ok so here it goes... here is the transit system I came up with ..
I havent added mount pearl yet or the Goulds.. I think the goulds could use the same routes as it does now, but it may need a more creative solution.
anyways here goes nothing
explanation:
The system is a feeder/hub/express system.
This is inspired by how subway systems work in unisen with buses.
Buses gather people to subwaystations which then take people to points of interest rapidly.
The basics of the system is that there are hubs which have bus terminals and desired destinations with many people.
then the hubs are connected by express routes which go non stop between the major points of interests.
gathering people from the streets to the hubs are feeder routes which are the winding routes we are more use to, however they are short and the buses run both ways on them.
This makes the winding trips no longer than 15 minutes (the route could take 30 minutes to complete the loop to the hub however the max is 15 minutes either way.
The timing is what makes this efficient. if it takes you 10 minutes on the feeder then you arrive at the hub (all routes will be times to arrive when the express routes will depart)
then you get an express to the hub desired. this will take about 20 minutes give or take.
Then if you desire to venture further from the destination hub by taking one of it's feeders, it will only take a max of 15 minutes more.
what makes this efficient is the combination of feeder routes bringing people to and from the hubs and express routes rushing people between hubs.
reducing transfers
To reduce the amount of transfers, some of the buses could continue whilst changing route. for example take the D1 bus to hub D then that bus will become the bus which goes on the express route to hub C from there.
When it gets to hub C it continues as a C1 route bus. Of course an announcement will be made when they change route, and this will be a consistent practice for paired up routes.
Most people will most likely get off at a hub however this gives the opportunity to reduce the amount of transfers on a journey.
In theory a person could take a bus from kenmount terrace to the Avalon mall which then goes directly to the Village mall and continues on to the west end to for example Bowring park in about 30-35 minutes.
This is a dramatic increase in efficiency compared to the current system.
Expanding the system
This style of system allows easy additions. for example mount pearl could add a Hub or two and a few short feeder routes which serve the needs of the community then connect them with the existing system via express routes.
Assuming not all communities come on line in the region right away, in order to reduce the amount of traffic,
park and ride can be established at the hubs which will have express routes and no worries of parking to the areas of interest such as downtown.
Places such as CBS can eventually connect their hub(s) via express routes using the highway (very fast access to downtown).
Another upgrade to infrastructure I would suggest eventually happen is that the main through fares such as colombus drive add a bus/carpool lane. This will give transit an added advantage over
cars and make it more desirable while allowing a more efficient system during peek hours. As well, emergency vehicules can use these lanes to bypass most traffic.
here is a simplified map .. so you can see how there are feeders and express routes connecting.
to explain the route numbering
The Hubs are lettered A,B,C,D,E,F and their feeder routes are their letter plus a number ex. B2
The express routes are lettered with Z and are grey
Black routes are for when more than 2 routes take the same road (to reduce the number of lines)
Here is the system map: