Basically, some data crunching to determine what conditions have the best chance of success of public transit:
Basically, some data crunching to determine what conditions have the best chance of success of public transit:
The result is a set of measures that can explain a lot more about what certain cities get right or wrong on transit, and what they can do to improve their lot. The key, the reports stresses, is getting a better balance between jobs, low-income households, and people in proximity to public transit.
Frequency is definitely the biggest problem I see as a transit rider in Denver. During the day and workweek, it can be decent, but for example, I have about a ten mile commute between my home and...
Frequency is definitely the biggest problem I see as a transit rider in Denver. During the day and workweek, it can be decent, but for example, I have about a ten mile commute between my home and work. Anytime between 6am and 7pm, it's a simple, two-transfer, 45 minute (with the wait for the transfer) trip. Before or after that, it's a labyrinthine mess. If I get off at 10pm, I can catch one bus half of the way home, but the second one (last one on that line of the night, no less) has to either be running a minute or two late, or mine has to be early by the same amount, otherwise it leaves right as mine is pulling in to the station, and I have to take two buses extra, from the Broomfield/US36 station to downtown Denver, then back up north to another park and ride by my place, which adds over an hour and a half to the trip home.
It can work well if things are placed right--I used to live by a light rail stop that was also a terminal station for ten bus lines, half of which ran as often as every 7 minutes on peak/15 off/30 late night, and worked by another train station and then at a location along the most frequent bus route that passed my place, and it worked wonderfully for anything along those lines. Go outside it though, and it's a nightmare. My parents live about six miles from a light rail station in the burbs and a ten minute walk from a bus stop-- but said bus only runs between 530am and 730pm Mon-Fri, and only comes once an hour. Impossible to use unless you've got a classic 9-5 M-F job, never mind for running errands and the like if you live down there.
RTD, for all its issues, actually does a decent job all things considered, but the frequency (or lack thereof) is what kills it as an option for most people. Even a large chunk of those that use it often (such as my father) only do so because a monthly train pass is cheaper than parking downtown/their employer offers subsidized passes, and only use it to commute or for special events in the city.
Basically, some data crunching to determine what conditions have the best chance of success of public transit:
Frequency is definitely the biggest problem I see as a transit rider in Denver. During the day and workweek, it can be decent, but for example, I have about a ten mile commute between my home and work. Anytime between 6am and 7pm, it's a simple, two-transfer, 45 minute (with the wait for the transfer) trip. Before or after that, it's a labyrinthine mess. If I get off at 10pm, I can catch one bus half of the way home, but the second one (last one on that line of the night, no less) has to either be running a minute or two late, or mine has to be early by the same amount, otherwise it leaves right as mine is pulling in to the station, and I have to take two buses extra, from the Broomfield/US36 station to downtown Denver, then back up north to another park and ride by my place, which adds over an hour and a half to the trip home.
It can work well if things are placed right--I used to live by a light rail stop that was also a terminal station for ten bus lines, half of which ran as often as every 7 minutes on peak/15 off/30 late night, and worked by another train station and then at a location along the most frequent bus route that passed my place, and it worked wonderfully for anything along those lines. Go outside it though, and it's a nightmare. My parents live about six miles from a light rail station in the burbs and a ten minute walk from a bus stop-- but said bus only runs between 530am and 730pm Mon-Fri, and only comes once an hour. Impossible to use unless you've got a classic 9-5 M-F job, never mind for running errands and the like if you live down there.
RTD, for all its issues, actually does a decent job all things considered, but the frequency (or lack thereof) is what kills it as an option for most people. Even a large chunk of those that use it often (such as my father) only do so because a monthly train pass is cheaper than parking downtown/their employer offers subsidized passes, and only use it to commute or for special events in the city.