City of Lincoln
Planning
Transit Development Plan Comments
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City of Lincoln Planning Transit Development Plan Comments | |
With the proposed route changes, I do not see service to the area of 60th & Vine. There are individuals who get on and/or off at this point on the current East Vine route. How are they supposed to get to work? Which proposed route would service this area? It makes more sense to keep this area of Vine Street on the proposed "yellow" route.
Service to the north Wal-Mart without having to go downtown and then transfer to the #27 has been provided by the 48th Street Shuttle (#18). From what I can tell with the proposed changes, this will no longer be the case (unless you go downtown and then transfer).
I lived in northern Kentucky for eleven years and used their metro bus service. Bus routes ran until 10:00 pm - 11:30 pm Monday through Friday; Saturday routes ended earlier; and Sunday routes ended even earlier. However, at least there was service available and riders took advantage of the service.
With the proposed route changes, I will still be able to get to work. However, the proposed changes to the East Vine route will affect many of the current riders.
I work at the Post Office at 7 & R in The HayMarket, and am glad there is finally a plan to provide service there. I do feel the downtown shuttle should continue to serve the many elderly in the vicinity of 18 & J. If it adds a few minutes to the route, so what? That is now a high ridership for the current shuttle, and should continue, while expanding into the HayMarket.
I also worry about the wisdom of discontinuing the UNL stop on Q for most buses. Many UNL students and employees ride to there, and it was a good idea to make it possible, with the downtown loop, to enable riders on most routes, without complicated transfers, to get to UNL, and state and city offices. I fear the new system would likely decrease ridership generally, although it would work better for me, personally.
First of all, I fail to grasp the city's reactive rationale. Faced with a problem of low ridership, the city proposes to make changes that will only lead to further decreases in ridership. Instead, I'd like to see some effort to promote the bus service as a safe, convenient (more on that later), and environmentally friendly alternative. One step in this direction would be putting bike racks on the buses, so that those who do not live in the immediate vicinity of a bus stop could pedal to the stop, ride the bus cross town (for example) and pedal off to wherever they are going.
Secondly, it is no secret that the vast majority of bus riders work downtown. The city should take advantage of this, and take this fact as an opportunity. Just as the university public gets a free bus pass with their parking permit, employees of downtown businesses should. Any business that takes up land downtown for a private parking lot -- a use that generates little or no sales tax for the state budget, compared to placing a business on that land -- should be charged an extra fee for bus passes for its employees. In the end, the businesses themselves can benefit from this, since once people adjust their habits, they will need less parking.
Finally, and yet again, the city is FAILING to think of this as a business opportunity. If the city doesn't want to run the service - fine, but that's not a reason not to have it at all. Solicit bids from private companies for licenses to run a bus route. Private owners can pay for a year-long license to cover a certain route, subject to certain conditions (hours of operation, driver training, number of runs etc.) Out of the revenue generated by selling these licenses, the city can cover the subsidized passes for the elderly and disabled (which are not free anyway). The university already runs a parking shuttle. There's no reason why it can't be responsible for the inter-campus shuttle -- maybe then it would also run during summer sessions. With private enterprise in correct conditions, we'd have all the bus routes we could want, efficiently run and adjusted on the basis of real supply-demand flows not the conclusions of a bulky study.
Once again I would like to know the rationale for the change in the route of Arapahoe bus from Q to N Street because it makes no sense to me as I explained above. Thanks!
Both my wife and I work at the Univeristy of Nebraska-Lincoln city campus, and both of us are regular riders of the Arapahoe bus. We are not the only UNL staff and students who use the Arapahoe bus. I think the plan does a disservice to the UNL community riders by not having the Arapahoe bus go closer to campus. Staff and students who have classes and offices on the north side of campus will be discouraged from using the bus, yet UNL is one of the major supporters of StarTran. I hope you will reconsider at least this portion of your plan.
I am also concerned about the frequency of service. Between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., service is usually hourly. Would the wait be even longer with the expanded routes? I think that would have an adverse impact on ridership.
