Introducing a Team of Consulting Transit Physicians--The Sierra Club's Transportation Iniatitives

Harold Goldstein had a final comment, talking about his dealings in the past as a planner, with city transit planners*--"Once when I was discussing signage and maps at all bus stations they said 'People don't need signs - They know where they are going.'" (*Pre-Dan Tangherlini era)

Fortunately, there are other doctors in the house!

Dennis Jaffe writes:

I'm an activist in DC on a bunch of issues, concentrating on responsiveness of the Metro agency and of public transportation services in general -- and always focusing on openness in public policy decision-making. I started working on an effort 2 1/2 years ago to address the very deficiencies in information on MetroBus that you also recently cited. I'd like to share with you what I've been working on. In October, 2002, I attended a meeting of the DC Sierra Club Transportation Committee and presented to them my vision on how to "demystify" the bus system. We began working together immediately. Through the Sierra Club, I have led an effort named, "Get MetroBus on the Map."

As a result of our efforts, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) placed the bus system map on its web site -- which I had been previously told, "that would be impossible." Although Metro's maps can be improved, I find them quite useful, and my goal is to "get them out there" and improve it later. There are now three bus system maps on the web site:

DC http://wmata.com/metrobus/maps/dc.pdf
VA http://wmata.com/metrobus/maps/va.pdf
MD http://wmata.com/metrobus/maps/md.pdf

WMATA now also distributes large, fold-up bus system maps, one for DC-VA, and one for DC-MD.

(Note from Dr. Transit -- I have used those maps. And fortunately the individual bus route maps are online too. I know that Dennis knows, but there is also a parallel effort to put bus route maps in DC bus shelters. The maps aren't perfect, but they make it easier for people to get a sense that there is actually a bus network and that it can be used to get places. See "New Metrobus Maps Detail All: City, Business Officials Post First of 300 Route Directories" which is by Stephen Ginsberg, who wrote the article in last Sunday's paper that was subject of another blog entry.)

According to WMATA's web site, half-way down the page at
< http://wmata.com/tripplanner/maps.cfm >, fold-up bus system maps are available at all metrorail stations -- a key recommendation we have promoted in our lobbying campaign. Regrettably, the claim is false. Sierra Club's Get MetroBus on the Map campaign is working with WMATA to change this.

When we convinced Metro to stop selling the large, fold-up bus system maps for $1.50 -- they had only cost $.50 to produce! -- and start distributing them for free, Washington Post transportation reporter Lyndsey Layton wanted to know how we pulled it off. An article ran on the front page of the Metro section on Saturday, June 23, 2004.

Although I moved here six years ago, I returned last year to NJ to direct communications for U.S. Representative Rush Holt's re-election campaign. I returned to DC recently, and have picked up where we left off in early 2004.

This week, I will be seeking to schedule another Sierra Club meeting with Metro marketing staff, whom we will be attempting to convince to implement other key components of Get MetroBus on the Map, like getting the large, fold-up bus system maps into all the train stations -- and on buses! -- and install larger bus system maps for riders' viewing in train stations.

Note to Dennis -- one place to put up maps is on the subway platforms. After all we need something to read down there when we are waiting for the train...

And of particularly great importance is an inventorying of information at bus shelters to address woefully out-of-date and non-existent information: bus route's name and destination, depiction of the route and schedule. That's something we met on with planning staff in December.

I also would like to let you know that the Sierra Club Transportation Committee has been work hard at work since November on our 10 Step Program for Metro Accountability, which aims to get the agency to open itself up more to rider input -- essential to developing the public and political support necessary to invest needed, additional funds to improve the transit system.

Thank you Dennis!
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For more information and to get involved with the Sierra Club initiatives, click here.

Note to Sierra Club, your Restore the Core report from 2000, distributed at Adams-Morgan Day, helped motivate me to get involved in issues such as these. Thank you.