First, from the City’s press release:
All residents are invited and encouraged to attend
WHAT The Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force will hold a meeting. The purpose of the Task Force is to make recommendations to Richmond City Council with regard to enhancing mass transit in the Metro-Richmond area and the efficiency and effectiveness of the GRTC Transit System. The meeting is free and open to the public and all residents are invited and encouraged to attend.
WHEN Thursday, July 12, 2012
4:00-6:00 p.m.WHERE Richmond Department of Economic Development
Richmond Main Street Station – 3rd Floor Conference Room
1500 East Main Street; Richmond, Virginia 23219
(PARKING: Free parking is available on the west side of the building by using the Franklin Street Entrance and using the lot below the Interstate. When facing the Train Station from the Franklin Street Entrance, make a right and park towards the Clock Tower end. When facing the building from the parking lot, the entrance door to the Richmond Department of Economic Development is located on the right of the building.)WHO Members of the Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force
CONTACT For more information, please contact Councilman Bruce W. Tyler, Richmond City Council, West End 1st District, at 804.357.6007; or bruce.tyler@richmondgov.com.
Secondly, and with disclosure here as a GRTC Task Force member, I will mention a few of the suggestions that are starting to emerge from the Task Force meetings so far:
1. There seems to be consensus that the City Code needs reform in regard to how GRTC’s routes are determined.
2. There needs to be some sort of inner city circulator that is inexpensive or even free. It needs to be much more frequent and reliable than standard GRTC buses and it must be designed to serve citizens and not just tourists. How this is implemented, and perhaps more importantly, paid for, still needs to be determined.
3. Task force members have been asking for regular updates on new signage for GRTC bus stops.
4. The GRTC Task Force has asked for assistance from the Green City Commission on initiatives like bus stop recycling, green fleet usage, connections with other organizations and multimodal transportation.
Also, I will say that while task force members agree that there needs to be more regional transportation efforts, the surrounding counties have not been attending meetings with GRTC or the task force, so the task force has been focused on what the City can do to improve GRTC.
Where is the GRTC transit center?
The GRTC Headquarters is on Belt Blvd. now.
As for a GRTC transit center or bus transfer center, that has not been decided yet. The GRTC Task Force has discussed it but it can only make suggestions.
I’ll be working during the meeting time, and cannot attend. A few thoughts, though:
It is both telling and hilarious to visit the GRTC sign/kiosk at Broad and 9th, near City Hall: maps of routes, updated times of arrival, incoming buses, etc.
It is the only such sign I have seen anywhere in Richmond. The GRTC signs on the street claim that you can look at the back of the sign to see what routes service that stop lack even *that* simple aid. Without even a minimal amount of on-the-ground customer service assistance, it is very difficult to navigate the system.
I think it is also an issue that there is no fare variation on the system. If I want to take the bus home from the grocery store (1 1/2 miles) b/c I have groceries, I pay $1.50. If I am crossing the entire city, I pay $1.50. The lack of variation makes me less likely to use the bus for a short hop. This means I’m less likely to use the bus, period.
The lack of a direct connection from the Fan or the West End to Southside is a notable deficit in the system. If I was to commute from my home to Southside Plaza, I need to bring a bus in to Broad or Main and 10-14th St, then catch the bus to Southside Plaza. This will take an hour, when the drive over the Nickel Bridge takes 10-15 mins. I realize the Nickel Bridge can’t handle large buses, but it would seem to me that there would be *some* other way to approach this–some local connector line over the Lee Bridge or using a smaller vehicle to cross the Nickel Bridge?
Finally: why is there no meaningful GRTC service to our major local transportation hubs? There is bus access to Main St station, but little access to either the airport or the Staples Mill train station. This seems to be a major gap.
Mark, thanks for your remarks. I will share with fellow Task Force members. We have been discussing these things. We had one public hearing meeting, and we plan to hold another one in the future.
What is the progress on the Bus Rapid Transit system?? The last public hearing on the matter was October of 2010!
That’s funny, there’s an “airport express” stop in front of my house. It stops around 6am every morning and announces itself in a volume so loud I can hear it in my bedroom. I have yet to see anyone get on at my stop. I also have yet to receive a response from GRTC about why the stop exists or how to have it reevaluated.
Scott – you must agree that a centralized facility for transfers is both in the best interests of GRTC, the City, and bus riders. This needs to be a priority. Even poor old Petersburg has pulled this off.
The train shed at Main Street Station was a great opportunity to create a true multimodal transportation hub for the City and region, yet DECD and politics wrecked that plan. Now we’re stuck with an incubator/farmer’s market/retailer/visitor’s center/slavery museum/whatever other cockamamie idea they come up with.
Broad Street should not be inundated w/ litter and loitering and transit riders should not be left out exposed to the elements while trying to navigate a dysfunctional transit network designed for street cars.
Make it happen!
As I said before, thanks for your remarks. I will share with fellow Task Force members. We have been discussing these things. We had one public hearing meeting, and we plan to hold another one in the future.
I will say that I have asked about (Bus Rapid Transit) BRT also back at our first meeting in March, and so far nothing has come of it. A lot of these things are going to come down to funding, and as much as I want improvements, I am not optimistic about future funding.
Some things to keep in mind: GRTC is a nonprofit corporation, that within its own budget and mandate, operates pretty efficiently. That does not mean it is actually doing a great job of serving citizens. At the same time, realize that more than 10% of its budget goes to CARE van riders. I expect that need will only go up with an aging population.
Believe me, I have my own opinions about a lot of this (and yeah, if I had my druthers, the GRTC transit center would be near Main Street Station), but I am once again in the awkward position of being the only person reporting on something that I am involved in. Where is the rest of the local media?
@BozAtWork–
If you can verify this Airport Express is a GRTC bus, and what it’s route number is, I’d be very appreciative. I cannot find any such route listing on the GRTC website.
The No. 56 South Laburnum bus goes by the airport, but has absurdly limited hours (6:30 am, 8 am, and 4:45 pm); if this is the bus that stops near your house then it doesn’t surprise me that no-one uses it as the schedule is essentially worthless.
(Apologies that my last comment sounded snarky–it wasn’t meant that way. If I am overlooking a way to use GRTC to get to the airport, I’d really like to know. Thanks.)
Mark, it does appear to be the 56 bus although the Marshall/Chimborazo stop isn’t listed on the GRTC map. I would agree that it seems worthless.
http://vimeo.com/45686696