I have been riding the bus for several years. I used to be able to ride on an express route (27X) that would drop me off at the end of my street (pretty convenient, no?). I was usually home in 20 minutes (pretty normal commute whether by car or by public transit). I caught it right outside my office at 11th & Lincoln Mall at 5:05 pm (again, pretty darn convenient).
Now, I ride Irving School. My home is still in the same place, and my workplace has moved a few blocks. I walk 2 1/2 blocks to the nearest bus stop to my home (not as close as before, but not bad). To get to work before 8 am I have to leave the house at 7 am. (That's because the route only goes by my area on it's outbound trip.) I reach my destination in downtown Lincoln around 7:45. The route drops me a half a block from work. After work I catch the bus at the same stop (half a block from work) at around 5:20 and I get home about 5:45 (trip home is about 10 minutes shorter than getting to work). When I rode the Express route I was already home by the time I am now just getting on the bus.
I have looked at the new route proposals for my area. The jogs that the bus is now taking into the residential areas (Sweetbriar, BriarPark, London Rd, La Salle) to pick up passengers are all gone. I now have to walk 5 blocks to the nearest stop in the morning from home and about 4-5 blocks from the closest stop downtown to get to the office since the downtown loop has also changed. These short jaunts may not seem like much to the city planners, but will be very inconvenient when the weather is bad (rainy days, snowy days, windy days, hot and humid days). Really, how often does the weather cooperate in Nebraska anyway? And what other curves will you throw at me when I finally get to see the scheduled times for the route? I can only guess.
Another rider that gets on the bus at the same stop as me is already walking 7 blocks from home to reach the current closest bus stop. With the change to Irving School's route (SouthPointe), she will be walking an additional 3 blocks.
If the city wants more ridership, I would think that making the routes more convenient for the customer would be the way to go, not by taking convenience away. For me, the most convenient system that was in place since I've been riding was the Express routes that ran in the morning and evening. Why not consider putting those back in place? Why do you want to take away my convenient bus stops, both near my home and near my workplace?
I do applaud your efforts to add more hours in the evenings and weekends to the routes. And I also noticed that the route choice for my area has been increased from one route to two (SouthPointe and Union College-Arnold Heights routes).
It is, however, very disappointing to watch yet more customer service taken away from the public transportation system in Lincoln. Please rethink what you've done to the proposed routes. If you want customers, you should be finding out what the customer needs and not what some company from New York thinks is convenient for us, and not what is easiest for the city of Lincoln. Like the cable company, you have a monopoly. Are you going to do what Time Warner did and take away something that works well and give us something that barely works in its place? At least we do have alternatives like Direct TV, but what alternative to StarTran do we have - None! Please keep it convenient for your customers! Thank you.
Comments for the StarTran Advisory Board Public Hearing on the Transit Development Plan.
RE: Proposed Weekday Westfield-South/ Neighborhood 1 Route
There is a good ridership between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM on the Crosstown. Therefore, it would be a shame to start the Neighborhood 1 proposed route at 9:00 AM without considering the needs of working professionals and students. Please consider the importance of serving these customers on this new route and update the bus schedule transportation hours so that customers will be able to take this connection when reporting to work and school prior to 8:00 AM. With the cost of gas and the upkeep of roads, this route has great connections that could serve many customers during the early morning hours. Your consideration to this request is most appreciated. Thank you!
Over and over again, the rallying cry from Mr. Worth (sp?) is "where will we get the money?", but I can promise him that losing ridership due to badly planned route changes brought about by outsiders will lose StarTran more money than gain. In my opinion the orange route is a schizophrenic, Jackson Pollock-like combination of the Havelock, Eastridge, 27 street shuttle and 48th street shuttle.
As much as I can understand a need for change, this set of changes is one I simply cannot stomach. Please, go back to the drawing board and try again. Oh, and this time, don't use a firm from N.Y.C...please.
I am writing to lodge my concerns in relation to the new "orange route". I am very disappointed that the plans to service such a large area of inner-Lincoln (i.e. the Bryan/Trendwood & Eastridge) routes have been mangled to the point of providing no sensible service whatsoever. Currently my bus (#5) is full to capacity during peak hours and it baffles me as to why consideration would be given to now abandoning that market of bus riders which is thriving.
