others switch to “Not in Service” and drive through town without picking anyone up.

    We’ve gone from being a one car household to a no car household. While we save up to replace our car, our transportation options are walking, running errands when our neighbor goes, and using TriMet. And let me tell you – relying on TriMet in Gresham is a nightmare.

    If I win a position on the city council next month, lobbying TriMet for more coverage out here is definitely something I plan on taking up. It shouldn’t be so difficult to do the basics, like going to the grocery store, going to PGE, the library, the post office, etc.

  15. Matthew wrote: Because the ad says “Bus” in the title, and it wouldn’t be very effective on a MAX trains.

    Are you suggesting that the copy, “Take the train, or talk to us?” somehow does not work as well as “Take the bus, or talk to us?”

    Jenni Simonis wrote: If I win a position on the city council next month, lobbying TriMet for more coverage out here is definitely something I plan on taking up.

    Good luck, and best of wishes. I hope you can make a difference.

    Even with MAX, a quality bus service is still important in a major city. Gresham deserves quality transit whether you live along, or away from, the MAX line. Gresham’s major employment centers which lie predominately to the north of MAX, along with Mt. Hood Community College and the major residential areas south of Powell all deserve quality transit, and not just extensions of bus routes that serve Northwest Portland, Beaverton and Sherwood – services that do not benefit Gresham residents and often provide poor quality service.

  16. Best of luck, Jenni.

    According to Wikipedia, Boulder had a 2005 population of 91,685 (or 3,884.1/sq mi). That’s about the same size and lower density than Beaverton (86,750 or 4,664.5/sq mi) or Gresham (97,745 or 4,504.5/sq mi). If Boulder can develop a successful, well-used local bus network with just seven routes, why couldn’t Gresham or Beaverton do the same?

    I have no idea what Gresham’s budget situation is or how much local support there is for transit. But if Portland canpay for its its own streetcar system to supplement Tri-Met service, why couldn’t a city like Gresham create a locally funded “city shuttle” bus system with (ultimately) 4 or 5 lines that tie into major Tri-Met routes?

  17. “Are you suggesting that the copy, “Take the train, or talk to us?” somehow does not work as well as “Take the bus, or talk to us?””

    No, but you have to get that proofed and then printed separately, in fact, that is probably more work than they spent thinking of that ad in the first place. So it isn’t “free” to just throw that “same” ad on the side of a train. And if you are going to go to an effort to put an ad on a train, you can do a lot better than a 2×8 panel (or whatever size they are,) so the trains tends to lend themselves to different advertising in the first place, for instance, the Scion and Mini ads are about 90 feet long. It is quite possible that the Mini, Scion, and bus ads all came from the same family of dealerships, (given that there are only a few companies that own all the new car dealerships in town,) or the same advertising company…

  18. Matthew wrote: And if you are going to go to an effort to put an ad on a train, you can do a lot better than a 2×8 panel

    That argument means absolutely nothing, since the “Take the bus, or talk to us” already shows up BOTH as a “rear of bus” wrap and a “side of bus” wrap.

    The side of the bus is hardly similar to the rear of the bus, so all of that “reprinting” costs have already been done.

    It is not any more difficult to proof “bus” verus “train”.

  19. If Boulder can develop a successful, well-used local bus network with just seven routes…

    I am on the east coast now (studying transportation planning) and when I say I am from Portland, people rave about how good the public transportation system is. It’s a fair comment, given the state of bus transit in New Jersey (despicable), but I am still struck by how little people actually know about the reality of the system.

    Likewise, unless anyone here has lived in Boulder, its not really fair for us to see their little video and proclaim that the system is good. After all, it’s only 7 routes; who knows what else is problematic? Do they not run on Sundays? is the last bus at 630pm on weekdays? The website lists neither the fares nor the schedule (they try, but the links are broken).

  20. “…but I am still struck by how little people actually know about the reality of the system.”

    >>>> About how we’re stuck with a slow, inflexible MAX and chronically late buses? One really does not know the reality until one has lived here a while.

  21. people rave about how good the public transportation system is.

    One thing is for sure about the Portland/Trimet ministries of propaganda’s.

    They are among the best in the nation!

    Maybe even the world!

  22. Portland transit wouldn’t be so bad if trimet got out of the “all things lead to or from downtown” mindset.

  23. Portland transit isn’t so bad in any event, actually its pretty good, BUT;

    How they get the accolades they do, along with City of Portland, is beyond me.

    (see giant green bike sticker plastered in the middle of the rose quarter)

  24. al m Says:

    How they get the accolades they do, along with City of Portland, is beyond me.

    It’s just because of the great bus operators, Al.

  25. trimet got out of the “all things lead to or from downtown” mindset.

    TriMet actually has been doing that. Line 72, the busiest bus line (and the one with some of the highest frequencies) goes nowhere near downtown. Line 75, another crosstown line, is also frequent. In addition, the I-205 MAX line (and for better or worse WES) will also provide non-downtown oriented service. And lines that do go to/from downtown serve many riders going to/from destinations on that side of downtown.

