Johnson County Transit (The JO)

[DaveKCMO]

Is it weird that there is no mention where it would go in Missouri? It says across state line but to where? I guess it doesn't matter?

it mentions a "waldo station", which i assume to be the waldo MAX stop at 74th and Wornall (which is also where other KCATA routes in that area converge).

[shinatoo]

it mentions a "waldo station", which i assume to be the waldo MAX stop at 74th and Wornall (which is also where other KCATA routes in that area converge).

ah yes, i missed that.

[KCMax]

I assume this route would run twice a week, at the most inconvenient times imaginable?

[Stockton]

Hopefully it'll be an all-day route rather than just rush hour. Waldo, PV, SMMC, dt OP, apartments in Shawnee, OP Mall, JCCC, and KU Edwards/Lawrence transfer, are some pretty good route destinations.

[enough]

according to the just-updated johnson county transit strategic plan (see page 59 of 95)
http://www.thejo.com/pdf/StrategicPlan2010.pdf
the new 75th street route would run from waldo (connection with the max) westward along 75th street and then south on quivira to 127th.  there would be peak service only during the first year, with midday service added the second year.  kcata would like them to extend east to 75th and troost to connect with troost max.

[KCMax]

KS HB 2650was passed by the Senate Committee on Transportation. It would bump state spending on transit from $6 million to $11 million.

It would also raise $2.73 billion in taxes and vehicle registration fees to finance highway improvements for the next decade. But we can't pay for schools.

Panel passes highway plan

[KCMax]

Johnson County Transit will offer free WiFi service on all bus routes

[DaveKCMO]

Direct east-west route linking Johnson County to KC?s Waldo area planned

one step forward...

Johnson County is planning to spend $1.3 million to run buses primarily along 75th Street and Quivira Road from Waldo to Johnson County Community College and then to the University of Kansas Edwards Campus.

At either the community college or the Edwards campus, riders could hook up with the popular K-10 Connector bus that runs to Lawrence.

two steps back...

Some Johnson County commissioners last week made it clear that they were not interested in paying for bus service that would be confined to several cities. They signaled that they wanted cities to pay for operating costs in the future, a different approach than what cities said they have discussed with the county. It all raises a larger question about how public transportation should be funded in the county.

[KCMax]

Yayboo!

[trailerkid]

When is the soonest this project could start?

75th Street connector is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE step for JoCo and all we hear is crickets.  This could be a major step toward JoCo joining a regional conversation about transit. I guess the Royals are that enthralling or did BLVD release a new craft beer?

[LenexatoKCMO]

When is the soonest this project could start?

75th Street connector is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE step for JoCo and all we hear is crickets.  This could be a major step toward JoCo joining a regional conversation about transit. I guess the Royals are that enthralling or did BLVD release a new craft beer?

Sorry, we'll schedule a parade next time.

[DaveKCMO]

When is the soonest this project could start?

75th Street connector is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE step for JoCo and all we hear is crickets.  This could be a major step toward JoCo joining a regional conversation about transit. I guess the Royals are that enthralling or did BLVD release a new craft beer?

this summer, according to a previous article.

joco is part of the conversation, they're just not doing anything that involves serious coordination or revenue reciprocity (regional passes, for example). the fact that most of their routes that terminate in KCMO actually connect to KCATA routes is going to have to be good enough for a very long time to come.

there will honestly have to be a federal push (with $$) for regional transit passes or smart card technologies for this ever to happen.

[KCMax]

When is the soonest this project could start?

75th Street connector is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE step for JoCo and all we hear is crickets.  This could be a major step toward JoCo joining a regional conversation about transit. I guess the Royals are that enthralling or did BLVD release a new craft beer?

This actually will run by my house, but until they offer service beyond work commute hours, it means nothing to me.

Why is this a major step? The JO already has connections with KCATA. This says little about JoCo's commitment (or lack thereof) to regional transit.

[enough]

if jct runs the new 75th street route over to troost for improved connectivity, and if they also agree to a monthly pass reciprocity agreement with the ata -- the ata has proposed one in the past -- that will be strong evidence of a commitment to regional transit.

[trailerkid]

Why is this a major step? The JO already has connections with KCATA. This says little about JoCo's commitment (or lack thereof) to regional transit.

Connecting Waldo to 75th Street in JoCo is step 1, but it's a major one. It is an outright admission that transit service is warranted in the county beyond downtown commuter buses. It is also a route that will link the county's denser areas with some of the county's cultural and employment centers. I don't expect car slaves to really understand or appreciate transit expansion. It's Greek to most of you.

Regionalism will not happen overnight, but excitement over transit is a surefire way to jump-start the discussion in that county. I predict the transit expansion in JoCo will be successful and finally bring erode some of the imaginary political lines we see in this metro.

[dangerboy]

75th Street connector is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE step for JoCo and all we hear is crickets. 

Crickets?  Really?  It's an important step, but not huge.  "Huge" would be rejoining the KCATA or passing a county transit tax.

[enough]

^ there are any number of ways that the region's transit operations would immediately become more "seamless" if johnson county were to contract with kcata instead of first transit to operate their transit service. 

as johnson county transit inches toward being a "real" transit agency, rather than a commuter bus service, they have people on staff trying to do "new" things that could be done far more efficiently by ata staff who already do it routinely. 

providing information, for one thing.  jct has had little need to put information on the street since nearly all of their passengers are "rut riders" who board the same bus day in and day out.  making transit service user-friendly for people who take only occasional trips is another matter.  take posting bus stop signs and corner schedules as an example.  that will take a whole new way of thinking and operating for jct, yet for kcata it would entail simply doing what they already do at a few hundred additional locations.

another case in point -- the route 901 holiday service that jct operated between mission and the plaza between thanksgiving and new years probably could have been done at lower cost by kcata since there'd be no need for jct to pay overtime to have a dispatcher on duty to monitor and coordinate two drivers. 

[GRID]

When is the soonest this project could start?

75th Street connector is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE step for JoCo and all we hear is crickets.  This could be a major step toward JoCo joining a regional conversation about transit. I guess the Royals are that enthralling or did BLVD release a new craft beer?

Wow, such progress, at this rate, there may be buses running down 95th from Lackman to Prospect by the year 2060!  Still won't be able to use the same pass on the metro and jo though. .

Are things really this bad in KC that this is the best transit news the city has seen in decades?  I guess so.

I can't wait to read the next rail "study".  It should be done by the year 2020!  Then they can start a new study!

[shinatoo]

Wow, such progress, at this rate, there may be buses running down 95th from Lackman to Prospect by the year 2060!  Still won't be able to use the same pass on the metro and jo though. .

Are things really this bad in KC that this is the best transit news the city has seen in decades?  I guess so.

I can't wait to read the next rail "study".  It should be done by the year 2020!  Then they can start a new study!

Any JoCo papers or blogs running op-ed pieces on how this will just be transportation for crime into their fine upstanding neighborhoods?

[enough]

jct is now tweeting about trips between oak park mall and crown center using their route m (midday) in combination with route d (quivira). 
http://twitter.com/JoCoTheJO

who knows -- by summer we could see joco moms with kids doing transit "expeditions" to see the dinosaurs at union station.