February 09, 2018
With phase one complete and phase two underway, Regional Transit Service (RTS) today provided an important update on Reimagine RTS, the study of a redesign of the public transit system in Monroe County. At a press conference earlier today, RTS CEO Bill Carpenter announced the proposed guiding principles and goals, provided a recap of phase one, and discussed next steps.
“The release of the guiding principles and goals is a significant moment in the Reimagine RTS study process,” said RTS CEO Bill Carpenter. “The guiding principles are important for two reasons. First, they are a result of the input provided by customers, employees and stakeholders throughout the community during the first phase of the study. Second, they will serve as the foundation of the recommended network changes we will receive from our consultant in May. We will conduct more outreach to our employees and the community to review the guiding principles and goals, and ensure we correctly captured their input.”
Phase One Recap:
During phase one of the study, RTS implemented an extensive public outreach plan that included:
Two surveys
- Origin/Destination Survey – 8,558 surveys, nearly 7,000 with geocoded data.
- MetroQuest Online Survey – 3,186 surveys, 1,145 comments and 36,175 individual data points collected
19 Public Meetings and Events
- One public information session attended by 75 people
- 11 pop-up events – approximately 1,400 people participated at seven different locations across the Greater Rochester area
- 7 meeting-in-a-box events – more than 200 participants
Online Engagement
- More than 175 comments received via Facebook, Twitter, myRTS.com and other online media forums. Many used the #ReimagineRTS hashtag
During phase one, RTS received input on what customers would most like to see in a reimagined transit system, as well as their top destinations. The top three priorities are: faster, more direct service; shorter wait times for the bus, and; service that is more frequent. The top destinations are work, shopping, recreation, restaurants and grocery stores.
Guiding Principles and Goals:
All the input gathered from the community and all the operational data that Transportation Management & Design, Inc. (TMD) has been analyzing has led to the development of the guiding principles and goals. The recommended network changes that will be released in May will be based on these guiding principles and goals. Following are the five guiding principles and goals, in random order:
Maximize Ridership
- Goal: Increase the total number of boardings
Enhance the Customer Experience
- Goal: Decrease customer wait time
- Goal: Decrease customer travel time
Ensure System Sustainability
- Goal: Decrease the net cost per customer
Support Community Initiatives
- Goal: Increase access to frequent transit service
Expand Public Transit to Include More Mobility Options
- Goal: Increase the diversity of services available to customers
Next Steps:
The next steps for Reimagine RTS are:
- Continue community and stakeholder engagement
- Establish the mobility toolbox (Spring 2018)
- Develop the draft network plan (Spring 2018)
Reimagine RTS is a planning process that is studying and exploring changes to the RTS fixed-route transit system to better meet the changing needs of the region. This study focuses on transit service within Monroe County, NY, including Downtown Rochester and the surrounding suburbs.
For more information about the Reimagine RTS study please visit www.myRTS.com/reimagine.
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