Additionally, to think that a bus will be able to travel from downtown Lincoln to Wal-Mart area during peak traffic hours and maintain that 30-minute schedule (which your current market of downtown workers relies heavily upon) can only be the result of someone who has never actually driven that route during peak hours or someone who is exceedingly delusional. I truly hope you will reconsider the market numbers for B/T & Eastridge routes and continue to make bus service accessible for the people who depend upon it and not mangle it until it results in a totally defunct, non-profitable and riderless system.
a. economic problem - saves thousands of dollars over driving - $35 per month
for bus
b. transportation - reduced traffic, provides second vehicle, road cost less to
maintain if more people ride the bus
c. enviromental problems - reduces pollution, reduces noise pollution from
traffic
d. parking problems - costs less than monthly parking, reduces need for more
parking spaces
e. community - make new friends
f. freedom - mom and dad can give teens their independence by using the bus.
Mom and Dad can save time running around by having kids ride the bus.
With the proposed changes I have a concern regarding the proposed downtown bus stops. If the only stops used downtown are the State Office Building and 11 & O, the area serviced is narrowly limited. The 14th & Q bus stop is frequently used and should not be eliminated from proposed stops.
To enhance services to all patrons express routes for individuals getting to & from work during the times of 6a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. would serve a majority of your riders with an expanded service outside of the peak times defined. The expanded service would serve the patrons needing the bus for daily errands, appointments and shopping.
The proposed changes greatly effect many people and communication of changes and updates are critical. Please continue to keep the public informed through various means of communication like the Open House, phamlets and website updates.
I have used the services of StarTran- 27th Street South bus for the past 4 years. To facilitate picking up several long-term, daily riders who live south and east of Old Cheney/40th Street and for the safety of the riders (minimum of 6) that have to cross 27th Street between Old Cheney and Pine Lake Road, when let off, I would totally agree with the following suggested amendment to the currently proposed Brown Route.
I currently get off the bus at 5:10 on the Northwest corner of the South 27th and Jane Lane intersection and have to cross 27th Street to get home. There are no crosswalks at that intersection. Many times I’ve had to wait 10 minutes before it was safe for me to cross 27th Street. On Monday, March 26, 2007, a car northbound on 27th stopped to allow me to cross. While the first car was stopped, a second northbound car whose driver did not see the first car stopped, narrowly avoided hitting the first car. At the time of the near-miss accident, there were two cars waiting to turn from Jane Lane onto 27th Street, one car waiting to turn left off 27th Street onto Jane Lane and dozens of cars headed north and south on 27th Street.
By having the bus turn west onto Old Cheney and eventually head north on 27th Street, I could get off with out having to cross either Old Cheney or 27th Street.
I work at UNL and have been a long-time rider of the bus from the Colonial Hills area of Lincoln. I began by riding the Colonial Hills Express and in recent years have been riding the College View bus three days each week. Twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon the College View bus has a route extended into Colonial Hills to accommodate riders in this area. I hope it will be possible to continue providing some service to those of us in this area who have grown to depend upon the excellent service we have received over the years. Thank you for considering this request.
I have an idea for the 27th South route. I understand that a portion of it is to be eliminated that runs through the neighborhood southeast of Southpointe Mall. I would suggest that the route be changed to turn east at the 27th Street/Old Cheney intersection and proceed east down Old Cheney to 40th Street. Then turn south at the 40th Street/Old Cheney intersection to Pine Lake Road. Then turn west at the Pine Lake/40th Street intersection to 27th Street. Then turn back north onto 27th Street at the Pine Lake/27th Street intersection. That way, we could get those people who's neighborhood route is to be eliminated close enough to continue riding the bus. We could also help the people (like me) who have to either get off at the Jane Lane stop and then try to cross 27th Street (5 lanes) to get to the Seven Oaks neighborhood, or get off at the 27th Street/Old Cheney intersection and have a 15-minute walk to get home. I have already been hit by a car (January 2007), which was turning south onto 27th Street from Jane Lane while I was trying to get across 27th Street. Fortunately, I wasn't seriously hurt. But the 27th Steet/Jane Lane bus stop is very dangerous. If the bus headed east down Old Cheney, we could exit at the Briar Rosa/Old Cheney area, or even continue on the route until we could be dropped off at Jane Lane heading north to avoid crossing 27th Street. Thank you for providing your services, and I hope you will give my idea some consideration.
