Houston’s bus system, long considered sluggish and inconvenient, is poised for a transformation that’s drawing national attention for its boldness – and skepticism from some riders.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority will roll out its new bus network Sunday after more than two years of discussions, public forums, re-routing and re-re-routing to fix issues identified by riders. Nearly every person who rides a local bus in the Houston area will have to adjust to a new schedule. The changes are designed to improve trips and lure more people to transit.
Houston’s new system is under intense scrutiny by critics and by leaders of other transit agencies, many of whom consider Metro a trailblazer in adjusting traditional bus service to modern urban needs.
“Houston is really the envy of a lot of cities who have thought about this,” said Joseph Kosper, co-founder and CEO of RideScout, an Austin company that compiles transportation options such as bus scheduling, bike-share locations and traffic information onto a single smartphone map.
Transit experts are watching how Metro educates riders and promotes the new system. They also will monitor reaction from riders and the logistics of making wholesale changes in a city’s bus service overnight.
“This is the biggest in terms of degree of total change that, I believe, has happened in the U.S. in a long time,” said Jarrett Walker, a transit consultant and author who helped steer Metro’s early process that led to the new network.
Metro has acknowledged it expects some confusion among passengers. To help riders adjust, local bus and rail rides will be free from Aug. 16 to Aug. 22. During the week, employees usually working to make sure rail passengers have paid will be spread across the system with other Metro staff helping riders understand the new service.
“We’re going to make sure everyone gets where they need to go,” said Andy Skabowski, Metro’s director of operations.
As I said last time, and more than once before that, there will be bumps but we will get through this. I fully expect we’ll hear more about the misses than the hits, because that’s what’s interesting, so let’s try to keep calm and make sure that the things that should be working are working. Help people figure out where their new rides are, be prepared to make further tweaks if needed, and start on the important work of getting new people to use the improved and more efficient network. It’ll be awhile before we really know how this has all worked out, but regular updates will be needed. I am hopeful and looking forward to seeing how it goes. Jarrett Walker has more.