OFFICIAL: Troost MAX

[chrizow]

it doesn't take 20 minutes for a MAX bus to hit 5 stops in the dead streets of KC. have you ever ridden it before? 100% serious question.

i've ridden the MAX many times.  i was kind of factoring in the wait time as well.  i've waited 15-20 minutes for a MAX before, and sometimes i don't wait at all.  i imagine that it would take around 10-15 minutes to actually ride the bus from 43/Troost to the second hospital hill stop, which is 7 stops down the line. 

[trailerkid]

i've ridden the MAX many times.  i was kind of factoring in the wait time as well.  i've waited 15-20 minutes for a MAX before, and sometimes i don't wait at all.  i imagine that it would take around 10-15 minutes to actually ride the bus from 43/Troost to the second hospital hill stop, which is 7 stops down the line.  

you're aware all the bus times are on google maps right?

how long does it take to scrape your car in the winter?

[chrizow]

you're aware all the bus times are on google maps right?

no, i mean the bus is 15-20 minutes late from the time it is supposed to be there.  if there is any kind of "live" timing mechanism beyond what is available at the MAX stop, i dont know about it and dont have the technology to track it. 

how long does it take to scrap your car in the winter?

on the absolute worst day of the winter, it takes probably 5-10 minutes.  the other 100 days, it takes 0-2 minutes. 


really though, i do want to ride the troost MAX.  hell i'd ride the 25 right now, but i have to come home at lunch to let the dog out.  i can deal with the delays to/from work, but another trip in the middle of the day would not work.  eventually though i hope to take the bus full-time and ditch my parking fees.

[trailerkid]

supplementing buses with a bike is always a nice option in kansas city with all its boulevards and park spaces.

no, i mean the bus is 15-20 minutes late from the time it is supposed to be there.  if there is any kind of "live" timing mechanism beyond what is available at the MAX stop, i dont know about it and dont have the technology to track it.  

http://www.kcata.org/maps_schedules/webwatch/

according to google maps...the 25 + 54 buses come every 5 minutes from the description of where you live to crown center! hyde park > crown center would be an enviable commute for any bicycle or transit commuter from chicago, minneapolis or denver. sadly, in kansas city it's just another "my car is faster" situation.

[chrizow]

i agree with you there.  my commute is very bikable.

[trailerkid]

i agree with you there.  my commute is very bikable.

the entire RCP area is very bikable.

my friend in mpls bikes 8 miles from ne mpls to bloomington. people in kc are completely insane.

[voltopt]

no, i mean the bus is 15-20 minutes late from the time it is supposed to be there.  if there is any kind of "live" timing mechanism beyond what is available at the MAX stop, i dont know about it and dont have the technology to track it. 

on the absolute worst day of the winter, it takes probably 5-10 minutes.  the other 100 days, it takes 0-2 minutes. 


really though, i do want to ride the troost MAX.  hell i'd ride the 25 right now, but i have to come home at lunch to let the dog out.  i can deal with the delays to/from work, but another trip in the middle of the day would not work.  eventually though i hope to take the bus full-time and ditch my parking fees.

I don't know if today is the absolute worst day of winter, but I didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes for the 25 (it comes every 10 minutes during the rush hour) and even with a transfer at 39th street, the total commute time was roughly 20 minutes.  The 25 comes within 4 blocks of Crown Center...

[trailerkid]

I don't know if today is the absolute worst day of winter, but I didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes for the 25 (it comes every 10 minutes during the rush hour) and even with a transfer at 39th street, the total commute time was roughly 20 minutes.   The 25 comes within 4 blocks of Crown Center...

what are you talking about? buying gas & insurance, car payments, warming the car for 15 minutes, scraping sheets of snow and ice off the windows, driving 15 mph in inclement weather, worrying about other motorists hitting your car, paying for monthly parking/searching for available spaces is much EASIER and FASTER than hopping on a bus. It's all about CONVENIENCE.