My name is Deb Altman and I live at __ Winding Way in southeast Lincoln. Winding way is located between both the Normal (#13) and the Bryan (#5) bus routes. I have been a resident of Lincoln all of my life with the exception of the years between 1990 and 1995. I am partially blind and as a result, although I am able to see fairly well, I do not have enough vision to be able to drive a car. Therefore, I have relied heavily on the bus system here in Lincoln to get me to work, school, church, shopping, etc. My husband is also blind, and depends on the bus system, not only to get him to work, but he teaches other blind people to travel and uses the bus system as an integral part of his training.
When my husband and I first bought a house here in Lincoln 12 years ago, one of our considerations was its location to the nearest bus stop that would allow us to get to work, shopping, etc. The location of that home was great because it was within reasonable walking distance to 3 different bus routes. Two years ago we decided to move to a different home about a mile away from our first one, and again, took the location of the nearest bus routes into heavy consideration. This time the area we have chosen is serviced by the 2 nearby bus routes noted above, and a third, the 48th Street Shuttle (#18), that is still within reasonable transfer distance or walking distance when the transfer times do not match up conveniently.
With the recent development of the proposed bus route changes, we have become greatly concerned that these changes will drastically limit our transportation availability, and greatly impact our lives as a result. After examining the proposed new routes, we have discovered that though there will be a bus that will take my husband to work there will be no service to the nearest grocery store at 70th & Van Dorn, and no service to the Catholic school our daughter attends at 77th & Trendwood, both of which are currently available via the above named bus routes. This will mean that we will have to walk approximately 16 blocks one way to get to school/church, and approximately 12 blocks one way to the nearest grocery store. Because such things will become quite inconvenient, we may be forced to sell our home and move again, just to be assured of reasonable transportation.
It should be noted that we are not the only people who will be impacted by the loss of bus service to this general area. I have spoken with nearby neighbors who also express concerns. Also, recently my daughter’s private school bus has been discontinued and as a result, we have been riding the Bryan Hospital bus every weekday morning from Winding Way/Broadmore (approximately 64th & South) to 77th & Trendwood and know that there are several people who will be faced with the same situation. When we board the bus, there are already a few people riding who are also traveling east toward the end of the route which covers an area between 70th & South and 77th & South and stretches north to A Street and east to 84th Street. Some days there are as many as 6 or 8 other passengers, other days there are only 2 or 3, but there has never been a day when we were the only ones riding. Furthermore, there have always been other passengers picked up between 70th & South & 77th and South. Some days I have seen as many as 5 to 6 people get on after we do, and other days it may only be 2 or 3, but again, there has always been someone boarding toward the east end of the route. Those individuals will also be forced to walk further to catch the bus, or if they even have a car, may choose to drive simply because the distance to the nearest bus stop will be more than they would like. We were hoping to have our daughter continue to ride the StarTran bus next year rather than the private school bus because the StarTran fare is less than half of that of the private bus. However, with the elimination of service to that area, we will be forced to continue to use the private, much more expensive means of transportation, that is, if it becomes available again. Otherwise we will have to walk the 16 blocks one way as mentioned above.
Another area that will be affected by the route changes is 70th & Pioneer. This portion of the city has been developed fairly extensively in the last few years, and offers a reasonable amount of shopping and other businesses, including a fairly large medical complex in which our family doctor is located. With the proposed discontinuation of service to that area, the nearest bus will be at least 14 blocks away. This will force people like us to walk an unreasonable distance, take a cab which is far less reliable, or even possibly change doctors just because of the lack of decent transportation to that area as well.
On a positive note, I am pleased to see that the changes call for more frequent service, and for most routes to remain the same on both weekdays and weekends. I am also pleased to see that there is proposed service to the south Wal-Mart area as well as continuing transportation to the area of South Pointe. However, recognizing that these are growing areas is not enough. As this city develops the trend has been for businesses to be built/move further out to the east/southeast, southwest and northwest. In reviewing the plans, I did not see adequate service to these locations, particularly to the east/southeast and southwest. I urge that consideration to these areas also be given when approving final route plans.
