Executive Summary · Executive Summary. JARRETT WALKER + ASSOCIATES SEPTA Philadelphia Bus etwork Choices Report Ex ECUTI v E S UMMAR y | 8 If you use public transit, or want to,

J A R R E T T W A L K E R + A S S O C I A T E S SEPTAPhiladelphia Bus Network Choices Report | 7

Executive Summary

J A R R E T T W A L K E R + A S S O C I A T E S SEPTAPhiladelphia Bus Network Choices Report

Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 8

If you use public transit, or want to, then this map shows you the wall around your life. If you cannot go places, you cannot do things. Beyond the ends of these blobs are jobs you cannot hold, schools you cannot go to, clubs or houses of worship you cannot belong to, and people you cannot meet in person.

If we expand where you can get to on transit, we make it useful to more people, and that is the surest way to get more people to use it. Expanding where you can get to also means you are more free, because you have more options to choose from: more jobs, more schools, more shopping options, and so on. More options and more freedom is a good thing in itself.

It is possible to expand the wall around most Philadelphians’ lives, so that they can go more places and do more things, without expanding SEPTA’s operating budget. This report explains how.

What is this report?The bus network in Philadelphia has been adjusted in small ways over time but has never been rethought in its entirety. It may be based too much on history and not enough on the needs and values of Philadelphia today. Recent declines in ridership in the context of a growing and densifying city strongly suggest that the network is not meeting the needs of today’s city. That is why SEPTA is doing this study now.

This study is about the bus network in the City of Philadelphia, but suburban areas have a stake in it as well. Improved transit in Philadelphia means easier access to more of the city from suburban areas, and easier access to suburban jobs for Philadelphians. Similar studies should also be done

What if transit gave us more freedom?What if public transit were more useful in Philadelphia? What if people could get to more places, sooner, than they can now?

For example, suppose you lived at 4th & Oregon. This map (Figure 1) shows you where you could be, using transit and walking, in a fixed amount of time. The darkest area shows where you could be in 15 minutes. The faintest blue is where you could get to in an hour.

From 4th St and Oregon Ave,where could I travel to on weekdays at 12 pm?

ch ristopherco

lumbus

pennsylvania

germantown

hunt

ingd

on

gree

nwood

washi

ngton

bethlehem

springfield

sh

awmont

pape

r mill

kelly

drive

baltimore

aramingo

bust

leto

n

ris

ing sun

roos

evel

passyunk

acad

emy

drabmol

nlike

m il

stenton

ztno

go

air

bmu

bridge

adam

s

holmeca

stor

allen

s

welsh

egdir

state

t

spring garden

township line

montgomery

germantown

hunting park

hunting park

cheltenham

woodhaven

washi

ngto

n

mou

nt a

iry

woodland

haldeman

allegheny

lindb

ergh

essi

ngto

n

baltimore

moreland

haverford

richmond

bust

leto

n

powelton

macdade

church rdro

oseve

lt

roose

velt

frank

ford

frankford

philmont

lancaster

nosi

brah

chestnut

lombard

belmont

marshall

penrose

old

york

bartr

am

sedgley

godfrey

red lion

byberry

stenton

oregon

knig

hts

market

east

on

east

on

spruce

tacony

whitby

wayne

verre

e

lehigh

cast

or

rhawn

bro

ad

bro

ad

bro

ad

girardgirard

green

islan

d

welsh

henry

levick

grant

grant

ridg

e

ridge

52nd

main

33rd

84th

34th

16th

26th

vine

erie

city

7th

oxf

ord

15 min

30 min

45 min

60 min

Areas that can be accessed within:

Data source: SEPTA GTFS Spring 20170 1 2 3 4 miles

Figure 1: Isochrone map of access by walking and transit from 4th Street and Oregon Avenue.

