Johnson County Transit (The JO)

[jimb]

The most annoying part of The Jo's routing is it doesn't take you anywhere useful.  I'd love to take the bus from Olathe to the Sprint campus as opposed to fighting my way across 119th and metcalf twice a day.  However, the closest I can get from Olathe is Rosanna Square, the the morning bus hits Rosanna Square AFTER Sprint.  Just the opposite in the evenings.  The distance from RS to Sprint isn't bad to walk most days, but its the prospect of playing Frogger across 187 lanes of Metcalf that I find daunting.

Its obvious the a lot of the routes are designed to bring people from the Missouri side down to Sprint and other south JoCo locations, not to move people around within the county itself.

[OPIchabod]

I hope people realize that the Jo isn't, nor was it designed to be (though it is supposed to appear as if) its a public transportation system.

The Jo is simply a glorified rideshare/car pool program subsidized by the government.

[DaveKCMO]

Its obvious the a lot of the routes are designed to bring people from the Missouri side down to Sprint and other south JoCo locations, not to move people around within the county itself.

that is the actual intent because it's the most effective way to carry the most amount of drivers with the least amount of funding. a local bus in overland park still probably wouldn't grab a lot of riders because the area is not designed to handle pedestrians. imagine getting off a bus at 119th and metcalf to shop at bed bath and beyond... you'd probably need to be airlifted to the front door because it would take you as long to walk to it as it took you to ride the bus from santa fe and K-7.

that's why the only local bus being discussed in joco (outside of paratransit) is along the metcalf corridor, and it's based on the assumption that the corridor can be completely reorganized around mixed use and multimodalism to encourage ridership.

[dangerboy]

^Yep.  Intra-County service will always be a challenge in Johnson County because of the suburban development pattern.  It might be more feasible in the Northeast, but so many employment and shopping destinations have moved south and west.

[enough]

"real" public transit in joco (i.e., full-day service) probably needs to begin with a route connecting mission with the plaza -- maybe extending out to old shawnee.  that would serve some of the "first suburbs" where demographics (both income and age) call for transit service.  and maybe jccc to waldo.  imho.

of course, then you'd want a regional transit pass so people could have ready access to ata service without having to pay a cash fare for every trip.  (when will joco be receptive to an idea so reasonable as a regional transit pass?)

[trailerkid]

^Yep.  Intra-County service will always be a challenge in Johnson County because of the suburban development pattern.  It might be more feasible in the Northeast, but so many employment and shopping destinations have moved south and west.

JoCo just completely f---d itself in terms of transit. The southern areas are huge, 8-lane "streets" without sidewalks. It's sad to look at these monstrous areas that are proudly exurban and impossible for a pedestrian to navigate.

[jimb]

JoCo just completely f---d itself in terms of transit. The southern areas are huge, 8-lane "streets" without sidewalks. It's sad to look at these monstrous areas that are proudly exurban and impossible for a pedestrian to navigate.

You just don't get a good idea as to how f-ing big those arterials are until you are walking along one or trying to cross on foot.  Then, you get the Eureka moment when you realize "holy crap, that's a lot of asphalt."  It doesn't seem that out of scale from your car.  Which is, of course, what almost all suburban development is scaled to.

[enough]

that's why the only local bus being discussed in joco (outside of paratransit) is along the metcalf corridor, and it's based on the assumption that the corridor can be completely reorganized around mixed use and multimodalism to encourage ridership.

jct is about to begin an alternatives analysis for transit (a la vision metcalf) along metcalf and then through mission and into missouri.  end points and alignment are yet to be determined. 

[KCMax]

Johnson County makes $2.45 million emergency appropriation to beef up bus system

A fleet of seven used vehicles could be deployed by Feb. 1 to meet the standing-room crowds being seen on several county bus routes. The expenditure is $1.4 million for the buses and a little more than $1 million to operate them.

Nowhere is the need more evident than on the popular K-10 Connector route to Lawrence. Daily ridership there has decreased over the last six weeks, officials said, because riders have been turned off by buses that are crowded or late.

Riders have been turned away and then are loath to use the system again, Transportation Director Alice Amrein told commissioners Thursday.

