Generic ongoing KCATA thread

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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by enough »

my understanding is that route 201 is a virtually no-cost experiment using resources -- i.e., buses and drivers -- that would otherwise not be used at all. (kcata keeps a handful of buses and drivers on standby in case of breakdowns or service disruptions.) i suspect route 201 won't last past the end of march.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by KCPowercat »

Pardon the horrible MS-Paint artistic talent but the 10th & Main transit plaza has been bugging me for awhile. It seems like so much wasted space and so many buses laying over on 10th and main street. So below is a possible solution. On the left is the "current", on the right is my vision.....biggest changes are a 2nd diagonal lane and a cut in the curb on 10th street so buses can lay over there and get out of traffic. It would take moving the fountain which could be tricky. I compared this to the satellite overview and I think the 2nd diagonal lane could work...anyways...

Image
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by smh »

KCPowercat wrote:Pardon the horrible MS-Paint artistic talent but the 10th & Main transit plaza has been bugging me for awhile. It seems like so much wasted space and so many buses laying over on 10th and main street. So below is a possible solution. On the left is the "current", on the right is my vision.....biggest changes are a 2nd diagonal lane and a cut in the curb on 10th street so buses can lay over there and get out of traffic. It would take moving the fountain which could be tricky. I compared this to the satellite overview and I think the 2nd diagonal lane could work...anyways...

Image
I think your idea is a good one! What I really wish though is that we could get rid of the transit center altogether. Instead Metro would use Grand (or another street, but probably Grand what with the streetcar going on Main and all) and just stagger busses along it making it sort of like a transit mall a la Portland or Seattle. I just think concentrating everything on one corner takes away from the whole block whereas a nice dispersal throughout the corridor dilutes the secondary effects.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by kboish »

I agree that they probably need to remove the 10th and main transit center with the impending (hopefully?) streetcar on main. I'd be ok with having more of a transit mall along grand, but don't think that would jive with the "making grand grand" plan. Maybe a larger bus transit @ union station once the street car is up? with a smaller one in RiverMarket?
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by KCPowercat »

Why would the streetcar lead to the transit center going away? I think it increases its functionality.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by smh »

KCPowercat wrote:Why would the streetcar lead to the transit center going away? I think it increases its functionality.
Agreed. I'd just like it to go away in general, but if anything it increases the connectivity of the streetcar/transit center. I just don't like concentrating everybody on that one block, but I mentioned that already I suppose...
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by kboish »

I guess it just seems to me like having at 10th and main would make that area extremely cluttered. Maybe that is just a function of the current design like you are saying and could be addressed if they fixed the design, but it seems like it would make more sense to move that main bus transit center to union station if that is where regional rail is going to terminate as well as the streetcar. RM seems like a smaller hub connecting KCK (already being planned for 2013 State Ave Max, has the mega bus..though that could move to US) and the northeast.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by FangKC »

Bus ridership up 5.7 percent in 2011; highest ridership in 20 years

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... jumps.html
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GRID
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by GRID »

Snapped a pic of this thinking this would be sweet if max were upgraded to something like this between the river market and plaza:

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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by KCMax »

Is that a dedicated lane the entire route?

At the very least, I would like to see the MAX lane differently-colored, even if its not a completely dedicated lane.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by chingon »

How much could that possibly cost per mile? Union Station --> UMKC (via Main) --> Swope (via Troost and Meyer) is only 8 or nine miles.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by GRID »

KCMax wrote:Is that a dedicated lane the entire route?

At the very least, I would like to see the MAX lane differently-colored, even if its not a completely dedicated lane.
That's the vegas BRT, so no. Once they get south of Downtown and onto LV Blvd, they sit in traffic like everybody else.

The part north of the strip is dedicated and they are expanding it into the northern burbs in the same manor.

You can tell though that they are very attractive to tourists and commuters that probably wouldn't ride a typical city bus while the local buses on the same route have a totally different clientele.

I think if KC had this instead of it's current max, the benefits would far outweigh the difference in cost and ridership would probably double along the max line. Just paving the bus lane a different color and purchasing large articulated buses would do it. Making it actually dedicated would probably really clean up the entire corridor and attract TOD development. KC's current max won't do that.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by enough »

at the kcata board of commissioners meeting tomorrow (feb 29), staff will ask approval for accepting johnson county monthly passes on metro buses beginning may 1. taken at face value, it sounds like a one-sided bargain since the jo would not accept metro passes -- there's a price differential that makes that a problem -- so transit action network will ask that the jo accept the kcata day pass on its buses in return. taken together, the two actions should help increase transit ridership on both systems.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by enough »

i attended today's meeting. no pass reciprocity.

the kcata boc ok'd accepting jct passes on kcata buses, but it's not clear whether they'll accept all jct monthly passes, or just the so-called "new" pass that jct will sell through its website for $67. jct riders will thus gain access to nearly the entire kcata system, seven days a week and 20 hours a day. the only benefit kcata riders will get is the opportunity to purchase a $67 pass. we need to take this a step at a time, said one commissioner.

not only is kcata not going to ask jct to accept the kcata monthly pass, they're not even going to ask jct to accept the kcata day pass, which is what a transit action network representative asked.

kcata and jct staff are so proud of themselves for talking with each other about sharing revenue from the $67 pass that bean-counting is apparently all they can think about. sheeesh.

this is a real lost opportunity -- unless they have second thoughts.

</rant>
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by KCPowercat »

Is this really the biggest of the ATA's concerns???
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by enough »

^ this is absolutely NOT the biggest of the ata's concerns. however, this is part of making the region's transit services operate as a coordinated total system. if we wait to make progress until it's the number one priority for each operator, then we will never make progress toward the goal of seamless transit.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by enough »

jct tweeted today that they are about to begin selling their monthly pass through their website for $67. their monthly pass has heretofore been available only through employers.

jct also tweeted that kcata will accept the jct monthly pass beginning may 1.

that shouldn't be news to readers of this thread, but i think this is the first announcement from jct.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by KCPowercat »

This may be a silly question. Can I board a southbound route and remain on for the new northbound direction?
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by chaglang »

KCPowercat wrote:This may be a silly question. Can I board a southbound route and remain on for the new northbound direction?
I've done that before. Sometimes they make you get off when they stop for a schedule adjustment, but I've always been able to get back on without paying again.
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Re: Generic ongoing KCATA thread

Post by DaveKCMO »

also, assuming the bus isn't headed back to the garage to be replaced by another vehicle and driver.
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