From 4th St and Oregon Ave,where could I travel to on weekdays at 12 pm?

ch ristopherco

lumbus

pennsylvania

germantown

hunt

ingd

on

gree

nwood

washi

ngton

bethlehem

springfield

sh

awmont

pape

r mill

kelly

drive

baltimore

aramingo

bust

leto

n

ris

ing sun

roos

evel

passyunk

acad

emy

drabmol

nlike

m il

stenton

ztno

go

air

bmu

bridge

adam

s

holme

casto

r

allen

s

welsh

egdir

state

t

spring garden

township line

montgomery

germantown

hunting park

hunting park

cheltenham

woodhaven

washi

ngto

n

mou

nt a

iry

woodland

haldeman

allegheny

lindb

ergh

essi

ngto

n

baltimore

moreland

haverford

richmond

bust

leto

n

powelton

macdade

church rdro

oseve

lt

roose

velt

frank

ford

frankford

philmont

lancaster

nosi

brah

chestnut

lombard

belmont

marshall

penrose

old

york

bartr

am

sedgley

godfrey

red lion

byberry

stenton

oregon

knig

hts

market

east

on

east

on

spruce

tacony

whitby

wayne

verre

e

lehigh

cast

or

rhawn

bro

ad

bro

ad

bro

ad

girardgirard

green

islan

d

welsh

henry

levick

grant

grant

ridg

e

ridge

52nd

main

33rd

84th

34th

16th

26th

vine

erie

city

7th

oxf

ord

15 min

30 min

45 min

60 min

Areas that can be accessed within:

Data source: SEPTA GTFS Spring 20170 1 2 3 4 miles

for the other counties in the SEPTA area.

This report talks about speed, reliability, civic infrastruc-ture and information. But the main focus of this study is the pattern of routes and schedules, and the way this pattern creates opportunities for citizens. This topic is called network design.

To write this report, we spent six months studying every bus route in detail. We asked:

• How many riders are using this route, and how does this compare to what the route costs to operate?

• How frequently do buses come on this route, and is that enough?

• How early or late do buses run, and is that enough?

• How reliable is the route? Do people often have to wait longer than the schedule says?

• Is this route duplicating other routes? In other words, is this route doing something that other routes do as well?

We did not just study each route, though. We also studied how they all fit together into a network. So we asked:

• How easy is it to transfer from one route to another?

• How well do the bus routes connect to rail, including both the rapid transit lines and the regional rail lines?

• Are there different ways to lay out the network that would produce more freedom and opportunity?

• What other barriers is transit facing in Philadelphia, and what are the next steps to remove those barriers?


Ex

Ec

uti

vE

Su

mm

ar

y

| 9

the main conclusionsThe most important conclusions of this study are:

• The network could be redesigned so that more people could get to more places, sooner.

• A majority of the service would probably be largely unchanged by any network design, because it already follows logical patterns. Thus many routes would likely follow mostly the same streets they do today, though the spacing of bus stops and the exact pattern of service would likely change.

• Changing the network means changing things that some people are used to. As a result, network redesigns always generate some opposition. For that reason, it requires a clear explanation of the benefits, and an open conversation with the public.

• Beyond network design, several other things can be done to improve the transit system, such as trying all door boarding, getting rid of the fare penalty for trans-fers, and improving how the network is communicated to the public.

• SEPTA does not fully control quality of transit in the city. The City of Philadelphia government has at least as much power over the success of transit. For example, the city controls the layout of streets, which determines how fast and reliably transit can operate, and it controls the planning of development, which determines where transit demand will be. As a result, the City needs to form its own transit policies and priorities, to ensure that all of its actions are consistent with its own intentions for transit in the city.

What is happening to ridership?Philadelphia is growing, and most of this growth has been in the core of the city where transit access and usefulness is greatest. So transit use should be growing too. Instead, ridership has been falling since 2013 (see Figure 2).

Many things affect ridership. The causes of the latest decline are difficult to sort out, but they probably include lower gas prices, which make driving easier, and competition from Uber and Lyft, whose low fares are partly subsidized by private investors. Neither low gas prices nor subsidized taxi fares are likely to be permanent.

It is tempting to say that if people are using transit less, we need less transit, but Figure 3 shows why that is not true. If people drive more, or use Uber and Lyft more, they are taking more space in the city than people who use transit or ride bicycles. Even autonomous cars will not change this basic geometric challenge, as they take up almost the same amount of space as today’s cars and even carrying three to four persons per car, they cannot be anywhere near as space efficient as buses or bicycles.

Transit’s ability to use space efficiently will continue to be the argument for why it must exist, and why it must be allowed to succeed. That is a purely geometric fact, so it will not change even as ridership goes up and down, as it always does.

While ridership declines should not be considered a crisis, they do provide a good opportunity to question how bus networks are designed, and how they are operated, mar-keted, and accommodated within civic infrastructure.

SeattlePhiladelphia

WashingtonDenver

Los Angeles

0

10

20

30

40

50

2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017Year

Boa

rdin

gs p

er h

our o

f bus

ser

vice

Productivity (Ridership / Service Quantity)

Figure 2: Productivity graph indicates a ridership loss for SEPTA and most peers starting in 2013.

Figure 3: Public transit, bicycles, and cars use progressively more road space to move the same number of people.Photo copyright We Ride Australia


Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 10

What are other cities doing?Many American city bus systems stayed the same for decades even as cities has grown and changed around them. For that reason, many transit agencies are now doing bus network redesigns. Houston launched a completely new bus network in 2015, followed by Baltimore in 2017. As of May 2018, almost all of the nation’s largest transit agen-cies—including those in New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Boston—have either launched network rede-sign studies or announced the intention to do so.

The key to freedom: frequency and connectionsLook again at the isochrone map in Figure 1 on page 8 . A high ridership network will expand where people can get to in a given amount of time. How does it do this?

As we explain in Chapter 3 on page 31, the answer is simple: frequent service, making easy connections. Frequency not only means less waiting. It also means that it is easy to connect between lines, and that means that where routes intersect it is easy to change from one line to another. These fast connections are what makes it possible to get to so many more places, sooner.

In Philadelphia, this would probably mean:

• Improving the frequent grid. Most of the city is covered by a grid pattern of lines. Increasing all of these lines to run more frequently all day would make it easy to go from anywhere to anywhere in this area with a simple L-shaped trip (see Figure 4).

• Concentrate more services at transportation centers, including 69th Street, Wissahickon, Olney, Fern Rock, and Frankford, and also to other key stations on the rail network. These transportation centers are also key opportunities to improve access between Philadelphia and its suburbs. By connecting many Philadelphia lines to many suburban lines, a network redesign could dra-matically expand the number of places that are easily connected by transit.

About 10% of service is duplicativeA network redesign would look for service that is not very useful, and rearrange it to make it more useful. Here is an example.

When bus routes run for long distances on the same streets as other bus routes or rail lines, without combining for better service than individual routes, we call this duplication.

Look at the abstract network in Figure 5 below. Route C, which comes every 60 minutes, runs on the same streets as Routes A and B, which come every 10 minutes. Route C could be useful to go from certain points on Route A to certain points on Route B. But because you have to wait so long for Route C, it is usually faster to just take Route A and transfer to Route B. That makes it hard to justify keeping Route C.

Partial duplication also happens when two parallel routes are so close together that they are serving the same places. Moving these routes further apart, so that they overlap less, can make the system more useful, especially if it means SEPTA can afford to run the buses more often.

About 10% of the Philadelphia’s bus service is duplica-tive by these standards. This 10% of the operating budget could be used differently to create more useful service.

TRANSFER

Figure 4: A high-frequency grid provides convenient one-transfer connections between any two points.

CA

B

BC

A

A

A

A

A

B

B

B

B

C

Figure 5: A one-seat ride on a low-frequency route is usually slower than a high-frequency connection.


Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 11

Some routes have too much peak-hour serviceMost bus routes have more service during the peak commute period (or “rush hour”) than they have during the rest of the day, because more people want to ride during the peaks. But this “peak-only” service is also more expensive than all-day service for SEPTA to run. Drivers have to be paid more to work very short shifts, for example, and SEPTA has to own and maintain buses that it does not use very much. So those added buses need to be well used in order to justify themselves.

But several SEPTA bus routes are less crowded during the peak commute hours than they are the rest of the day. That is a problem. During the peak, there should be enough buses so that everybody can ride, but the buses should be more crowded than they are in the midday. If not, the expensive buses that are added for the peak are not being put to good use and could be more productively used elsewhere, such as providing more frequency in midday or in the evening.

Our estimate is that about 5% of resources are being spent on excess peak service. A network redesign would look closely at that excess peak service and possibly shift it to all-day patterns, which would create more useful service.

Speed needs improvementSEPTA is gradually slowing down. Travel speeds (including all delays) have slowed down by 0.2 mph just in the last three years. This may look small but it adds up. There are elements of the speed problem that SEPTA can work on, notably in operating and boarding procedures. For example,

some agencies are now allowing passengers to board at all doors, which speeds up boarding but requires on-board fare inspection. The biggest challenges affecting speed, though, require cooperation with the City of Philadelphia, as we discuss further below.

Reliability needs improvement, but is better than it soundsSEPTA defines a bus as being on-time if it is between 0 and 5 minutes late. This is a tough standard. Many random events can delay a bus by 5 minutes.

By this standard, SEPTA’s on-time performance in Philadelphia is around 75%, which sounds terrible. However, on high-frequency routes the customer experience is better than this number makes it sound.

For example, if your bus is scheduled to come every 10 minutes, your chance of waiting no more than 15 minutes is over 90% at all times of day, and over 95% midday. This is a better description of the customer experience, and points to the fact that on high frequency routes, keeping the buses evenly spaced is more important than following a schedule.

SEPTA should consider changing the measures of reliability on frequent routes to better align with the customer experi-ence of reliability. Changing standards will require changes in management techniques and changes in data manage-ment and reporting. But the outcome would be clearer communication about reliability and more useful service through better management of headway reliability.

Bus stops are too close togetherPhiladelphia bus routes typically have stops roughly every 500 feet, or ten stops per mile. For example, a typical east–west route will stop at 16th, 17th, 18th, and so on. This is a significant part of why bus operations are so slow.

For high frequency routes, which will stop at most stops due to high demand, the North American best practice is in the range of 1000-1500 feet, or two to three typical Philadelphia blocks. Many transit agencies are studying stop spacing and coming up with consistent citywide policies, usually in that range.

A 1000 foot or two block spacing would mean that:

• Buses run noticeably faster, because customers gather at fewer stops where they can board more quickly. We estimate a 2% speed increase on segments without stop signs. This is a conservative estimate compared to recent experience with the Route 47 stop consolidation pilot.

• Everyone is still within a short walk of one bus stop, but not necessarily two consecutive stops. Of course, riders only need to reach one stop, not two.

• Fewer parking spaces are removed to accommodate bus stops, although those that remain will need stronger enforcement.

Stronger enforcement of parking restrictions at bus stops is a key part of the partnership between the City and SEPTA. It would lead to fewer disruptions and delays, increasing the speed of service.


Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 12

Transit has competing goals: How will they be balanced?The Philadelphia bus network is designed on a mixture of two competing goals. Chapter 4 explains why the geomet-ric facts about transit lead to this conflict between goals.

A Ridership Goal1 seeks maximum ridership for a given amount of service. Ridership means that more people benefit from the service directly.

This goal is achieved by running frequent service in areas where the conditions are favorable: places that are dense and walkable, and where straight, logical paths for transit are available. Most urban landscapes laid out before 1945, including most of Philadelphia, are well served under a Ridership Goal.

The Ridership Goal supports goals such as urban redevel-opment, financial return, and environmental and congestion benefits resulting from less car use.

A Coverage Goal seeks to provide service to all parts of the city regardless of whether ridership is a realistic expec-tation. This goal ensures that there is service into places where the conditions are not favorable for ridership, includ-ing areas that are low-density, or not walkable, or where the street networks make it hard to draw logical routes.

The Coverage Goal corresponds to goals such as lifeline access for people no matter where they are, equity across council districts or other political units, and access to jobs in landscapes that are not conducive to high-ridership transit, such as most industrial areas and suburban-style business parks.

1 These terms are capitalized in this report when referring to the exact meaning laid out here. Figure 6: Ridership and coverage goals produce very different networks.

A

B

B

A

If you concentrate service in the busiest areas, your routes are very frequent, so waits are short. This maximizes total ridership, but some places have no service.

A B

C D

I

GH

F E

I

C

Here, service goes everywhere but the bus does not come very often. Very few people find them useful. Everyone has access to minimal service, but total ridership is low.

Maximum ridership Maximum coverage

In this imaginary town, you have 18 buses to run transit routes. How will you distribute your service?


Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 13

We would like to recommend this for Philadelphia, but without new resources it would require cutting the weekday network too deeply. Additional weekend service should be a top priority for any new resources.

