KCRag Forum

I finally, for the first time ever, saw someone riding the Jo. It was amazing, that one poor soul all alone on the bus. I guess The Jo is well used.

Yep, it sure is well used!!! lol, well on friday afternoon on my way to crown center I saw The Jo on the other side of i-35. It looked different, similar to a charter bus...never seen 1 like that before. the only Jo's I've seen are those short mini buses and lime green too.

Problem with the Jo is that once it drops you off downtown, it leaves you stranded for 8 - 12 hours.

QueSi2Opie wrote:Problem with the Jo is that once it drops you off downtown, it leaves you stranded for 8 - 12 hours.

This sounds worse than transportation in Madagascar. The sad fact is...it probably is.

Cities in third world countries generally have excellent public transit, compared to most of the US, because it gets ridden there.

Maybe some are regretting the short sighted decision against commuter rail now.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/s ... st=b_ln_hl
Bus riders crowd The Jo as gas prices soar

Most of The Jo's four morning express buses from Olathe to Downtown were standing-room-only this week as rising gasoline prices pushed commuters onto Johnson County's mass-transit system.

#  Route B from Olathe, up 27 percent.
# Route D from Lenexa, up 19.9 percent.
# Route L serving Olathe and Overland Park, up 54 percent.
# Route I offering reverse commute from Downtown to Olathe, up 22.3 percent.
# Route N from south Overland Park, up 27 percent.

These stats are the same as when Grain Valley grows by 35% a year, but the raw numbers don't compare to most other towns more modest growth.

27% increase on a JO bus?  So there are 16 riders instead of 12 on a bus? I still think more people (or about the same) ride the Blue Springs Express (pop 50,000) than the entire system of JO commuter buses, pretty sad for a county of 500,000 people.

i used to catch the joco bus back in the day from the plaza to jccc, transfer from kcata plus a buck, and the ridership was always like 15 or so.

Read the article.  It says 'standing room only' on JO buses to downtown.

ignatius wrote: Read the article.  It says 'standing room only' on JO buses to downtown.

I read it and saw the SRO.  The Olathe route is getting crowded.  I'm just saying that typically the JO buses are empty.

Its good to see them getting used, maybe it will lead to more transit ridership in KC.

i would love to see those busses used more. the probelem i always had with that is public transportation is subsidized, and in joco without the tax money, the busses would die. in kcmo the ridership could support the busline.

kcdcchef wrote: i would love to see those busses used more. the probelem i always had with that is public transportation is subsidized, and in joco without the tax money, the busses would die. in kcmo the ridership could support the busline.

Not even close.  2/3 of the ATA budget comes from KCMO's transit sales tax.  Only 20% comes from fares paid by passengers.  No public transportation can survive on fares alone, it all requires a tax subsidy.

http://kcata.org/who_we_are.html

dangerboy wrote: Not even close.  2/3 of the ATA budget comes from KCMO's transit sales tax.  Only 20% comes from fares paid by passengers.  No public transportation can survive on fares alone, it all requires a tax subsidy.

http://kcata.org/who_we_are.html

Of course it requires a subsidy. Road and highway construction receives billions and billions in public subsidies as does the oil industry. Why should't public transporation get the same treatment?

so kcata gets 20% from fares, what about joco, 1%?

trailerkid wrote: Road and highway construction receives billions and billions in public subsidies as does the oil industry. Why should't public transporation get the same treatment?

Road and Highway construction receives public subsidies because they are public endeavors.  I know of no direct subsidies that go to oil companies but they do receive perfectly reasonable tax write-offs for such business losses as exploration drilling failure (which is arguably a subsidy and allows companies to continue the extremely risky practice of exploration for the oil and gas we Americans are more than happy to burn in our SUV's). 

On the other hand, higher gas prices and increased ridership in Johnson County may be the initial precursor for a the fixed mass transit system we all know we need. 

kcdcchef wrote: so kcata gets 20% from fares, what about joco, 1%?

1%?  What's your source?  Please provide a link or citation.

Does the "JoCo basher's handbook" count as a source?    Seriously, I think it is a new low to try and start a a KC state v. state pissing match over the relative qualities of their mass transit systems.  "Look my underused, pathetically inadequate system is better than your underused, pathetically inadequate system".  However, I understand that some people here can't get through a day without getting a dig in somewhere. 

no source dangerboy, and no, not trying to start anything. look, i used to use the joco transit, and the kcata, and was shocked that the ridership on kcata is a lot higher than joco and only accounts for 20%. i guessed at the 1%, it has to be low, the joco buses dont operate as many or as much, and they are greatly underused. that is all, no state v state. just an opinion. chill.

LenexatoKCMO wrote: Does the "JoCo basher's handbook" count as a source?   

Hey, I co-authored that scintillating tome.

Gas prices drive public to use JO

Gas prices of $2.75 per gallon may have driven some people out of their SUVs and into The JO - Johnson County's public bus service.

Phil Detrixhe, planning and marketing manager for Johnson County Transit, released ridership statistics last week.

Ridership grew 6.5 percent from 368,274 in 2004 to 392,402 in 2005, based on numbers provided by Detrixhe. But through April of this year, the pace quickened to 16.6 percent, he said.

"They're finding it's a lot more economical to park the car and ride the bus," Detrixhe said.

Some people pay as much as $240 monthly to drive, he said.

The buses are used more, but remain comfortable, Detrixhe said.

"They're not crowded," Detrixhe said.

If the rate of growth continues, buses could be added "because of need," he said.