transport.tamu.edu Fall 2016 Proposed Route Changes

transport.tamu.edu Overarching Principles Recognize our limitations – 86 full size buses to run day routes, night routes, charters, training and general / long-term maintenance Serve densest student populations Adapt to student growth and apartment location change Minimize cost per passenger – use student service fees wisely Increase riders per bus-mile – get the best bang for the buck Shorten route times – more seats per hour Efficient, timely, dependable service – deliver what we promise Avoid congested intersections – don’t be dumb

transport.tamu.edu Operational Focus for 2016 Serve more students and utilize student service fees wisely by: – Providing cost-effective service on- and off-campus – Adapting and reallocating buses to serve areas most heavily populated by students New construction leads to shifting service areas: – Vet School opening – Holleman South corridor residential growth

transport.tamu.edu Student Population Students are moving from older to newer developments Annual maps show students shifting housing areas Ridership data also shows shift Used this data to combine Routes 33 and 34 two years ago

transport.tamu.edu Where We Are in Fall 2015 To help understand where we are, here are key stats regarding our growth: Enrollment up 15% from 2012 to 2015 Ridership is up 29% from 2012 to 2015

transport.tamu.edu Where We Are in Fall 2015 (cont.) Overall cost per passenger – FY12 = $1.08 – FY15 = $0.95 Number of days in the fall semester when we reached “1 million rides” – FY 13 – 26 days – FY 14 – 24 days – FY 15 – 22 days Average number of off-campus stops per route – Current – 14 stops – Proposed for FY 16 – 11 stops

transport.tamu.edu Where We Are in Fall 2015 (cont.)

transport.tamu.edu Route Ridership Review (1 st 6 weeks of fall semester) Routes With No Modification Needed Routes Needing Improvement

transport.tamu.edu On-Campus Modifications Route 03 – Modify route for better utilization of bus resources – Move NCTM stop to Route 09 New on-campus route: Route 09 – Serve Vet School, NCTM and Wehner

transport.tamu.edu Route 03 Modify Route 03 and exclude NCTM stop – moved to new Route 09 Continue with 3 buses to serve White Creek Dorms, Modulars, SPH, Wehner and MSC

transport.tamu.edu New Vet School Building

transport.tamu.edu Route 09 2 buses 10 minute headways Move bus from Route 06 due to relocation of Vet School Adds bus with service between Wehner and MSC

transport.tamu.edu Off-Campus Modifications Combine stops to improve on-time performance and adapt to new residential patterns Reconfigure routes to serve areas with most students Serve area of rapid student housing growth – Holleman Drive south of FM 2818 (Harvey Mitchell Parkway )

transport.tamu.edu Route 12 Difficult to maintain schedule – long route and many stops 10 of 20 stops are in bottom 50 boardings Combine stops – improve time reliability, other stops nearby Adjust bus path in real time, serve all stops Current: Buses – 4 Headway – 15 min Stops – 20 7% late arrival (5 th highest) Plan: Combine stops – 17 total Adjust bus path to avoid congestion

transport.tamu.edu Route 22 Ridership dropped over 10% from ‘14 to ’15 Top on-time performance Every stop declined in ridership from ‘13 to ’15 Only 1 stop in bottom 50 boardings Current: Buses – 5 Headway – 6 min Stops – 10 Plan: Buses – 4 Headway – 7 min Stops – 10 Move bus to new route

transport.tamu.edu Route 26 Long route with many stops Combine stops; improve time reliability, provide more ridership capacity Shares stops with Route 27 on Anderson Shelter at Scandia – 300 feet from Taos Current: Buses – 6 Stops – 20 Headway – 6 min Propose: Buses – 6 Stops – 15 Headway – 5 min Combine stops to increase capacity during peak ridership

transport.tamu.edu Route 27 For better route efficiency – drop Taos, move to Scandia (match Route 26 service) 3 stops in bottom 50 boardings Current: Buses – 4 Headway – 7 min Stops – 15 Propose: Buses – 4 Headway – 7 min Stops – 14

transport.tamu.edu Route 34 Current: Buses – 3 Headway – 16 min Stops – 13 Roundtrip – 48 minutes Lowest ridership off-campus route 8 of 13 stops in bottom 50 boardings 9 to 12 are in the bottom 75 boardings Most expensive off-campus route per mile – $2.14

transport.tamu.edu Route 34 Proposed: Buses – Reduce to 2 Stops – 7 Headway – 15 min Park and Ride remains at First Baptist Church on Welsh Drop Walmart Stop – Access to Target / HEB via Routes 26 and 27 Eliminate 8 of bottom 60 boardings Reducing headway from 18 min to 15 min Reallocate bus to new route

transport.tamu.edu Holleman Drive South

transport.tamu.edu Current Routes 35 and 36 Current 35: Buses – 4 Headway – 7 min Stops – 10 3 rd highest cost per passenger Current 36: Buses – 6 Headway – 5 min Stops – 11 Change area 36 services

transport.tamu.edu Proposed - Routes 35, 36 & 40 North of 2818 – move stops between Routes 35 and 36 – continue to serve areas and make more efficient Add a bus to Route 35 for a total of 5 Route 35 can handle the demand because we have capacity Route 40 will handle service to the area South of 2818

transport.tamu.edu Route 36 Current: Buses – 6 Headway – 5 min Stops – 11 Proposed: Buses – 4 Headway – 5 min Stops – 6 Stay away from congested intersections Improve reliability

transport.tamu.edu New Route 40 Service areas include MSC, Kleberg, The Cottages and The Barracks Jones-Butler and Holleman Drive provide predictable travel time for most trips Dynamic path options – May not use Holleman for every trip depending on traffic congestion Proposed: Buses – 4 Headway – 9 min Stops – 6

transport.tamu.edu Questions ?