Johnson County Transit (The JO)

[trailerkid]

transit action network reports on new jct service to begin in july:
http://transactionkc.com/

route 556/856 - 135th and metcalf to the plaza via metcalf and shawnee mission parkway.

route 575/875 - jccc to waldo via quivira and 75th street.

these routes will have three midday round trips each. 

what is the point of midday service exclusively. i was under the impression these would be normal routes running regularly like real bus systems operate.

[enough]

^ these routes do have morning and evening service -- see blog post. 

midday service on these routes is noteworthy because right now the jct system has only one midday round trip, route m, which connects olathe with downtown kcmo.  the new midday trips expand opportunities for transit travel between johnson county and the rest of the region via transfer to max or other kcata routes.

[trailerkid]

^ these routes do have morning and evening service -- see blog post.  

midday service on these routes is noteworthy because right now the jct system has only one midday round trip, route m, which connects olathe with downtown kcmo.  the new midday trips expand opportunities for transit travel between johnson county and the rest of the region via transfer to max or other kcata routes.

i see. i don't get the "morning, evening, midday" service talk. i understand the significance of the JO now offering rides that don't reflect the typical morning/evening commute, but i'd prefer they start thinking about scheduling in terms of minutes and hours and how riders interact with their schedules.

[enough]

^ i don't think they've released the schedules yet.  hey, they've got a couple of weeks to do that.  ;-)  i just hope they'll say something about the connections people will be able to make with kcata routes at waldo and the plaza.  

[enough]

the business journal carried an article about the jo the other day and the jo tweeted about it:

JoCoTheJO - Great article about The JO - go here to read http://tinyurl.com/2fl754u
7:12 AM Jun 15th

the article includes a ranking of the top 25 routes in the region, all kcata.  here are just the top ten (with average ridership rounded to the nearest 10):

2009 average weekday ridership
1    25  Troost            7,840 
2    71  Prospect          5,240
3    58  MAX              4,000
4    24  Independence    3,410 
5    39  Thirty-ninth St  3,180 
6    28  Blue Ridge        2,100 
7    31  Thirty-first St  1,910 
8    12  Twelfth St        1,710 
9  101  Minnesota        1,370 
10    47  Roanoke          1,330 

the article also includes the jo's ridership
The Jo Systemwide ridership          1,780
The Jo K-10 Connector to Lawrence  451  (rank #1)
The Jo A-Antioch                            170  (rank #2)

so if the jo's entire system were a kcata route, it would rank #8.  the jo's top route, k-10, wouldn't make the kcata's top 25 list.

transit ridership in johnson county obviously has some catching up to do.  the new and expanded service beginning in july should help.

[trailerkid]

the business journal carried an article about the jo the other day and the jo tweeted about it:

JoCoTheJO - Great article about The JO - go here to read http://tinyurl.com/2fl754u
7:12 AM Jun 15th

the article includes a ranking of the top 25 routes in the region, all kcata.  here are just the top ten (with average ridership rounded to the nearest 10):

2009 average weekday ridership
1    25   Troost            7,840 
2    71   Prospect          5,240
3    58   MAX               4,000
4    24   Independence    3,410   
5    39   Thirty-ninth St   3,180   
6    28   Blue Ridge        2,100   
7    31   Thirty-first St   1,910   
8    12   Twelfth St        1,710   
9   101   Minnesota         1,370   
10    47   Roanoke           1,330   

the article also includes the jo's ridership
The Jo Systemwide ridership           1,780
The Jo K-10 Connector to Lawrence   451  (rank #1)
The Jo A-Antioch                            170  (rank #2)

so if the jo's entire system were a kcata route, it would rank #8.  the jo's top route, k-10, wouldn't make the kcata's top 25 list.

transit ridership in johnson county obviously has some catching up to do.  the new and expanded service beginning in july should help.

and it will never catch up unless they develop an all-day fixed route system.

[enough]

the jo has posted some additional info on routes (and route number changes) effective tuesday, july 6:
http://www.thejo.com/pdf/Rider/Route_changes_070610.pdf

with the exception of 575/875, their new route numbers appear to be arbitrary.  compare kcata, where a lot of route numbers have some connection to a street name or highway route:  e.g., 107, 109, 12, 24, 123, 27, 129, 31, 35, 39, 47, 155, 163, 170, 71, 471, 175.

[enough]

jct has published new schedules:
http://www.thejo.com/pdf/Rider/Schedule ... 6-2010.pdf

unfortunately, it looks like they are publishing separate schedules for routes 575 and 875 (which follow the same streets, but with the midday 875 trips able to go off-route to make pickups), and for routes 556 and 856 (which follow the same streets, but with the midday 856 trips able to go off-route to make pickups). 

i do so wish they could think like transit riders instead of like bureaucrats. 

[trailerkid]

jct has published new schedules:
http://www.thejo.com/pdf/Rider/Schedule ... 6-2010.pdf

unfortunately, it looks like they are publishing separate schedules for routes 575 and 875 (which follow the same streets, but with the midday 875 trips able to go off-route to make pickups), and for routes 556 and 856 (which follow the same streets, but with the midday 856 trips able to go off-route to make pickups). 

i do so wish they could think like transit riders instead of like bureaucrats. 

that is so boneheaded I can't even address it.

are the JO people working with transit planning consultants to develop route times, names, routes? 100% serious question.

