Monday, May 24, 2004
Smarter Transit: What Really Increases Transit Ridership
This is a 7.5-megabyte PDF conversion from a PowerPoint show given at a smart-growth conference in Portland last January. But I suspect it wasn't too popular with conference goers, as it says that "light rail is not powerful enough to draw choice riders" i.e. riders who have autos. "Rather, the choice market responds to other dimensions" such as speed and frequency. The presentation effectively endorses bus-rapid transit as a faster, more frequent transit service than rail. But this presentation includes much more information as well.
This is a 7.5-megabyte PDF conversion from a PowerPoint show given at a smart-growth conference in Portland last January. But I suspect it wasn't too popular with conference goers, as it says that "light rail is not powerful enough to draw choice riders" i.e. riders who have autos. "Rather, the choice market responds to other dimensions" such as speed and frequency. The presentation effectively endorses bus-rapid transit as a faster, more frequent transit service than rail. But this presentation includes much more information as well.
Comments:
As the author of the presentation referred to, I need to clarify that I do not state that light rail cannot attract choice riders; clearly, it attracts some, and there are systems--such as St. Louis's Metrolink--that attract a very large share. Rather, my argument is that light rail *by itself* is limited in its ability to attract the choice market; rather, the choice market chooses transit when it provides a *better* option than driving for a given trip. While there are conditions and locations where light rail can be deployed in such a manner, the urban form of many American cities is not conducive to light rail's being able to provide enough people with a better option. This is why Brisbane's busway infrastructure is so compelling an example: it demonstrates not just how a bus-based infrastructure can effectively capture choice riders, but how BRT services, intelligently deployed (and taking advantage of the infrastructure) can produce impressive ridership gains while requiring little additional public subsidy.
Post a Comment
