DENVER | Transportation Thread

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

TakeFive, maybe you should set up a personal blog.

Thanks for the confidence; it's an interesting idea. Unfortunately my 'blogging time' is already stretched too thin. Also, I'm just starting my driving sprint to the New Year. Need to buy a new pair of shoes.

But if you think I'm the only critic of RTD, think again.

Lawmakers To RTD: Shape Up Or We’ll Restructure You
December 18, 2019 By Nathaniel Minor - CPR

Three state lawmakers delivered a stern message to the Regional Transportation District on Tuesday: Come to the legislature with ideas on how to improve its services, or lawmakers will intervene. ...
And so if you don't come to us with a solution, legislators will come up with the solution." “And you won’t like it,” added state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada.

Rather dramatic but that's.... politics.

There’s a lack of willingness on the legislature’s part to make changes that could benefit RTD, Zenzinger warned. “Conversely, there is a lot of conversation about just ending it all together,” she said.

“Coming to the legislature and saying, ‘Please stop hamstringing us,’ I don't think you're going to get a very positive reaction,” she said. “I don't think you're going to find a lot of people that are likely trying to do you that favor, so much as seeing it as an opportunity to completely restructure.”

[TakeFive]

It turns out that RTD is not the only agency that needs a makeover

Our Capitols' D.C. Metro is going there and it sounds like they want to do what twister244 and I have been suggesting. They want to focus resources and improve service on high priority routes. In other cases they're looking to discontinue Big Bertha bus routes in favor of Micro-transit.

https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2019/12/...reets-in-2020/

Starting this winter, Metro is set to begin discussions of a complete overhaul of the region’s bus network. ... The total changes for the region’s bus system are part of a new action plan proposed this week by the Bus Transformation Project team.

That group suggested that the total restructuring of the Metrobus and local bus system be completed by 2025, with an initial proposal by the end of 2020, and another mid-point milestone in late 2023.

What's the thinking here?

Other suggested steps include adopting new regional bus standards and funding formulas within the next year, improved and standardized data by 2023, expanded on-demand microtransit by 2025 in areas where regular bus routes are cut, and additional Metro financial support...

[The Dirt]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Unfortunately my 'blogging time' is already stretched too thin.

... says the guy that posts more messages in this thread than everyone else combined.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

That right there screams for a few traffic cameras and a new revenue stream for the city: quasi-tolled access lanes.

As much as I enjoyed the Hatfields & McCoys, I don't recall who the winner was?

Originally Posted by The Dirt

... says the guy that posts more messages in this thread than everyone else combined.

Please feel free to post as much as you wish. Something interesting and substantive would also be really cool.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

As much as I enjoyed the Hatfields & McCoys, I don't recall who the winner was?

The Hatfields. They incurred fewer casualties, kept their territory, and maintained their wealth.

[TakeFive]

Denver RTD settles for 2nd place

https://www.nj.com/traffic/2019/12/n...-feds-say.html

NJ Transit trains are the worst in the nation, racking up the most breakdowns of any transit system during 2018.

NJ Transit was ranked first for 375 total mechanical failures in 2018, which meant the train could not complete or start a trip. Denver Regional Transportation District trains were a close second with 373 breakdowns.

Close but no cigar, at least in 2018.

[Cirrus]

The DC thing is about cutting costs to meet a legislative mandate from the Virginia General Assembly back when it was controlled by Republicans. WMATA is specifically proposing high-profile bus guts in order to get attention in the hopes that the new Democratic General Assembly will change the cost-cutting law. They are not actually going to cut all those bus routes, many of which are among the highest-ridership lines in the system and would be completely impractical as anything other than bus.

It's like if the Colorado legislature passed a bill saying RTD had to cut its bus operating costs, and RTD came back with a proposal to cut the Broadway and Colfax lines, knowing that would get headlines.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

The DC thing is about cutting costs to meet a legislative mandate from the Virginia General Assembly back when it was controlled by Republicans.

Politics aside...

