"Evaluating Household Savings From High Quality Public Transit Service"

Today's TARC topic is the paper from Todd Litman at Victoria Transport Policy Institute. The whole paper is a fascinating collection of previous studies, and its worth reading the whole thing, but I wanted to bring out one or two particularly telling examples from it.

One new approach Litman takes it compare the total household transportation costs when high quality transit is put into the mix. Even though there's a higher tax rate, the overall personal transportation expenses go down:

Residents of communities with high quality public transportation spend significantly less on average on motor vehicles and transport overall, even taking into account additional subsidies.

Next interesting tidbit is the summary of benefits of supporting transit, even if you personally for some reason will never ride it no matter how great it is:

Today kicked off the public meetings on the TARC cuts. There were two meetings.

The first meeting at Union Station was packed. I expected 30 people. There were over 100!! People were polite but grumpy their routes were getting cut. People were casting blame everywhere - elected officials, TARC 'bloat', you name it. Nevertheless, I think the meeting was educational for most people there. The presentation was "folks: we're broke, that's why we're cutting your service". At least two council members and two mayoral candidates were there. The "Best Organized" Oscar certainly goes to the riders of the #66 Mt Washington / Sheperdsville express, who had signs, name tags, and maybe even a logo asking for their favourite route to be preserved!

more below the fold...

This week we're going to run an article every day related to TARC, the Transportation Authority of River City. Today's theme is:

The Story So Far

• TARC is forced into significant route cuts, including the virtual elimination of their express bus service. Read TARC's Frequently Asked Questions on the cuts.
• Public meetings on the route cuts will run all this week, see ridetarc.org for details.
• Local transportation activist John Owen is stirring up people to not take the cuts lying down, and plans public meetings. Read his press release.
• Mayoral Candidate Jackie Green is doing a "media event" at 10:30 am at TARC on Tuesday.
• Join your fellow TARC riders on the bus@cartky.org mailing list.
• Click below the fold for the Bad TARC Joke of the Day...

Join this open discussion list to talk about life on TARC. Talk about problems, solutions, hopes, dreams, situations, routes -- whatever transit issue is on your mind!

Join the Conversation!

TARC plans to eliminate 24 routes in 2010, and cut most of the remaining 31 routes. Tommorow TARC's planned service cuts from this winter go into effect, but Louisvillian's revenue keeps on tanking, so TARC is having to cut more service for July. About $5m annually will be saved by this second round of cuts. The second round will be the subject of public meetings. See below for details.

TARC Routes, 2010

1 - 4th Street Trolley cut Feb, eliminate July
2 - Second Street cut Feb, cut again July
4 - Fourth Street cut Feb, cut again July
6 - Sixth Street cut Feb, cut again July, route change July
12 - Twelfth Street cut Feb, eliminate July
15 - Market Street cut Feb
17 - Bardstown Road route change July
18 - Preston / Dixie route change July
19 - Muhammad Ali Boulevard cut Feb, cut again July
21 - Chestnut Street route change July
22 - Twenty-second Street cut Feb, eliminate July
23 - Broadway route change July
25 - Oak Street cut Feb cut again July
27 - Hill Street cut July
29 - Eastern Parkway cut July
31 - Middletown cut Feb cut July
35 - Indian Trail-hikes Lane eliminate July
37 - Iroquois Park - Fairdale Express cut Feb eliminate July
38 - Deering Road Express eliminate July
40 - Jeffersontown Express
43 - Poplar Level/portland cut Feb
45 - Okolona Express cut Feb, eliminate July
46X - West Louisville / GE Express eliminate Feb
49 - Westport Express cut Feb, eliminate July
50 - Dixie Express eliminate July
52 - Medical Center Circulator
53 - Breckenridge Express cut Feb, eliminate July
54 - Manslick Express eliminate July
55 - Westport Road
58 - Bashford Manor - Oxmoor cut Feb, eliminate July
59 - River Road eliminate July
61 - Plainview Express cut Feb, eliminate July
62 - Breckenridge - Shepherdsville route change July
63 - Crums Lane cut Feb
64 - Fincastle-forest Spr Exp cut Feb, eliminate July
65 - Southern Indiana I-65 Express
66 - Mt Washington-shepherdsville, eliminate July
67 - Oldham I-71 Express cut Feb, cut again July
68 - Prospect Express eliminate July
69 - New Albany Express eliminate Feb
70 - Clarksville - New Albany Express eliminate Feb
71 - Jeffersonville cut Feb
72 - Clarksville - New Albany cut Feb, cut again July
73 - Charlestown Road Express cut Feb, eliminate July
74 - Jeffersonville / Riverfront
75 - Bluegrass Circulator eliminate July
77 - Main St. Trolley cut July
78 - Downtown/bluegrass Express cut Feb
80 - Hurstbourne Parkway eliminate July
84 - South Louisville
93 - Ups Shuttle - U of L
94 - Cardinal Shuttle Mon - Thurs
95 - Cardinal Shuttle Friday
96 - West Louisville Circulator eliminate Feb
99 - Ups Shuttle West Louisville

