BIKE & RIDE. A Rice CCL project in partnership with Houston METRO

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1 BIKE & RIDE A Rice CCL project in partnership with Houston METRO Student team: Maria Rangel / Skye Kelty / Austin Jarvis / Laura Lopez CCL Advisors: Dr. Bob Stein, Dr. Libby Vann

2 METRO-Rice Partnership Houston Action Research Teams (HART) Program was developed by Rice s Center for Civic Leadership (CCL) as a way to engage Rice students in high-level, community-based research and design in Houston. CCL identified a growing interest among Rice University students and Houston organizations, offices, and citizens in multi-modal, and especially, bike transit. Representatives from Rice s CCL and METRO s Service Design and Development met to discuss a potential partnership on bike-transit integration in Houston. (Spring 2013) CCL and METRO staff co-developed a project focused on bike-bus integration that would complement HGAC s Bike & Ride study. (Spring 2013) Four Rice undergraduates were chosen to join METRO HART the CCL s first HART. (Spring 2013) METRO HART worked under the advisement of Bob Stein and Libby Vann at Rice s CCL and Shaida Libhart and Priya Zachariah at METRO. (Summer 2013) HART students presented project findings and recommendations at METRO staff brown bag. (Fall 2013)

3 METRO HART Research Questions Does METRO face a bike-on-bus capacity issue? How can METRO s services better accommodate bikers? What are the perceived barriers to using bikes in combination with METRO?

4 METRO HART Research Methods Background research: best practices and peer cities GIS mapping of bus-bike boardings Participant observation and on-board surveys of bike-bus users Interviews with Houston community stakeholder organizations

5 Summary of METRO HART Findings Current bike-bus riders are frequent customers: 84% board with their bikes at least 2 X per week. The number one reason riders connect bikes to buses is for health/exercise. Others connect because they don t have access to a car, because it s faster or more affordable than other forms of transportation, and because it s better for the environment. Most are traveling to work. Others connect bikes to buses for fun, exercise, to run errands, or go to school. Riders want to take their bikes on buses: 88% would rather bring their bikes on the bus than lock them up before they board. Riders have last mile needs: Riders often need to travel further by bike once they disembark. Maps at stops and paper maps are what most bike-bus riders currently use to determine their routes. Bus-mounted bike racks are not yet at capacity: few riders are unable to board because bike racks on buses are full.

6 METRO HART Recommendations Engineering Systemic Bike Parking: Lids, lockers, & loops Bike Hub: Partnership with community groups Small and dispersed maintenance centers Technology: A sensor for the bus-mounted bike rack matched with GPS-tracking to provide real-time information to users and METRO A higher capacity bus-mounted bike rack QCard: Increase number of QCard and Money Card vending points Biker Friendly Business Districts: Collaborate with businesses to offer bike parking for patrons and facilities for employees Buses: Permit folding bikes inside buses Make live data open-source to allow thirdparty app development

7 METRO HART Recommendations Community Engagement Information System Social Rides: Use targeted marketing campaigns Policy Advocacy Groups: Partner with community groups for education events, bike challenges, and abandoned bike donations Sponsor safe biking and safe integration with METRO services Promotion: Recruit new riders through bike shops and sporting goods businesses Web & Mobile Application: Enable multi-modal navigation Allow geo-tagging of bike-related incidents Add information about safe & legal biking in Houston Maps: Incorporate bike trails, BCycle stations, and bike Resources into system maps Signage: Equip bike trails with highway-style signage BCycle: Meet last mile needs of METRO riders

8 Success of HART METRO has lead to: Positive media coverage of HART METRO study in Rice News and Houston Chronicle TXDOT Challenge win for 3-bike bus rack design; pitched to Rice Engineering Freshman by HART METRO students 24 Rice students serving on 6 new HART projects between Summer 2013-Spring 2014, with many more in pipeline HART project partnerships with: Houston Public Library, COH Planning and Development Department; Miller Outdoor Theatre; COH Parks and Recreation Department; Texas Transportation Institute; COH Police Department, Traffic Division Majority of HART projects fully-funded by city partners

9 We welcome your questions and comments.