Okay, I know little about the D.C. metro area but your post made me do some quick-reads. With respect to buses (as apposed to recent rail issues) the picture appears to be a total clustermess of poor performance and dysfunction. Circling the drain wouldn't be fair but it's obviously not a pretty picture.

https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2019/04/...-area-traffic/

• Metrobus responsibilities could be pared back to only high-frequency routes on major roads, with other routes shifted to local governments. “Metrobus will operate the ‘rubber tire rail network’ — the high-intensity, truly inter-jurisdictional services that foster regional mobility; local agencies will be empowered to better serve residents and businesses with direct control of local service,” the report said.

• “Recognize that one size does not fit all, and service decisions must be guided by demand drivers, critical success factors and coordinate performance targets,” the strategy recommends.

• The region could also consider nontraditional bus service, such as the new microtransit test planned for Montgomery County this summer.

Sounds a whole lot like what I've been talking about.

[TakeFive]

It's a start

RTD Plans To Temporarily Discontinue Multiple Routes In May 2020
December 19, 2019 CBS4 Denver

DENVER (CBS4) — The Regional Transportation District is working on a plan to address the current driver shortage that is expected to include more service cuts.

Oh boy, here they come.

The six bus routes subject to be (temporarily) discontinued come May 2020:

• Route 55 (old town/Arvada Ridge)
• Route 157 (CCA/Buckley)
• Route 235 (Boulder Junction/ US36 & Table Mesa)
• Route 403 (Lucent Blvd)
• Route 16L (West Colfax)
• Route 99L (Federal Center/S Kipling Limited)

Wait, there's more:

• Reducing service on 19 routes
• Suspending certain services such as BroncosRide, BuffRide, Rockies service and RudRide
• Reducing peak frequency of the MallRide to 3 minutes

What about wong's most favorite service?

As for Paratransit Service, RTD stated, “We are committed to not impact current paratransit service. Those currently being service will be grandfathered in provided they continue to reside at their current address.”

However, no new customers will be added to the program if fixed routes are eliminated in their area.

What about light rail?

• The D Line will no longer run service on weekends
• Weekend service on the C Line will be expanded to provide an option for D Line riders
• “Dropped trips are still likely, but not to the current degree.”

Seems like Bronco/Buff rides etc would be money makers?

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Seems like Bronco/Buff rides etc would be money makers?

Why? You run a hundred buses to a game, have them sit around for 3 hours, and then they return. That's a lot of standby expense.

I'd kill the buses but keep/increase the light rail frequency for the Broncos/Rockies specials. Once the N Line opens up you can meet most of the metro area needs via the rail system as people will be close enough to a train station to reasonably drive there.

As for the Buffs ride. F**k CU. Start fielding a halfway decent team and we can talk.

[mhays]

Gameday transit can be about building less parking, avoiding gridlock, and other general merits. It's costly but doesn't necessarily need to follow typical metrics.

Come to think of it, transit in high-use areas is always partially about reducing parking costs, avoiding new road infrastructure, and so on....often it saves many times what it costs from that perspective.

[PLANSIT]

The decision has nothing to do with cost. They don’t have drivers.

Again, there are no drivers for the buses.

[TakeFive]

More pending TOD

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Less for now...

It's hardly a surprise that bunt would be aware of things that I wouldn't be.

Denver releases draft RFP for National Western Center Triangle Project
December 17, 2019 By CREJ

The city and county of Denver’s Performance Based Infrastructure Office is taking the next step toward developing the southeast side of the National Western Center campus, known as the Triangle Project, with the initial release of a draft request for proposals.

What's the assignment?

The Triangle refers to a triangle-shaped, 60-acre area on the southeast side of the National Western Center campus. The city is looking for a development partner to design, build, finance, operate and maintain public facilities, including:

• restoration of the 1909 Stadium Arena,
• construction of an exposition hall, and
• construction of a new, midsize arena for the National Western Stock Show rodeos, concerts and other year-round entertainment events.

The incentive is?

https://www.cpr.org/2019/12/17/despi...estern-revamp/

The new buildings will use about 18 acres of a 60-acre area known as the “triangle” near I-70 and Brighton Boulevard. The private company will be allowed to develop the remaining 42 acres for either commercial or residential use, an income opportunity the city hopes will offset construction costs for the larger public facilities.

The city attracted two interested, qualified bidders. I have no clue the likelihood for something like this but why not give it the ole college try?

[TakeFive]

All Aboard the National Western train trolley


Image courtesy RTD


Image courtesy RTD via CREJ

The area outlined in orange is what Denver is putting out for P3 bid.

