Proposed Emery Go-Round Service Changes

Transcription

1 We, the Emeryville Transportation Management Association, are soliciting feedback from our riders and the Emeryville community on our proposed changes to the Emery Go-Round shuttle service. The purpose of these proposed service changes is to address the issues we ve identified with the existing service based on the following: 1. Comments and suggestions we ve received from Emery Go-Round riders; 2. Data collected from the Emery Go-Round Operations team (including ridership counts and current route challenges); and 3. Our knowledge of upcoming developments throughout the City. The two biggest challenges we currently face include ridership capacity and the increase in traffic congestion we continue to experience, resulting in significantly longer travel times. For these reasons, we have proposed the following changes to the Emery Go-Round Service: Commute Service Plan In a 2014 service evaluation conducted by a third party transit consulting firm, it was determined that a 25% service increase was necessary to maintain the current level of ridership. At that time, the ETMA had the financial resources to increase service by only 10%. The service evaluation also concluded that the peak ridership levels occurred during the commute period with the majority of riders traveling to/from the MacArthur BART Station. For this reason, we are proposing to modify the Emery Go-Round routes during the commute period in an effort to maximize service efficiency by reducing travel times and increasing rider capacity. The frequency of service on the proposed routes will remain the same at minutes. However, travel times from the north end of the service area will be reduced. Non-Commute Service Plan Aside from minor schedule modifications required to allow additional time for delays caused by the rising traffic congestion, we propose the existing Emery Go-Round routes remain as they are today during the non-commute period, with one exception on the Hollis route, which is described below. Please review the specific details on the proposed service changes below and provide your comments via to planning@emerygoround.com no later than January 8 th, We appreciate your feedback. Sincerely, Emeryville Transportation Management Association

2 NON-COMMUTE SERVICE PLAN: The routes and service details proposed for the Non-Commute Service period are shown below. Service hours and frequency vary by route. Shellmound/Powell Route The Shellmound/Powell service will operate using the existing route between 5:45AM and 10:30PM Monday through Friday at a frequency of minutes, except during the commute period (described below). The Shellmound/Powell service will also continue to operate on Saturdays between 8:20AM and 10:30PM and Sundays from 9:00AM to 7:30PM at a frequency of minutes. Hollis Route The Hollis route has changed slightly for the non-commute service. After receiving several complaints of noise disturbance from residents as well as the low level of ridership and occasional blocked access in the area, we are proposing to remove the loop down 66 th Street/Vallejo Street/65 th Street. Removal of this segment of the route will reduce run time by 2-3 minutes or more. The non-commute Hollis route will operate Monday through Friday between 5:45AM and 10:30PM at a frequency of minutes, except during the commute period (described below). NON-COMMUTE SERVICE MAP Hollis Shellmound/Powell

3 COMMUTE SERVICE PLAN: The routes proposed for Commute Service are shown below. The Commute Service will run Monday through Friday from 7:00AM-10:00AM and 3:00PM-7:00PM. The details for each Commute Service route and schedule are described below. HOLLIS ROUTE Our recommendation for the Hollis Route is to split the route into a North and South Hollis route during the commute period to provide more direct service to the north end of the route and to alleviate overcrowding at the south end of the route. The current Hollis Route (aka the full Hollis route ), will not be served during this time. Riders will be served by either the North OR South Hollis Route (and in some overlapping areas, both North AND South Hollis routes). North Hollis The proposed North Hollis route map is shown below. The new North Hollis route will run at a frequency of minutes and will provide service directly to/from MacArthur BART Station and the Hollis Street corridor, north of Stanford/Powell Street. Travel times to/from BART are likely to be reduced by 3-5 minutes. There will be one transfer point on the route (at 59 th Street), where riders will be able to transfer to the South Hollis route, if they wish to access the south end of the Hollis corridor. Advantages: Reduce travel time to/from the BART Station. Provide overlapping coverage with the South Hollis route in areas with high ridership. Disadvantages: A shuttle transfer will be required to reach the south end of the service area (south of 59 th St.)

4 South Hollis The South Hollis route will run at a frequency of 10 minutes to/from the MacArthur BART Station and the Hollis Street corridor, south of 59th Street. Travel times on the South Hollis route are expected to remain the same. Advantages: Reduce or eliminate overcrowding at the south end of the service area. Provide overlapping coverage with the North Hollis route in areas with high ridership. Disadvantages: A shuttle transfer will be required to reach the north end of the service area (north of 59 th St.)

5 SHELLMOUND/POWELL ROUTE Similar to the Hollis Route, we propose to split the Shellmound/Powell Route into two separate routes, a North Shellmound Route and South Shellmound/Powell route during the commute period to provide more direct service to the north end of the route and to alleviate overcrowding at the south end of the route. The current Shellmound/Powell Route, will not be served during this commute period. Riders will be served by either the North Shellmound OR South Shellmound/Powell Route (and in overlapping areas, will be served by both routes). North Shellmound Route The North Shellmound route will access the north end of the service area via the freeway. The route will loop around Christie Ave near Trader Joes then proceed left on Shellmound at Bay Street. The route will continue north on Shellmound to serve the 6 stops along Shellmound and Christie north of Powell Street, including the Public Market and Expressions College, then return to the BART Station via the Freeway. The North Shellmound route will operate at frequency of minutes. Advantages: Provides direct service to/from MacArthur BART to the residents and business at the north end of the service area. Travel time to/from the MacArthur BART station and the north end of Shellmound/Christie will be reduced by 5+ minutes. Disadvantages: A short walk to the Emery Go-Round shuttle stop at Trader Joes will be required to access the south end of Shellmound/40 th Street during the commute period.

6 South Shellmound/Powell The South Shellmound/Powell route will serve the retail establishments along 40 th Street, Shellmound Street and Christie Avenue (south of Powell) as well as the business and residential complexes on the Powell Street peninsula. Due to the current low levels of ridership to the Watergate Condo s and Marina during the peak commute period, we are proposing to slightly reduce service to the peninsula, west of The Towers. The Estimated service frequency for all stops excluding peninsula is between min. Service frequency for the peninsula, west of the Towers, will be minutes during the commute period. The peninsula will also continue to be served by the Watergate Express for residents traveling to/from the MacArthur BART Station. Advantages: Disadvantages: Significantly reduces or eliminates the number of pass-ups at the south end of the route caused by overcrowding. Reduced travel time for riders traveling from the retail establishments south of Powell to the peninsula. Reduced noise disturbance due to less service trips down peninsula. Shuttle transfer required to get to/from the north end of Shellmound/Christie during the commute period. Slightly reduced frequency of service to the peninsula (west of The Towers) during the commute period.

7 WATERGATE EXPRESS ROUTE The Watergate Express Route will operate using the existing route and schedule. COMMUTE SERVICE MAP North Hollis South Hollis North Shellmound South Shellmound/Powell Watergate Express