Ridership systemwide is up 39 percent over last year. Amrein said she expected to end the year at 540,000 transit trips, up from 389,279 last year....

Johnson County is not prepared for light rail, Annabeth Surbaugh, Johnson County Commission chairman, said Thursday.

“We don’t have the density to support light rail in Johnson County,” Surbaugh said.

She said she would like to see the area consider expanded rapid-transit bus routes that were less contentious and could be moved as needs changed.

[GRID]

I’m surprised Johnson and Douglas have not worked together to create a more stable funding source.  Lawrence overwhelmingly passed their transit taxes last week.  Where was JoCo?  I know they won’t have anything to do with MO transit, but you would think they would at least beef up what they have now.

2.5 million is a lot of money, but they need more, just like the ATA.  That Lawrence route should be a coach commuter bus that runs all day long from JoCo and KCMO like what RTA offers to Boulder and CO Springs from Denver.

[PumpkinStalker]

Anyone else find it funny the said JoCo didn't have density to support light rail?  What? Sprawling strip malls don't create density?!

[phxcat]

I just don't see how that is true- Johnson County is the densest suburban area in Kansas City- and plans are on the board to greatly increase the density along key corridors.

[Tosspot]

I just don't see how that is true- Johnson County is the densest suburban area in Kansas City- and plans are on the board to greatly increase the density along key corridors.

Still by no means enough density to be comparable to mixed land-use urban areas with walkability. The scale between the two is practically orders of magnitude different.

[phxcat]

If we are talking about a stand alone project, true, but if we are talking about taking part in a regional transit plan, JoCo should fit in well.

[trailerkid]

With the new bus purchase by the JO, the frequency of buses will move to every 30 minutes. Now they need to actually invest in true commuter buses with more seats.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/nov/2 ... vice-betw/

[dangerboy]

With the new bus purchase by the JO, the frequency of buses will move to every 30 minutes. Now they need to actually invest in true commuter buses with more seats.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/nov/2 ... vice-betw/

That will probably have to wait until both counties have dedicated transit funding.  I would imagine it would be hard to justify the purchase of coaches for a service that is funded by a temporary grant.

[trailerkid]

That will probably have to wait until both counties have dedicated transit funding.  I would imagine it would be hard to justify the purchase of coaches for a service that is funded by a temporary grant.

Hmm...? Lawrence just passed a sales tax to fund its transit system for the next 10 years. Isn't that dedicated funding?

The entire JO system should go to commuter buses except the couple non-commuter routes they run.

[dangerboy]

Hmm...? Lawrence just passed a sales tax to fund its transit system for the next 10 years. Isn't that dedicated funding?

That's great, bus isn't most of the funding for this route a CMAQ grant through JoCo Transit?  That means the bus goes away if JoCo doesn't fund money to continue once the CMAQ grant is done. Unless Lawrence wants to pay for it.

[trailerkid]

That's great, bus isn't most of the funding for this route a CMAQ grant through JoCo Transit?  That means the bus goes away if JoCo doesn't fund money to continue once the CMAQ grant is done. Unless Lawrence wants to pay for it.

You've posted this flippant response to the K-10 commuter corridor many times, but I'm confident we will see funding for the K-10 commuter after the grant runs out. The service is too popular to discontinue. Further, the popularity of this route is opening eyes in the Lawrence community about regional transportation. The mayor made mention of looking for a transit center that would include Park and Ride KU buses, the Jo, and the T system. There is already a Park and Ride facility on KU's West Campus which loads the JO as well as KU buses.

The LJWorld is saying they're adding another bus to the K-10 service-- not me. I'd argue with the reporter and headline writer.

[dangerboy]

You've posted this flippant response to the K-10 commuter corridor many times, but I'm confident we will see funding for the K-10 commuter after the grant runs out.

It is not flippant. It is totally serious, and it is a problem that has been repeated over and over in our region.  We get a CMAQ grant to start a new bus route. The route is very popular. Then the grant runs out and the bus route ends.  It's a symptom of a suburban transit system that runs on duck tape and little else.  And that's a problem.

I think it would be great if the K-10 route becomes permanent, but I'll believe it when I see it.