More on what you can do below the fold...

And now for something completely different! This amphibious bus could cross the Ohio River in 2-3 minutes, linking communities that will never be linked by bridges. Blankenbaker Lane to Oak Park? Zorn Ave to Jeffersonville? Grant Line Rd / Vincennes St to Portland? Watch the video. This puppy is already operational in New York.

Obligatory question: can we get a bike rack on that?

[Editorial - not the official position of CART]

Remove Bus Stops on Broadway to Win

Buses can't get anywhere if they're always starting or stopping. TARC's #23 on Broadway has so many bus stops, that it is hopelessly slow. Stops average every tenth of a mile.  Around 3rd street, there are even two stops on the same block! Buses run standing-room only in this part of town, and all the stops are used constantly.

View #23 TARC Stops in a larger map

Tarc is proposing to decrease the frequency of most routes, to make up for budget shortfalls. Here's the short list of routes that have zero proposed cuts:

• #17 Bardstown Road
• #18 Preston & Dixie
• #23  Broadway to Taylorsville Rd
• #27 Hill St
• #29 Eastern Parkway, Dixie Hwy, Shelbyville Rd
• #35 Indian Trail & Hikes Lane
• A few express buses - prolly seperate funding sources
• #77 Main St Trolley (Humana-funded?)
• UofL Loops
• UPS routes

Everything else is getting cut. Wow. Even the mighty #4 4th Street bus is getting the axe, for many years the pride of the system with 12 minute headways.

There will be many public meetings to discuss the changes, and these aren't set in stone.

TARC's new clean diesel buses have hit the streets with a new silver-swooshy paint job. Yours truly has bicycled in their exhaust stream and while I'm not seeking out that space, they do indeed beat the fumes of your typical older TARC bus. They're the cleanest diesels engines you're likely to draft in everyday life, that's for sure.

Though the new grey-based graphic design reminds us a bit of Louisville's other major passenger bus system ...

Update: A good time was had by all!

Don't miss out on the event of the century! The SECOND EVER Car-Free Happy Hour will be occurring next Tuesday, November 17, 2009, from 5:30 until 8PM at Third Avenue Cafe in Old Louisville! This will be the most exciting two and a half hours in the Louisville area's history.

Come join other peds, transit users, bicyclists, nerds, activists, neighbors, friends, community members, and maybe even mayoral candidates for scintillating (yes, I am a college grad) converstation and tasty vittles and bevs.

A participant in last month's Car-Free Happy Hour says: "It's stupendousness has doubled the price of awesomeness on the New York Stock Exchange."

ts stupendousness has doubled the price of awesomeness on the nyse!

So, there you have it folks. If you miss it, you will not be a square, you will be a rhombus.