    Overall, there’s reasons why transit service is so often focused on downtown: its often the destination where the highest amount of people want to go to, its often the place that has the highest amount of destinations in a given area, it often encourages people to take transit by requiring them to pay for their parking, its often the center of the region…

  26. Express transit from Salem to Portland and other cities such as Oregon City, Lake Oswego etcetera is coming. So be on the watch out. I’m happy to answer some general questions about the service if anyone has any.

  27. Jason McHuff wrote: TriMet actually has been doing that. Line 72…Line 75

    TriMet has promised (for now two or three years) that 76 (Beaverton-Tualatin) will be the next route to go to Frequent Service.

    However TriMet has failed to live up to its promise and has pushed the launch of this back year after year, continues to give the 76 line some of the oldest buses in the fleet (1700/1800 Flxibles), has made little to no investment in bus stops (see the downtown stops for Beaverton or Tualatin as an example!), and provides very little local service in Tualatin or Tigard to complement the 76 line as a trunk route.

    On Sundays/holidays, the 76 is down to hourly service at best – for a city with a population of 25,000 residents and boasts both a local center (downtown Tualatin) and a Metro designated Regional Center (Bridgeport Village), along with connections to two more local centers (Tigard and Beaverton) and another Regional Center (Washington Square) – and neither of the two Regional Centers will have direct access from the $120 million dollar, weekday rush hour only, credit-card required, 30 minute headway WES line.

    (And WES will have Wi-Fi, but the 76 will not?)

  28. downtown Tualatin

    From what I’ve seen from the 96, it doesn’t look very transit-oriented, though I can imagine workers (but not shoppers) at Bridgeport Village wanting to take transit.

    neither of the two Regional Centers will have direct access

    Trains will serve the Nimbus office park, which might be considered part of the Washington Square regional center. As for Bridgeport Village the tracks don’t go by there, and it can be very expensive to create a brand new section of railroad.

    credit-card required

    The machines will also take debit cards and, moreover, people can always buy tickets in advance. In addition, those coming from the north can use the existing machines at Beaverton Transit Center or pay for a single ride on a bus.

    Overall, in theory a high number of riders will be regular commuters or at least have plastic, and its expensive to service a few machines that are a long ways away from all the existing ones. I’ve advocated for putting machines at high-volume boarding locations (specifically including Barbur TC for all the people transferring from SMART) and that’s probably why it hasn’t been done.

    And then there might be people who want to take advantage of the remoteness and limited periods of use to try to get into them and steal the money.

  29. a local center (downtown Tualatin) and a Metro designated Regional Center (Bridgeport Village), along with connections to two more local centers (Tigard and Beaverton) and another Regional Center (Washington Square)

    To clarify: yes, the downtowns of Tualatin and Tigard are Metro Town Centers, and Washington Square is a Regional Center. Beaverton is a Regional Center, not a Town Center. Bridgeport Village is *not* within a designated town center of any sort. We even had a long thread about that on this site.

    http://portlandtransport.com/archives/2005/07/centers_happen.html

    http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=15467

    Trains will serve the Nimbus office park, which might be considered part of the Washington Square regional center.

    The station is well within the boundaries of the Washington Square Regional Center. It is not the same thing as the Washington Square mall proper, which I agree is confusing.

  30. Jason McHuff wrote: The machines will also take debit cards and, moreover, people can always buy tickets in advance. In addition, those coming from the north can use the existing machines at Beaverton Transit Center or pay for a single ride on a bus.

    That’s great if you are boarding at Beaverton TC.

    If you are boarding at Hall/Nimbus (really Hall/Cascade), Tigard TC, Tualatin, or Wilsonville, you are out of luck.

    There is no reason why TriMet should actually create obstacles towards paying fare. There is no reason why TVMs can’t accept cash/coin/credit. Just because TriMet picked a lousy vendor and a lousy design of a TVM should not dictate which passeners are permitted to ride TriMet.

    And, where can I buy a TriMet fare in Wilsonville, or in downtown Tigard, or at the Hall/Cascade (yes, I know, the “offical” name is Hall/Nimbus, even though it is at the intersection of Hall and Cascade) without a debit/credit card and within a five minute walk on established, public walkways?

  31. lurker b wrote: The station is well within the boundaries of the Washington Square Regional Center. It is not the same thing as the Washington Square mall proper, which I agree is confusing.

    Not only is it confusing, but I would hardly consider the Nimbus Business Park to be “walkable” to Washington Square (although I’ve done it before, thanks to poor bus transfers requiring either a long walk, or a longer wait.)

    Washington Square (the mall) is a very busy weekend destination, a destination completely ignored by the realities of WES’s “weekday rush hour only” service nor the difficult transfer required between the WES station and the 76/78 bus lines which serve Hall Boulevard, and that TriMet has invested exactly $0 in bus stop improvements at the Hall/Cascade WES station (in fact I believe that the two stops still have the old rectangular blue/white bus stop sign.)

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