The existing balance of goalsIn the current Philadelphia bus network, about 70% of the service runs in patterns that serve a Ridership Goal. About 15% are in patterns that effectively serve a Coverage Goal. About 10% is duplication and the remaining 5% is excess peak service. These numbers, and how we got to them, are explained in the Appendix on page 97.

There is no objectively correct answer to the question of how much to pursue a Ridership Goal as opposed a Coverage Goal. Both goals are an important part of why people value

HigherFrequency

MoreCoverage

MoreChange

LessChange

1:Familiar

2:CoverageConcept

3:RidershipConcept

Spectrum of Choices forPhiladelphia’s Transit Network

Figure 8: An example of the possible decision space of concepts for transit in Philadelphia

transit, but they do lead to different kinds of investment. So the ridership-coverage trade-off is about choosing between things that you like, just as you do in any kind of budget. This decision should arise from a public conversation.

To help people see this choice and talk about it clearly, a network redesign study would create two alternatives for the network, one with a greater focus on the Ridership Goal, the other with greater focus on the Coverage Goal. Both would remove the duplicative service, but they might differ on whether those resources are spent to improve rid-ership or improve coverage. Then, the community could think about where it wants to be in the triangle of Figure 8. This triangle shows the two questions that people would need to think about:

1. How much should the system change?

2. What should be the balance between Ridership and Coverage Goals?

Evening and weekend serviceEvening and weekend service is relatively inexpensive to operate, and it is also crucial to a large segment of transit riders. People who work in most retail and entertainment sectors have to work on weekends and often late into the evening. Having some transit then is important to making it possible for them to rely on transit at all.

Houston recently had great success with a network redesign that extended evening service and expanded Saturday and Sunday service to be the same level as weekday service, but without the peak period. Figure 7: About 70% of the current network is focused on a ridership

goal. A network redesign study would consider a different balance in how resources are split.

Ridership70%

Coverage15%

Duplication10%

Excess Peak Service5%


Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 14

Eliminate the Fare Penalty for Changing BusesSEPTA currently charges passengers more if their trip requires two buses (or trains) than if it requires one.

Changing buses and trains must be encouraged. Most of the area that a person can reach in an hour is reachable via a transfer. A network designed with simple and easy connec-tions is a more efficient network to operate, which means it is a network that lets SEPTA provide more liberty for the same cost. And it is a network that carries higher ridership.

It makes no sense to charge people more for behavior that is so beneficial for both SEPTA and the customer. The fare for a trip should be the same regardless of the number of buses and trains required. To charge extra for transfers is to discourage exactly the behavior that SEPTA most needs to encourage. For details see page 74 for the effects of the fare penalty on network design and page 58 and page 70 for the high rate of transfers.

City leadership is criticalThis report focuses on network design, which is largely under SEPTA’s control. However, the City of Philadelphia controls the success of the transit system as much as SEPTA does, because it has two enormous powers:

• As a land use authority, the city decides whether more people and jobs will locate in places where it is easy for transit to serve them, or in more remote places where access will depend more on cars.

• The City controls most of the streets on which buses

operate. Most speed and reliability problems are related to delays caused by traffic. Many cities are addressing this problem through various kinds of transit priority, including signalization improvements and bus lanes.

An unusual feature of Philadelphia is that long stretches of major bus lines encounter stop signs at every block. In many cases these were once signalized, but were changed to stop signs as travel volumes dropped due to the depopulation

of some parts of the city. This is also an important issue for city leadership.

More broadly, the City needs its own transit policies and planning capabilities. We recommend studying the City of Seattle as the current best practice on how a city gov-ernment takes a leadership position on transit, effectively guiding all city departments on an issue of urgency, even though it does not directly control transit operations.

One key best practice is for the City to develop its own Philadelphia Transit Plan, which would guide the city’s actions in planning and expediting transit. This plan would be integrated with both land use and transportation plan-ning at the city, and could be relevant to other city functions such as decisions about the locations of services, and even law enforcement priorities.

Chapter 3 explores these issues in more detail.

Try All-Door BoardingTo save time, some bus systems allow passengers to board at any door. This is already common on rail services, but San Francisco allows it on all buses citywide, and several other cities do it on the busiest lines. SEPTA should continue to explore this option, which we discuss at the end of Chapter 2 on page 42.