In conclusion, I would like to say that though I feel some of the proposed changes are reasonable, others are not. Additionally, adding more frequent busses will serve no purpose if there is a loss of service and passengers in certain parts of the city. Therefore, I request that all parties involved in the development and finalizing of the proposed route changes consider retaining some type of service to the general location between 70th & Van Dorn and 70th & A up to and including 84th Street, and that consideration be given to retaining service to the general area of 70th & Pioneer as well.
First, let me express my sincere appreciation for the response to my many questions I had at the "OPEN HOUSE", 4:00p.m. on 3-28-07. The two individuals I talked to were Mike and Brian. They both were well-versed and very professional. I had somewhat of a negative feeling going into this OPEN HOUSE with my concerns and questions, but left absolutely positive!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
Second, PLEASE, could you publish times for the DRAFTED routes. I understand these routes are only drafts, but times would complete the process for many of us discussing these changes.
Also, any plans for extending the weekday hours to later in the evening? Are there any fare increases coming with these route changes?
Please respond. Once again, thank you.
I appreciate the need for review and evaluation of the current transit system in order to determine and meet Lincoln's needs. But why choose an outside firm that has no familiarity with the city? These individuals are not long term riders in the Lincoln bus system and, while their opinions may be objective, their experience with this community is limited. The experts are always as expert as they appear to be and a lot of times a regular person has more insight and experience that can be an eye opener.
Please do not eliminate the Q street bus stop. Many university students and employees use the stop and locating a pick up point farther away will prolong the travel time for people. In addition, my gratitude for the Q Street stop during winter time is endless as I know that when I get off the bus at that location, the University will have cleared the walks and I will not have to try and cross streets with those gosh darn snow ridges going down the middle.
I have heard comments from people that riders can get off at the proposed downtown stops and then board a shuttle to get to campus. That is very unrealistic. Many of us have to go further in to campus locations that the city bus system and the university bus system service. In addition, if one misses the shuttle then it is necessary to wait for the next one. How frequently are these shuttles going to run during the morning and evening commutes? 10 to 15 minutes can be a long wait when one needs to get to work on time or to catch the bus to go home.
The current downtown loop system is better as the stops are relatively convenient to travel from and to reach no matter where one is in the area.
I've riden Lincoln buses on a consistent daily basis for over 30 years and for the most part I've been pleased with the service. Okay, I'll admit I was not pleased when the Salt Valley bus was changed to go down 13th Street. Thank you for reading my comments.
I ride the Eastridge bus (#15) from my home near Randolph and Eldon streets to my office at UNL. I am disappointed to hear that proposed changes to the bus routes would eliminate service to my neighborhood. The current bus route that I use is very convenient, and I would hate to lose it.
I ride the bus to save money on parking and gas for my car, to reduce congestion on Lincoln’s streets, and to reduce the amount of CO2 that I put into the atmosphere. Discontinuing bus service to my neighborhood would be inconvenient for me and force me to drive more every week.
Please give more serious thought to maintaining all existing bus routes more efficiently and encouraging more people to adopt public transportation rather than cutting service to any neighborhoods. I’m sure you’ve considered investing in fuel-efficient buses, park and ride programs, and aggressive marketing of “bus billboard” space to make StarTran economically viable. We need to be as creative as possible when tackling this issue because it has an important impact on the rest of the world.
City by city Americans are rethinking our massive energy consumption and the effects it has on global economies and the environment. I think Lincoln can and should join the effort to use energy more wisely, and a shift toward mass transit would be a step in the right direction.
Thank you.
My husband and I have been riding the bus to and from work daily for the past 42 years. I can tell you stories… Star Tran has improved by leaps and bounds over the years. We’ve had almost no reasons for complaint. Although we have moved several times, we have usually lived right on the bus route (coincidentally). We have never had to walk more than three blocks to the bus stop. During the past 15+ years we have had door to door service between home and work, depending on our work schedules.
Several great improvements have been the addition of wheelchair accessibility, “radio” communications, bus passes (especially 12th month free), heat/air conditioning.
