Change has Metro, riders still adjusting
Slumped in his seat, earphones firmly in place, Elijah Taylor closes his eyes as his bus bounces rapidly down Washington Avenue toward downtown.
Some bounces are more severe than others because the driver is speeding along, making great time at the expense of a smooth ride. As a result, Taylor is running a little early to make his downtown connection on his way home from his flange manufacturing job in northwest Houston.
Quicker trips are becoming more common for Taylor and thousands of other riders, although considerable uncertainty lingers regarding the seismic shift in bus service that the Metropolitan Transit Agency started on Aug. 23.
Nearly three months into what many consider the most significant operational change any American transit system has made in three decades, Houston transit officials and supporters are calling the new bus network a rousing success. Critics, however, point to broken connections and
to transit-dependent riders whose service has been cut as Metro tries to appeal to riders who have the option of driving.
For many, perhaps most, Metro riders, the new bus system didn’t drastically change anything. Their trips usually start and end at bus stops within a block of where they always have. Getting there might involve a different route, and buses may come a few minutes later or earlier.
Roughly two dozen riders — among more than 100 interviewed over seven weeks starting after Labor Day — said they preferred their old route. Reasons ranged from longer walks to crowded buses that require transfers in inconvenient spots.
Many others said the new system was easier to navigate and seemed quicker and more responsive to their needs. Most, however, could only point to a minute or two saved or lost — maybe a slightly shorter walk — while applauding the decision to expand weekend service. For many working folks and those dependent on the bus, the pluses and minuses were minor.
“Ain’t nothing changed about the bus,” Wallace Monroe said as he waited at a stop along Main Street for a Hiram Clarke bus. “Same long ride as it ever was.”
Numbers muddled
The revised bus system focused resources on frequent routes that crisscross the Houston region, augmented by less frequent routes that cover more areas. It’s a system based on what planners have known for years — key routes drive most transit demand.
Proving the theory is a work in progress. Ridership numbers cannot fully explain how well Metro’s new system is working. For example, September ridership on Metro’s local buses — which excludes Park & Ride service — is muddled.
Overall, Metro officials say, local buses and three rail lines handled 6.65 million trips in September, a 4 percent increase over the same month last year. One reason for the growth, however, is that buses now steer people into the rail lines and frequent routes, which could be increasing transfers and causing extra trips.
Other ways to slice the figures paint a less favorable picture than Metro’s preferred math. On weekdays, average ridership dropped 7.7 percent to 231,535 riders per day. A portion of that drop, however, can be attributed to changing bus routes to avoid duplicate service with the Green and Purple lines that opened in May. Route 52 along Scott, for example, was one of the most-used bus routes, but now those riders hop on the Purple Line.
Fare revenue is another uncertain measure. Metro’s fare revenue in September was down 6.4 percent compared to September 2014, a loss of roughly $400,000. Revenue, however, fluctuates wildly, especially as Metro continues hemorrhaging riders — a trend that started before the new system was put in place and one that officials hope the changes will reverse. For May and June of this year, fare revenue was down 9.8 percent from those months in 2014.
Despite the mixed indicators, Metro board member Christof Spieler, who orchestrated the changes, is pleased with the results so far.
“We are seeing it play out, and frankly I am surprised at how well this has worked,” Spieler said.
Correcting mistakes
At the roughly 9,000 bus stops and train stations where Metro’s riders rely on service, reaction to the changes remains mixed. Some riders find the route changes inconvenient, while others cheer the
more direct, dependable service.
Popular routes, notably the Route 82 Westheimer bus, have become huge carriers of transit riders. The Westheimer line is the most used bus in Metro’s system — averaging more than 12,000 trips on an average workday — leading some riders to complain of crowded bus stops and standing-room-only rides along a curvy, bumpy major street.
Those frustrations, however, can be fixed by adding service, something Metro started doing along some routes less than two weeks after rolling out the new system. Many more significant changes are planned for January, pending Metro board approval. Among them is adding even more buses to the Westheimer route, giving it a frequency of every six minutes during peak times. That would put it on par with the light rail Red Line that connects the central business district and Texas Medical Center.
The bus system changes have had little effect on the trip down Westheimer, however. Buses bounce along the same bad roads in the same congested traffic. Dozens of riders along major routes report that while buses might come more frequently, their trips are really no shorter
or longer under the new system.
Riders on the new Route 151 are the most vocal and noticeable exception. Many relied on the now-defunct Route 163 from the Hillcroft Transit Center to Houston’s central business district. Dozens signed a petition to replace the 151 — which makes more stops and has a different end point — with the former 163.
“I can tell you for sure more people are driving in,” rider Ali Rashid told Metro officials.
Rider discomfort
Opinions commonly tilt on whether a rider’s particular trip to work or school is among those that improved dramatically — or became calamitous, confusing, time-consuming or all of the above.
Sarah Holden, 54, said she intends to start driving to her job in the Texas Medical Center. Not only is her new bus trip about 25 minutes longer compared to her old route from Tanglewood, it requires a transfer at the Wheeler Transit Center rather than downtown, she said.
Perhaps more affected are residents in low-income neighborhoods on Houston’s east, southeast and northeast sides who feel inconvenienced or ignored.
“We are just forgotten out there,” Patricia Hall said, referring to the inconsistency of a shuttle meant to connect residents near Texas 288 and Loop 610, linking them to Metro’s Southeast Transit Center.
Metro has since altered the route, based in part on the complaints. The agency also made minor changes to departure times.
Still, Hall is not the only Metro customer who feels forgotten. Riders can encounter problems getting to frequent routes or finding the bus full when they arrive. Some of the infrequent buses run only every 30, 40 and in some cases 60 minutes. For riders accustomed to “the way things used to be” — another common phrase among longtime riders and drivers — the changes force them to change familiar routines.
Over time, however, many of those riders are adjusting. Shortly after the changes took effect, Paul Mudd, 60, said Metro had “ruined his life” by eliminating his early morning bus. Last week, Mudd muted his rage, noting his neighbor helped him figure out a better way to make his trip from near Northline Commons to Greenspoint.
“It takes time to get used to it,” he said.