Figure 9: The City of Seattle Transit Master Plan took vague transit goals and turned them into specific actions and guidance for all departments. It also told a compelling story that motivated voter support for increased transit funding.


Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 15

The network can be more legibleA network redesign would probably make the network simpler, which makes it easier to understand and remember. However, regardless of the network change, several things can be done, even today, to make the network clearer:

• Identify frequent service (every 15 minutes or better all day) as a distinct service type, highlighted throughout the information system. This helps everyone see the places where the next bus is always coming soon.

• Develop an attractive network map, showing all services. Currently, SEPTA has a prominent rail diagram but is not showing the bus network clearly. Even with app-based navigation many people value clear maps that show the network structure.

Use the electric signs on buses to describe the route more completely, usually by stating the main street used and then the destination. (“SPRUCE to 69th Street”) This style pro-vides a useful description of what the bus does, which helps everyone who sees the bus learn about the network.

Girard trolley is a barrier to travelMany people love the trolleys in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, they also have two disadvantages:

• In mixed traffic, they get stuck more easily than buses do. Incidents that happen in their lane shut down the trolley service, where a bus could easily go around them.

• Where the rails end, everyone has to get off. This is not always the most logical location for passenger trips.

The trolleys that run into the Market Street Subway provide an important express service into the Center City that uses their capacity. There is no question that these benefits out-weigh those disadvantages.

The Girard trolley (#15) has the disadvantages without the advantages. In particular, the west end at 63rd Street nar-rowly misses serving the 69th Street Transportation Center, and thus cuts off Girard passengers from a huge range of possible suburban connections.

This problem could be fixed either by extending the Girard trolley to 69th Street Transportation Center or, far less expensively, by converting the trolley into a high-frequency bus line.

In addition to the ability to run a more logical route, buses also have the advantage that they can go around obstacles that arise in their lane, and even make detours if needed, while trolleys are stuck until the obstruction is cleared.

Figure 10: A San Francisco bus headsign explains where the route goes: along Geary Blvd to end at the VA Hospital. In gridded cities like Philadelphia many routes can be described this simply.

Figure 11: Good network maps highlight frequent routes and show how all services fit together. This example from Washington DC’s WMATA shows subway in black, frequent buses in red, and less-frequent buses in blue.

CentralWashington, DCThis map shows routes thattravel through CentralWashington, DC.

For routes that start/endin Central Washington, DC,please see the inset below.