[bahua]

If you can afford a car, the convenience cannot be rivaled in Kansas City. It's a sad fact, and it won't change until the city takes a more active stance against people driving POVs. KC's future is plagued by abundant free and cheap parking, easy recourse for traffic tickets, cheap gas, tax incentives for car-centered development and disincentives for urban development, high speed limits, wide open multi-lane streets, and poor facilities for all else. If transit is going to succeed in Kansas City, all of these things need to change.

[enough]

^ agreed.

the most immediate related issue regarding troost brt is whether the city's traffic engineers will give them better signal priority than on main.  (signal priority will be more important on troost than on main because of greater frequency and heavier ridership -- factors that make it hard to keep buses running on schedule.)  i have asked more than once about signal priority discussions with the city, but it can be really hard to pry information out of the ata.

meanwhile, construction for max on troost -- at this point, mostly sidewalk work at and near stops -- is underway along troost. 

[DaveKCMO]

Facebook photo album: Troost MAX

[dangerboy]

Yesterday at the Center For Neighborhood for Technology event we were told that KCP&L still has the authority to develop transit along with power lines, a hold over from the electric street railway days.  So if we had been thinking bigger, ATA and KCP&L could have theoretically partnered to make Troost MAX an electric trolley bus line in conjunction with KCP&L's new Troost transmission lines.

[DaveKCMO]

Yesterday at the Center For Neighborhood for Technology event we were told that KCP&L still has the authority to develop transit along with power lines, a hold over from the electric street railway days.  So if we had been thinking bigger, ATA and KCP&L could have theoretically partnered to make Troost MAX an electric trolley bus line in conjunction with KCP&L's new Troost transmission lines.

that might have been a fair trade!

[DaveKCMO]

shelter/pad construction at 18th & holmes:

[trailerkid]

Are they using the same buses? i was thinking maybe troost MAX would have a different paint job.

MAX on troost is a significant step for the city because it is mainstreaming Troost to an audience that may not regularly travel the corridor. i would also anticipate it will create more pedestrians along the corridor. I'm excited to hear from all the "locals" exploring parts of the city they might've avoided in the past. there is no reason Troost couldn't develop in the future similar to the Crossroads in the late 90s/2000s or East Colfax in Denver.

[enough]

same buses, but with a different colored headsign (green).  in fact, most of the new buses are already in service on main.  the seating is different -- left and right-side seats are at the same level -- and the new ones have a more prominent exhaust pipe.  five of the new buses will be hybrids, and they have not yet been delivered.

don't expect troost max to lure many current max riders over to the new route, but the new infrastructure along troost is bound to help spur some additional economic activity there.  habitat restore, for example, will open a new location at 3200 troost (linwood and troost).

[enough]

fourteen max buses for troost have been delivered, of which four are hybrids.  a fifteenth bus, also a hybrid, was ordered separately (apparently out of savings due to low construction bids) and will be delivered next year.

several of the new max buses have been in service on main since early march. 

construction of the new bridge over brush creek should begin within a month or two, and that will cost the ata something like a half-million dollars due to re-routes.  troost max service is likely to begin before the new bridge is completed.

[trailerkid]

We all know MAX is pretty much a joke, but I'm happy to see an ungraded line on Troost. It would be very interesting to see if there's an economic impact in 5-10 years.

[KCMax]

Regional Transit Alliance Public Input Luncheon

Soon you'll be able to take Bus Rapid Transit from 119th and Metcalf in Overland Park, down Shawnee Mission Parkway, through the Country Club Plaza and over to Troost Avenue.

We need your comments and ideas about how this will look and how it might change your ability to travel throughout the region.

Limited space with box lunch and refreshments provided.

June 18 11:30 am
HNTB Community Room
715 Kirk Drive
Kansas City, MO 64105

http://events.constantcontact.com/regis ... otgaaaocvi

[phna]

We all know MAX is pretty much a joke, but I'm happy to see an ungraded line on Troost. It would be very interesting to see if there's an economic impact in 5-10 years.

I used it.


Once.