ROUTE CHANGE – Route 225 in Richland
Posted: December 28, 2011 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentWhile riding the bus this morning, the driver made an announcement over the PA system to inform all the riders that Route 225 is going to be seeing some changes starting January 2nd. When I later checked Ben Franklin Transit’s website, I found this alert posted:
Attention Route 225 Riders
The Route 225 will travel East on Columbia Point Dr, pass Winco, then take a left at Bradley. It will travel on Bradley turning right onto George Washington Way, then left on Knight St going into the transit center at the currently scheduled time. This route will be reversed when traveling to Pasco. The stop located in front of Chase bank, on Jadwin, will now be served by Route 120 only. For information please call BFT Customer Service at 735-5100.
If you’re not a regular rider of Route 225, or are just unfamiliar with the route, this all probably makes no sense to you. How about I explain it a bit more?
BFT Night Service
Posted: December 10, 2011 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentHere in the Tri-Cities, regular fixed-route and paratransit service stops running after 6 o’clock in the evening. However, there is still demand for some sort of transit service to run later into the evening. It is because of this that Ben Franklin Transit came up with a unique solution: “Trans+Plus Night Service.”
Explained in a short summary here on the BFT website, Night Service is a rather simple operation. Sub-contracted to local taxi operator Tri-City Taxi, riders call to make their ride reservation, and then they receive a curb-to-curb ride which more often than not will be combined with the rides of other users. With this service, one can ride between any two points in the Tri-Cities (excluding Hanford) for only $3. Other fare payment options also include a 10-ride ticket for $22 $25, or a Freedom Pass for $44 $50 (which allows unlimited Night Service rides for the month, as well as unlimited fixed-route rides and all other BFT services).
New Buses for Ben Franklin Transit
Posted: December 9, 2011 Filed under: Transit 5 CommentsTo start this post, let me bring you up to speed: In 1992, Ben Franklin Transit bought 8 1992 40′ Gillig Phantom buses (numbered 234-241). Since then, these buses have spent a lot of time on the road. And when I say “a lot” I mean “A LOT.” Some of these buses have managed to rack up an astounding 1 million miles on the odometer. If anything, this serves as a testament to the amazing work BFT’s maintenance staff does to keep these buses running. Obviously though, it would be wildly cost-prohibitive to keep these buses running, so something needs to be done about it.
BFT Transit Development Plan 2012-2017
Posted: December 6, 2011 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentToday, December 6th, there was a public hearing held at Three Rivers TC in Kennewick for public comment on the updated Transit Development Plan, or TDP, for Ben Franklin Transit. If you were hoping to attend that hearing, I’m sorry to say you’ve already missed it, as it was held at 2PM. (Though my late reporting on this news item isn’t helping either…) Luckily for you, I did attend it.
Quite honestly, this may have been the most boring BFT-related meeting I have ever attended. The only thing that really happened was a review of the TDP itself, and the information contained in it. (If you wish to view it, the draft as it currently exists is available here.) I, along with 4 other attendees (one of whom arrived late) listened in to the presentation, and we all made a few comments or asked a few things along the way. All in all, there was no major breaking news development or anything out of the ordinary. Things are running along just fine at BFT, and the TDP just basically shows how they intend to keep doing so for the next 6 years.
This Thursday, the TDP draft will be presented at the Board of Directors meeting, where they will vote to approve or reject it. If approved, it will then be sent off to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s offices for their approval. When that happens, I’ll make another quick post here or just mention it on Twitter.
Epic Transit Journey – The Columbia Basin to the Yakima Valley to the Kittitas Valley
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: Epic Transit Journey, Fun, Transit | Tags: ben franklin transit, BFT, Community Connector, Ellensburg, People For People, Route 11, Yakima, Yakima Transit, Yakima-Ellensburg Commuter 6 Comments(If you’re new to the blog, I recommend reading my post on the last Epic Transit Journey I took.)
Earlier this week, I shared the news about a brand new bus route linking the cities of Yakima and Ellensburg (click the link to see the schedule and map at the end of the post). Since its way more fun to actually ride the bus and see it in person instead of just writing about it, I decided I would go ride it. But to make it more interesting, I decided that I would ride the bus to the bus. (Get it?) The following is a recap of everything that happened, along some photos I took along the way.
Regional Commuter Pass
Posted: November 27, 2011 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentIf you read my last post, you may recall me mentioning a monthly pass for the Yakima-Ellensburg Commuter. The pass itself costs $100 per month, and allows the holder unlimited rides on the Yakima-Ellensburg Commuter, as well as all other Yakima Transit routes and the Central Transit route in Ellensburg.
What’s interesting about the Yakima-Ellensburg Commuter pass it that it is the first multi-agency transit pass anywhere in Eastern Washington. And that got me thinking… Why aren’t there any others?