[SnyderBock]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

When I do it it’s the former. Would be impossible to pull anybody over on the new and improved 1-1/2 lane 15th Street, so what’s the risk?

They haven't painted the new downtown bus lanes with red yet. Remember, they did this on Broadway to determine it's effectiveness. Well, it's been extremely effective, so I certainly hope they plan to follow through with that data and paint the downtown bus lanes with red markings.

[SnyderBock]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Obviously when you build a bunch of rapid transit lines where they did not exist before, and otherwise do not cut other services, ridership will tend to go up. Obviously RTD ridership is higher with its rail lines than it would be without (assuming everything else stayed the same). No one here has ever claimed otherwise AFAIK. But if you really want to know, start with RTD's bus ridership from the year before rail opened, and apply an escalating proxy based on the average of a selection of cities that haven't opened major rail lines since then.

The more interesting question is how much higher RTD's ridership would be if they had built lines with maximizing ridership in mind, rather than with maximizing political coverage. We all recognize maximizing political coverage was necessary to pass a vote, but it would be interesting to know the lost opportunity cost. This would take a lot of work to find out. Plan a comparable-cost system, model it to get ridership.

I think the only reason why RTD system-wide ridership is down 5% over the last few years is because the price of fuel has been relatively cheap. If fuel were $4/gal, ridership would be higher.

[SnyderBock]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

It's a start

RTD Plans To Temporarily Discontinue Multiple Routes In May 2020
December 19, 2019 CBS4 Denver

Oh boy, here they come.

Wait, there's more:

What about wong's most favorite service?

What about light rail?

Seems like Bronco/Buff rides etc would be money makers?

I'm only in disagreement with the D-line cuts. RTD already reduced service frequency of the D-Line to once every 30 minutes. So you have two C-Line trains for every D-Line train. The D-Line goes right into Downtown. Google Maps will tell you to take a bus over the C-Line and mall shuttle option. Union Station just isn't good for the main core of downtown on the Champa to Civic Center of side of the city.

And now no D-Line on the weekends? So no D-Line to see the parade of lights, events at skyline park, political rallies at Civic Center, conventions at the Denver Convention Center, going out to eat and shop at Larimar square, shopping at Denver Pavilions, or strolling the 16th Street Mall on the part of the mall worth strolling on. Heck, I even take the D-Line to Rockies games, because I enjoy the stroll from 18th & California to Coors Field.

I basically ONLY use the D-Line and no other rail line in Denver. I never use the C-Line, unless I end up near Union Station while I'm downtown and then I'll use the C-Line to get home. Both the C-Line and D-Line need to be once every 10 minutes, so you'll have one or the other, every 5 minutes.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I have no clue the likelihood for something like this but why not give it the ole college try?

I would hope we do a little better than that.

[jhwk]

Originally Posted by SnyderBock

I think the only reason why RTD system-wide ridership is down 5% over the last few years is because the price of fuel has been relatively cheap. If fuel were $4/gal, ridership would be higher.

There have been several theories on this - in my opinion the fare increase was a big drive of the ridership loss. Another factor is that car ownership has gone way up since the recession among low income groups.

[TakeFive]

Ryan's Beat

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...train-stations

In a major city like Denver, many riders like Ryan Dravitz said they would like to see RTD get with the times. "The message boards don't say anything, the PA system doesn't say anything, so RTD is pretty notoriously bad at communication," said Dravitz.

Is Ryan giving us the straight scoop?

"We currently do not have the ability to deliver real time information and changes in real time on the signage that is at all the light rail stations," said Tonilas. For riders to get real-time updates, they must download RTD's app, look on the agency's website, or sign up for rider alert emails.

Tonilas said it's a software issue RTD is working to expediate, but that fix is still a least a year out. "We have many, multiple groups within RTD working on how we can enhance our real-time signage at the light rail stations, that will significantly improve our ability to give people information in a timely manner," she said.

Back to the bugaboo about Union Rules.

Another part of the equation involves when operators can call in sick. Tonilas said, under the current collective bargaining agreement with the union, drivers aren't required to provide notice they aren't coming to work until 30 minutes prior to their shift.

"We have to scramble to try to get those rider alerts out and our notifications to the public. That creates a really difficult situation for us," she said.