[enough]

i'm not positive, but i think they do this detail level of decision-making themselves.  and like many bureaucracies, they aren't always receptive to suggestions from outside.

[enough]

jct has posted new schedule brochures (including route maps) on their website:  http://www.thejo.com

+ routes 575 and 875 (new 75th street route, waldo to jccc and edwards campus via 75th street and quivira road) - separate schedule brochures
+ routes 556 and 856 (replaces route h, 47th and troost to 135th and metcalf via shawnee mission parkway and metcalf avenue) - separate schedule brochures
+ route 664 (replaces route c, downtown to 135th and metcalf)

btw, why they want to run all 556/856 buses to 135th and metcalf baffles me.

[trailerkid]

jct has posted new schedule brochures (including route maps) on their website:  http://www.thejo.com

+ routes 575 and 875 (new 75th street route, waldo to jccc and edwards campus via 75th street and quivira road) - separate schedule brochures
+ routes 556 and 856 (replaces route h, 47th and troost to 135th and metcalf via shawnee mission parkway and metcalf avenue) - separate schedule brochures
+ route 664 (replaces route c, downtown to 135th and metcalf)

btw, why they want to run all 556/856 buses to 135th and metcalf baffles me.

maybe for the unbuilt Corbin Park?

[enough]

it would make far more sense to loop past st. luke's and menorah, or to turn at college and go over to jccc.  over a dozen daily trips to 135th and metcalf makes no sense at all.  but then, they don't look to me for advice.

[enough]

just for fun i did some simple number-crunching the other day.  route a has the highest ridership of any of the jct routes (other than the k-10 connector):  170 average daily riders.  but route a has 10 trips each direction.  thus, 8.5 riders per trip on average.  route m, their one-round-trip midday route, probably averages close to 10 or 15 riders per one-way trip.  i'm looking for 556/856 and 575/875 to outperform route a within just a few weeks, in terms of riders per trip.

[enough]

more quick-and-dirty number crunching:  using the jct website i counted 136 daily one-way  transit trips, including the overland park and olathe flex routes but not the k-10 connector.  taking the numbers from the kcbj article (which appear to be from marc's lrtp):  1,329 average daily riders on non-k-10 routes / 136 trips = 9.8 passengers per trip on average. 

[KCMax]

Bus routes linking KC and Johnson County open today

Starting today, the county will embark on one of its biggest bus service expansions, including a new route connecting Johnson County with the Waldo area and downtown Kansas City.

The nearly $3 million expansion will provide 16 daily rush-hour trips, plus less frequent midday service, between the University of Kansas Edwards Campus and Kansas City?s Waldo bus hub near 75th Street and Wornall Road. From there, riders can catch an express bus to downtown.

The buses will run along Quivira Road and 75th Street, also serving Johnson County Community College and Oak Park Mall while feeding the K-10 Connector route to Lawrence.

Johnson County also will increase service on Metcalf Avenue, where Overland Park is planning a high-tech bus route to promote the increased population densities the city envisions for that area.

One Metcalf route will run to the Country Club Plaza via Shawnee Mission Parkway, while the other will go downtown on Interstate 35.

[enough]

^ yup, it's off and running.  i was two of their riders this morning.  ridership is going to be pretty low until jct does some marketing.  they plan to send a mailer to everybody living within 3/4 mile of the routes but i don't think they've even printed it yet, and they've pushed their kick-off events back to august.

[enough]

six weeks after launching the service on july 6, the jo finally did a formal ribbon-cutting for their new service yesterday afternoon near 75th and metcalf.  they sent 34,000 mailers in advance of the event to residents within 3/4 mile of the routes.

meanwhile, the nimble folks of transit action network are inviting people to ride the jo, tweet about the experience, and maybe win a prize.  
http://transactionkc.com/2010/08/19/let ... p-transit/

but will viral marketing actually work for public transit in johnson county?

[DaveKCMO]

but will viral marketing actually work for public transit in johnson county?

it might work to get the message out, but people will decide to use the service based on frequency and hours of operation... two elements at which the new services do not succeed.

but it's a start.

[enough]

with each passing week, i am less and less hopeful that jct will fix any of its many shortcomings.  

example - kcata is ready to post jct schedules at the max stops at waldo and the plaza but jct is dragging its feet.  

example - jct needs to re-design the schedules for their midday service on 556/856 and 575/875 but they seem incapable of doing so.  the midday (856 and 875) trips take 90 minutes (compared with 60 minutes for the peak period trips).  who wants to board one of the midday buses if it's going to repeatedly spend ten minutes sitting in a parking lot en route?

i know my ranting is hopeless.  they don't read what we post here.  

and i don't even like to be negative, but i've been dealing with them long enough that it's really hard not to be.

maybe i'll have reason to revise this post soon.  i hope so.