Route 11: Yakima-Ellensburg Commuter
Posted: November 26, 2011 Filed under: Transit | Tags: Ellensburg, HopeSource, Route 11, Yakima, Yakima Transit, Yakima-Ellensburg Commuter Leave a commentOn Monday, 11/28/11, a new bus route will start running. And this is a pretty big bus route. For the first time, the cities of Yakima and Ellensburg will be linked together by fixed-route transit service.
For several years (maybe even longer), there have been multiple proposals to link these two cities via transit. As it stands currently, the only non-car options are Greyhound (2 trips each way per day, costs $11-18 each way) and Bellair Charter’s “Airporter Shuttle” (5 trips each way per day, costs $10 each way). A non-profit organization based in Ellensburg, HopeSource, also has a demand-response/scheduled transit service that includes a trip to and from Yakima each Tuesday. If I recall correctly, fares weren’t collected on this service, though there was a “suggested donation.” However, for the most part, all these services are largely inconvenient for those needing to travel between the two cities. Greyhound is especially inconvenient, as it stops at a truck stop on the edge of town.
Transit Smartcards (I Have To Pay $5?!)
Posted: November 16, 2011 Filed under: Transit 1 CommentAs many a “transit nerd” knows, more and more transit agencies are rolling out smartcards. Rather than using the older-style “flash passes,” these cards function much like a credit card, storing either an “e-purse” or a pass. These systems help cut down time wasted on cash fumbling and can help improve ridership.
In the Seattle metropolitan area, their smartcard is called the “ORCA card.” ORCA, which stands for “One Regional Card for All” is used by 8 different transit agencies/operators in the area. However, one of the most prevailing complaints I hear about the ORCA card is the upfront cost of $5. This money doesn’t go towards any sort of fare payment, but is simply a fee to give people the “privilege” of owning their very own ORCA card. Many have argued that this fee should be done away with. Personally, I see no problem with it and feel it’s a fair price, but if I were in different shoes, such as those of a homeless person, I might feel differently.
Out of curiosity, I started wondering about other agencies and their smart cards. Is the ORCA card the only smartcard that requires an upfront fee? Do others charge less for theirs, or even more? Using this list from Wikipedia, I’ve compiled my own list below of the cost (or absence of cost) for each smart card that is currently used by transit agencies in Canada and the US. (For smartcards used by multiple agencies in a region, only the primary agency will be listed.)
The Finished Product (A New Ben Franklin Transit)
Posted: November 8, 2011 Filed under: Fun, Transit Leave a commentIf you follow me on Twitter or read the posts here on the blog, you know how I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking away on what to do with BFT. More specifically, what to do to make BFT better.
Obviously, I’m not a “real” transit planner. However, anyone and everyone has ideas, and mine just happen to be about transit a lot of the time. As I talked about a few posts ago, rather than focusing on what I wish BFT could have, I’ve been focusing on what BFT can have within the limitations of the current financial resources. I’ve said many times that the Tri-Cities has been very lucky in avoiding the majority of the economic downturn, but its starting to look like that luck might be running out. It’s a wait-and-see game at this point, but if push comes to shove, things could get very ugly around here, and I’d hate to see what that could do to BFT.
A while back, I posted a finished version of the map for my then-proposal for BFT. Looking back on it, my freshman effort was not that great. If I had to critique myself, I would say that my two biggest flaws were the directional arrows on every route marker, and the “rainbow.” (I don’t think I have to explain what “rainbow” means.) There are some people who like the rainbow, but in my opinion, it can be a pain on the eyes. When you have multiple colors in such a close proximity to each other, they tend to “bleed” into each other and can be very hard to look at. Plus, when you have multiple colors in use, it can make for some pretty big space consumers. Example, an old copy of the Dayton Street Transfer Point inset. (Link is to view the document via the Wayback Machine.) Another thing that must get serious consideration is accommodating people who are color blind. CHK America did a great job in addressing this issue when they did a recent revamp of the Spokane Transit system map.
Slowly but surely, I dumped just about everything from my first map and drew a new map. Take a peek below. (Click here or on the picture to view larger copy)
More Service For No Cost*
Posted: November 5, 2011 Filed under: Transit Leave a commentIt’s a simple idea. In order to bring better, or rather, “more” service, a sacrifice has to be made.
I’m looking at you mid-day…
The issue is that demand for bus service at mid-day is not as high as it is during the peak hours. If you look at the 22 bus routes that currently exist in the Ben Franklin Transit system, only 5 reduce service levels during mid-day: 41, 47, 48, 66, and 67. (Route 110 also technically falls into this list as well, since it runs at a 60-minute headway all day.) One of the most common complaints I’ve always heard about BFT is that their buses don’t run late enough. (There’s a reason why the Trans+Plus Night Service program was created.) So, why don’t we make them run later?
Transit 509 