RockCreekPark

NationalZoo

GeorgetownUniversity

The Mall

WashingtonHospital Center

HowardUniversity

NationalArboretum

AnacostiaRiver Park

Fort DupontPark

Oxon Run

FortLesley JMcNair

EastPotomacPark

West PotomacPark

GeorgeWashington

University

Fort StantonPark

RockCreekPark

AmericanUniversity

UDC

GallaudetUniversity

CatholicUniversity

PO

T OM

AC

RI V

ER

PO

T OM

AC

RI V

ER

AN

AC

OST IA

RI V

ER

PO

TO

MA

C R

I VE

R

T I D A LB A S I N

FLORIDA AVE

16T

H S

T

18T

H S

T

14T

H S

T

16T

H S

T1

6th

St

ALASKA AVE

14T

H S

T

11

th S

t1

1th

St

7TH

ST

7th

St

14

th S

t

D St

13

th S

t

Sh

erm

an A

ve

GE

OR

GIA

AV

E

Franklin St

Chillum PlKen

nedy

St

Nicholson St

Vista

St

BannekerDr

GOOD HOPE RD

PENNSYLVANIAAVE

Fitch St

Central Ave

51st

St

DIV

ISIO

N A

VE

BLA

DE

NS

BU

RG

RD

BLA

DE

NS

BU

RG

RD

53rd

St

MassachusettsAve

PENNSYLVANIA AVE

WIS

CO

NS

IN A

VE

PENNSYLVANIAAVE

PENNSYLVANIA AVE

MINNESOTA AVE

Erie St

Morris Rd

Stanton Rd

Hun

ter

Pl

16T

HS

T

W ST

Ainger PlBru

ce P

l

Lang

ston

Pl

SOUTHDAKOTA AVE

BunkerHill Rd

Randolp

h St

Bladen

sburg

Rd

22

nd

St

Eastern Ave

MALCOLM X AVE

Irving St

25

th S

t

22

nd

St

Sta

nto

n R

d

SO

UTH

CA

PITO

L ST

Denver

St

ALABAMA AVE

ALABAMA AVE

Naylor R

d30th S

t

19th St

Savannah St

23rd

St

25th

St

22nd

St

Jasper Pl

Trenton Pl

Mississippi Ave

Mississippi Ave

Valley

Ave

13th St

NAY

LOR

RD

Texa

s A

ve

Min

neso

ta A

ve

Massachusetts Ave

MASSACHUSETTS AVE

Marlboro Pike

Cap

itol H

eigh

ts B

lvd

Larc

hmon

t A

ve

Loui

sian

a A

ve

Min

neso

ta A

ve

Ken

ilwor

th A

ve

Ken

ilwor

th A

ve

Mon

tello

Ave

Roc

k C

reek

Chu

rch

Rd

ParkRd

Porter St

Woodley Rd

Idah

o A

ve

Ariz

ona

Ave

San

gam

ore

Rd

Wes

tbar

d A

ve

Massachusetts Ave

MASSACHUSETTS AVE

New

Ham

pshi

re A

ve

RH

OD

E IS

LAN

D A

VE

RIG

GS

RD

Kan

sas

Ave

Kan

sas

Ave

Pin

eyB

ranc

h R

d

Col

orad

o

Ave

NE

W H

AM

PS

HIR

E A

VE

Trin

idad

Ave

Mt Olivet Rd

Ken

ilwor

thTe

rr

May

fair

Terr

Bar

nes

St

Jay StFooteSt

Hayes StBENNING RD

Souther

n Ave

Souther

n Ave

Owens Rd

SOUTHVIEW DR

FOREST HILLS

15thSt

Congress St

11th

Pl

13

thS

t

Wheeler Rd

FIRTH STERLING AVE

SumnerRd

ML K

ING

JR A

VE

ML K

ING J

R AVE

Bruce

Pl12th

Pl

MellonSt

4thS

t

Newcomb St

2n

d S

t Oakwood

StOrangeSt

SOUTH CAPIT

OL ST

ALABAMA AVE

Sh

erid

an R

d

Pomeroy Rd

Elvans Rd

Suitland Pkwy

Robinson Pl

MLK A

VE

4th

St

4th

St

6th

St

Savannah St

Miss

issip

pi Ave

Atlantic StCondon Te

rr

Barnab

y St

8th

St

CHESAPEAKEST

6TH

ST

LIV

ING

ST

ON

RD

/T

ER

RIn

dia

n H

ead

Hw

y

ML K

ing J

r Ave

SO

UT

H C

AP

ITO

L S

T

ML

Kin

g J

r A

ve

Ove

rlo

ok

Ave

Sh

eph

erd

Pkw

yLaboratory Rd

Chesapeake St

Joliet St

11T

H S

T

M ST 23R

D/2

5TH

ST

Bra

nch

Ave

BR

AN

CH

AV

E

CamdenSt

Erie St 33

rd S

t

Potom

ac A

ve

Alabam

a Ave

SOUTHERN AVE

Suitland Rd

38

th S

t

East Capitol StEast Capitol StEast Capitol St