At one time our route had an express bus which went straight down A street between 77th & 56th, picking up/dropping off a large number of riders between 84th and 56th. The bus was usually full. The route was changed to almost exactly follow the regular route from 84th & A to 52nd & South. Besides duplicating the regular route on an almost identical schedule twice a day, the riders lost were never replaced by new riders and the bus was never as full. As a result the express was eventually dropped and an extra loupe added to the regular route twice a day with little or no allowance for extra time. The change didn’t seem to benefit Star Tran and certainly not the riders that were lost.
Over the years I have observed that whenever a route has changed, the riders lost exceeded the riders gained. Just when ridership increases a route change is made and we must once again build ridership. Does that make any sense?
How can consultants from outside our city, who do not ride our buses long enough (if at all) to get an adequate example of the ridership, design a system appropriate to Lincoln? How many of the board members are regular riders or drivers? The drivers know the routes and the rider load at any given point and time better than anyone else. How many of them are consulted?
My suggestion: Poll Lincoln residents to find out where potential riders are located and design routes to fit the need. Possible questionnaire:
I am happy to see that there is a plan to improve the current public transportation available in Lincoln. The city and the riders both have a lot to potentially gain here.
I think the goal should absolutely be to expand the service. I know a lot of people who say that they would ride the bus happily if it came near their house or work, or ran more often, or ran later into the night. I have been riding the bus as a student at UNL city campus for four years now. I have seen ridership increase exponentially in that time - back then, I was usually one of maybe a few people riding, and now during rush hour there is sometimes standing room only. The time is ripe for change! In a perfect system, a person without a car could realistically get around town using only public transit.
There are three things I would love to see change.
I think that the current system of giving state employees and UNL free passes is genius, and encourages a lot of people who might have been on the fence to actually utilize the system. I think it would be cool if it were possible for businesses or organizations to also get that kind of blanket "subscription" so their employees could have a pass. Talk about incentive!
None of the changes made will make a difference unless the public knows about them, and they're given enough time for it to catch on. ADVERTISE!!! Not just on the buses - that's the choir. I think it will take billboards, tv commercials, radio spots, fliers, painting the outsides of the buses, as much as possible. The money needed for these changes to last will be gotten through all the fares this increased ridership garners - but the news needs to get to the people who aren't looking for it (or gave up looking). That's the only way to break the vicious cycle of "nobody rides the bus there's no money to improve service".
It doesn't seem that you are making bus riders aware of the changes that will affect their bus system. Yes, there is a sheet hanging in the corner of the buses behind the driver. Who can read that!?!
Several signs should be posted in several locations in the bus. The sign you developed is too long and too small to read. You need big signs, with the dates and locations of the public meetings. There is plenty of under used space where ads currently are located.
It is also strange to me that a company was hired from New York. What would a New Yorker know about transporation needs in Lincoln, NE. I am positive that this was a waste of money. Unless you ride the bus everyday, at all times of the year, there is no way of judging what needs to be changed. It is sad that a few "select people", many that don't even use the system, will determine my fate as a bus rider.
I am a blind person who has been using the transportation system here in Lincoln for over 15 years. I know that there need to be changes in the current system to make bus service better, but not at the expense of bus service I have come to rely on. What I mean is this. In the early 90s the bus service was cut from routes that ran every half hour, to routes that ran every hour. Also, the Saturday routes were combined making it very time consuming to travel. With the proposed changes, there are benefits as well as drawbacks. We must weigh them both, before continuing. On the current routes, I can walk one block and catch a bus. I can get to residential areas, and I can get just about anywhere I need to go. The new plan would cut out most residential areas. That would mean walking a farther distance to catch my bus. Also, if the new routes are enacted, I may have to transfer 2 or 3 times to get where I need to go. The grid system might be good for the larger cities, but I believe it would make things harder here. Finally, if certain routes are combined, that will mean longer wait times.
Accessability and frequency are the key issues here. If Star Tran can figure out how to make the bus service more accessable, and increase the frequency of the routes then GREAT. Otherwise, I believe the present routes should stay in place.
Thank you for your time.
Transit Development Plan Study