In "Revisiting the need for comprehensive transportation planning at the metropolitan and regional scales | For profit services, and White's Ferry, Montgomery and Loudoun Counties" I discussed how the private ferry between Montgomery County Maryland and Loudoun County Virginia hadn't been acknowledged as a "transit service" in those counties respective master transportation plans, and when conditions changed, leading to closure, they had no quick way of responding.
It's a demonstration of a quirk in planning generally and transportation planning specifically. Mostly, a master plan only covers what the government controls or operates, and usually ignores for profit services, and often, franchised services.
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It turns out that in New Jersey, a number of "public transit" routes are actually operated by private carriers, not necessarily with public subsidy. In Jersey City, A&C Transit, which operates 4 heavily used lines, announced it is shutting down.
You'd think that because there is a statewide transit agency in New Jersey, NJ Transit, that they would have a way of responding to this--not unlike how in the 1960s and 1970s privately owned transit companies ended up being acquired by local governments, because they wanted to maintain the services even as the companies shut down.
But apparently that isn't the case (" NJ Transit can’t let A&C bus routes die," Jersey Journal). From the article:
Everyone seemed to be taken by surprise last week when it was learned that the nearly century-old A&C Bus Corp. would be shutting down the Nos. 30, 31, 32 and 33 lines at the end of October.
Local officials immediately started banging at NJ Transit’s door, but the response was less than enthusiastic. That may be attributable to a sort of shellshock at NJT as multiple privately operated bus routes have had a hard time recovering from the pandemic, leaving the state’s public transportation system scurrying to find answers.
Now that the reality has had a chance to set in, the people who depend on the A&C bus lines and the greater community should expect and receive the full support of NJT.
It's the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s (commuter railroads) all over again.
You'd think that local, regional and state transit agencies would be monitoring these services, and preparing to step in if there are problems.
I said before DC Circulator had a ridership dashboard, it it long gone and as far as I can tell Open Data DC does not support it.
ReplyDeleteThe Rosslyn/Dupont Circulator was partially being funded by Rosslyn BID. Not sure if that still applies.
sometimes the hardest thing to do is still quiet and NOT do anything. Bus service seems to fall into that category. I've said before how much did WMATA spend on the loud beeping that the ED mandated after a bus hit a disabled person?
New book out on the problems of Uber in DC. zipper has a review in Bloomberg.
Just got back from California. The good thing about travel is making you see your own city with new eyes -- your constant point that the competitive advantage of DC is "Walkability" is more true than I had valued it before. Once you are here, you forgot it, but once you leave you realize how rare that is.
.... we were in Long Beach in May, near but not on the ocean, in Belmont Heights. I would so move there. First time I felt so strongly in a long time. (3/4 mile to the beach)
ReplyDeleteBut yes especially in SoCal it is the exception that proves the rule. Not so much retail within the neighborhood except for an amazing diner, but cool retail districts on the perimeter. Really cool. And because of density, good choices.
But driving in SoCal more generally is the rule. And it really sucks.
And yep, DC albeit primarily in the core, is special, in the context of the US pretty unique. I read these Reddit posts in r/transit about peak oil and trains and I think "you have no idea."
Ironically where we live is walkable in two directions to retail, one a decent shopping center. Both with supermarkets. But few people walk other than with dogs or kids. And with my post covid stuff, my biking is super circumscribed. It sucks.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nj.com/news/2023/08/candidate-for-governor-calls-for-nj-transit-takeover-of-private-bus-lines-amid-campaigns-to-save-them.html
ReplyDeleteWhen the firm first announced cutbacks, the City of Newark should have stepped up
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nj.com/essex/2023/09/with-fewer-customers-and-rising-costs-coach-usa-will-end-3-nj-commuter-bus-routes.html
https://gothamist.com/news/nj-gov-murphy-hints-at-financial-lifeline-public-good-operator-as-bus-companies-falter
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nj.com/news/2023/09/covid-grants-failed-to-save-these-bus-routes-now-riders-worry-how-theyll-cope-without-them.html
ReplyDeleteNice article about some of the history of the private transit services that are shutting down.
ReplyDeleteStruggling private bus companies are abandoning commuter service. Can NJ Transit step in?
https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/transportation/2023/09/28/struggling-nj-private-bus-lines-are-dropping-commuter-service-nj-transit-decamp-coach-ac/70930621007/
Massive loss of ridership during and after covid. Minimal financial support. Although NJTransit provides the buses for no cost ($1 per year).
Reimagining bus service
The issue of lagging commuter markets is not unique to New Jersey, said Joseph Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University and director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.
“The commuter market is by far the worst performing of the bus industries,” Schwieterman said. “Just about everything else has bounced back to at least 70% to 80% of pre-pandemic, but not the case with commuting.”
Schwieterman said a “large scale strategic realignment is needed” because “the old approach to scheduling won’t cut it anymore.”
... “It would work better because NJ Transit coming into the bus routes and understanding that they’re not trying to make money out of it and their priority is moving people, as opposed to making money, will basically translate into a better system that is more reliable than what you have today,” said Fulop, who is running for governor and made transit reforms like this a part of his platform.
Asked whether Jersey City should have considered subsidizing A&C, similar to the way it subsidized the Via rideshare service, Fulop said no because it’s not sustainable to have municipalities stepping in to offset the costs of public transportation. Via is a microtransit shuttle service that can be summoned on-demand from a phone app and costs no more than $5 to transport riders to transit centers or short trips.
... Schwieterman said there is a lot of opportunity for transit agencies to rethink how they provide service in more creative and innovative ways. He cited the new branded Virginia Breeze bus system that is doing well to connect rural Virginia with the D.C. area and the on-demand microtransit service that launched in rural Virginia that serves aging residents or those without access to a car.
Branded systems that are marketed and invested in with reliable service are having success, he said.
“What we’re seeing is bus lines in which the states put some investment in, creating a coherent network — that’s seen as something more than public transit — does really well,” Schwieterman said.
https://www.nj.com/news/2023/09/nj-transit-to-replace-canceled-bus-routes-in-hudson-essex-counties.html
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