In this Google Maps Engine Pro rendition, you can toggle on and off various layers including the old bus network, the new Frequent Network, and the other routes in the Frequent Network. This rendition is how I have been able to get a good grasp of our draft transit network for the next few years and work up this series of blog posts detailing my thoughts on the network as a whole and every route in the network specifically.
METRO's route-by-route summary of all local bus routes in the re-imagined network
Enjoy!
OVERALL
Too-Downtown centric... not enough
buses in high-density areas... Orphaned outlying bus route
endings... Going north-south... Confusing circuitous routes and
route-branches... Such have been the issues with our current local
bus network that have been rotting on the shelf for literally
decades.
The new Draft network, open for public comment until the end of June, fixes most or all of these problems and except in the Outer Loop Northeast and North is a brilliant improvement in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Houstonians and many, many others in the Multi-Cities from all walks of life.
WEST & SOUTHWEST
The new Draft network, open for public comment until the end of June, fixes most or all of these problems and except in the Outer Loop Northeast and North is a brilliant improvement in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Houstonians and many, many others in the Multi-Cities from all walks of life.
WEST & SOUTHWEST
North of Willowbend and south of
Memorial, the bus service will be enormous. Some direct connections,
such as Westheimer to Richmond, Galleria to Greenway, and Greenway to
Rice Village will be missed, but the idea is that the increased
frequency of service with the greatly-expanded Frequent network will
offset the dearth of those direct trips.
Mission Bend P&R becomes a true transit hub for the far-west and West Oaks areas for the first time with the 4 Beechnut's deviation to same being very nifty as well as the 32 Eldridge's segment between that transit hub and West Oaks Mall, even if it is a green route.
METRO has gone out of its way to de-orphanize the western termini of a lot of east-west routings in this part of town and everywhere across METRO's service area, and it will be interesting to see how ridership does in this part of town.
NORTHWEST & FM 1960
I do not believe there has ever been a single route going the whole of Memorial. I do believe Memorial City could be serviced by even more routes than it is, already.
Like Mission Bend P&R, Addicks P&R becomes an effective transit center as well, though the keeping the name to 'P&R' in both instances is sensible to avoid confusion for P&R commuters.
Capital Park Way and Westway Park Blvd. become an effective transit center with three turnbacks meeting there. Bravo to METRO for this!
And bravo to METRO for the use of W. Little York P&R for bringing Tidwell and Gessner routings together for perhaps the first time ever. I look forward to seeing what the new 95 Jones will do.
FM 1960's routings have become more complicated with six routes to, from, and in that area whereas it currently has four. Still, though, one of these six routes is indeed the 95 Jones that connects this far-flung part of town directly to the Frequent Network.
Mission Bend P&R becomes a true transit hub for the far-west and West Oaks areas for the first time with the 4 Beechnut's deviation to same being very nifty as well as the 32 Eldridge's segment between that transit hub and West Oaks Mall, even if it is a green route.
METRO has gone out of its way to de-orphanize the western termini of a lot of east-west routings in this part of town and everywhere across METRO's service area, and it will be interesting to see how ridership does in this part of town.
NORTHWEST & FM 1960
I do not believe there has ever been a single route going the whole of Memorial. I do believe Memorial City could be serviced by even more routes than it is, already.
Like Mission Bend P&R, Addicks P&R becomes an effective transit center as well, though the keeping the name to 'P&R' in both instances is sensible to avoid confusion for P&R commuters.
Capital Park Way and Westway Park Blvd. become an effective transit center with three turnbacks meeting there. Bravo to METRO for this!
And bravo to METRO for the use of W. Little York P&R for bringing Tidwell and Gessner routings together for perhaps the first time ever. I look forward to seeing what the new 95 Jones will do.
FM 1960's routings have become more complicated with six routes to, from, and in that area whereas it currently has four. Still, though, one of these six routes is indeed the 95 Jones that connects this far-flung part of town directly to the Frequent Network.
FAR-NORTH/Greenspoint
Greenspoint TC is a huge transit hub
servicing routes going to FM 1960, IAH, Greenspoint, and with its
Frequent Network 54 Airline Montrose.
NORTH & NORTHEAST
NORTH & NORTHEAST
Low ridership plus these areas not
being great job centers makes this part of our area the red-headed
step-child. God help us re FLEX, on which I am not keen. I'd
much-rather have some more green routes, but if ridership is as low
as METRO surmises, FLEX may very well be the most cost-effective
solution at this time.
FLEX will be a hard, hard sell.
FLEX will be a hard, hard sell.
INNER LOOP NORTH, NORTHWEST, &
NORTHEAST
This part of northeast Houston fares
much better than that outside the Loop with at least plenty of greens
to go around. The lack of Frequent service up Hirsch or N. Wayside
is lamentable.
Inner Loop North and Northwest are well-served by the Frequent Network.
INNER LOOP EAST / Buffalo Bayou
All-green through here with Galena Park's service being reduced with the demise of the full current 30 Clinton Galena Park branch...
DOWNTOWN
METRO has kept the number of buses travelling through Downtown to a minimum, but could not take all the buses out of Downtown entirely.
TMC / South-of-Downtown
Inner Loop North and Northwest are well-served by the Frequent Network.
INNER LOOP EAST / Buffalo Bayou
All-green through here with Galena Park's service being reduced with the demise of the full current 30 Clinton Galena Park branch...
DOWNTOWN
METRO has kept the number of buses travelling through Downtown to a minimum, but could not take all the buses out of Downtown entirely.
TMC / South-of-Downtown
Very good service throughout, though
south of OST, inclusive, there are plenty of routes, but no Frequent
Network until Bellfort.
FAR SOUTHWEST
That being south of Beechnut and west
of Hwy. 288... Things are much-cleaned-up in this part of town with
Hiram Clarke being the true transit hub, though with no Frequent
connection.
FAR SOUTHEAST / Hobby Airport
FAR SOUTHEAST / Hobby Airport
The 70 Bellfort is the Frequent Network
in this area, but the ridership has never justified a direct bus
service to either airport.
NOTABLE ROUTES other than FLEX
The 50 Shepherd comes to mind, first as does the 54 Airline Montrose. 4 Beechnut's deviation at its west end is very nice, and the 32's connection to West Oaks is very cool, however infrequent it may be.
NOTABLE ROUTES other than FLEX
The 50 Shepherd comes to mind, first as does the 54 Airline Montrose. 4 Beechnut's deviation at its west end is very nice, and the 32's connection to West Oaks is very cool, however infrequent it may be.
The 95 Jones is the most-startling
change in the system, quite honestly.
Next blog post, we get to the routes themselves...
Next blog post, we get to the routes themselves...
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