1ST

ST

Fitch Pl

50

th S

t

51

st S

t5

1st

St

Ridge Rd

Ely Pl

37

th S

t

Sheriff Rd

Clay St

34

th S

t

33

rd St

Ames St

AnacostiaAve

EASTERN AVE

Addison Rd

EASTERN AVE

63R

D S

T

SOUTHERN AVEDIX ST

58T

H S

TNANNIE HELEN BURROUGHS AVE

BENNING RD

BE

NN

ING

RD

E ST

AL

AB

AM

A A

VE

H ST

Wes

t Virg

inia

Ave

South D

akota Ave

Fort Lincoln Dr

31st Pl

33rd Pl

Comm

odore

Joshua Barney Dr

Eastern Ave

14

th S

t

12TH

ST

12

th S

t

10

th S

t

18

th S

t

Quincy StQuincy St

Upshur St

Monroe St

7th

St

4th

St

Edgewood S

t

Rhode

Island Ave

GE

OR

GIA

AVE

MT P

LEA

SA

NT S

T

WIS

CO

NS

IN AVE

Adam

s Mill R

d

Lamont

St

COLUMBIA RD

Connecticut A

ve

CO

NN

EC

TICU

T AVE

Theodore

Roosevelt

Bridge

ARLINGTON BLVD

Calvert

St

Connecticut A

ve

Foxhall Rd

Loughboro Rd

New

Mexico

Ave

New York Ave

Maryland Ave

Maryland Ave

New

Jersey

Ave

RHODE ISLAND A

VE

38TH ST 41st Ave

K StK St

4th/

6th

St

H STH ST

8TH

ST

14T

H S

T

15T

H S

T18

TH

ST

/19

TH

ST

8TH

ST

9th

St

Saratoga

Ave

Brentw

ood Rd

Franklin St

NO

RT

H C

AP

ITO

L S

T

Fenwick St

Montana

Ave

South Dakota Ave

Sarg

ent R

d

Sargen

t

Rd

Gallatin St

Galloway St

MISSOURI AVE

Chillum Rd

KENNEDY ST

Gallatin St

MILITARY RD

30TH P

L

Broad B

ranch

Rd

Utah A

ve

MCKINLEY ST

WESTERN A

VE

Wes

tern

Ave

Taylor St2n

d S

t

HawaiiAve

New

Hampsh

ire

Ave

5th

St

5th

St

Butternut St

No

rth

Cap

ito

l St

Blair Rd

EasternAve

IRVING ST/COLUMBIA RD

Irving St/Harvard St

Park Rd

Klingle RdPORTER ST

Van Ness St

Nebra

ska

Ave

Nebra

ska

Ave

Nebra

ska

Ave

Massachusetts Ave

CALVERT ST

U ST

Q St

P St

O St

ProspectSt

P St

P St

4th

St

4th

St

3rd

St

6th

St

P St

O St

Hal

f S

t

M ST

MAINE AVE

7TH S

T I St

M ST

I ST / H ST

15T

H S

T

Del

awar

e A

ve

H St

E St

Benton St

Reservoir Rd

CalvertSt

Edmunds St

WhitehavenPkwy

T St

35

th S

t3

7th

St

37

th S

t

41

st S

t

40

th S

t

39

th S

t

MacArthur Blvd

MacArthur Blvd

Wes

tern

Ave

Ore

go

n A

ve

Lindse

y Dr

Chestnut St

Military Rd

EASTERN AVE1

4th

St

GE

OR

GIA

AV

E

Aspen St

Cathedral Ave

3rd

St4

th S

t

5th

St

4th

St

2n

d S

t/3

rd S

t

Elm St

T St

R St

20th

St/

21st

St

K ST

C St

D St

19

th S

tMichigan

Ave

CONSTITUTION AVE

INDEPENDENCE AVE

29

th S

t

Cathedral Ave MICHIGAN AVE

Fran

cis Sco

ttK

ey Brid

ge

Lee Hwy

WILSON BLVD/CLARENDON BLVD

Souther

n Ave

Central Ave

Lasalle R

d Queens

Chapel

Rd

Broad St/Ridge Dr

66

Jeff Davis Hwy

Geo

rge

Was

hin

gto

nP

kwy

395

Hay

es S

t

Cry

stal

Dr

Bel

l St

Army Navy Dr

15th St

Ead

s S

t

New YorkAve

Constitution Ave

295

295

EASTERN

AVE

FrederickDouglasBridge

Arlingto

n

Mem

orial

Bridge

John PhilipSousa Bridge

DukeEllingtonBridge

Whitney Young Memorial Bridge

ADAMSMORGAN

IVYCITY

ECKINGTON

BRIGHTWOOD

LINCOLNHEIGHTS

DEANWOOD

BENNINGHEIGHTS

FAIRFAXVILLAGE

GARFIELD

GLOVERPARK

WOODLEYPARK

PALISADES

MT PLEASANT

BARNABYWOODS

MCLEANGARDENS

GEORGETOWN

FORTDRUM

ARLINGTON

ALEXANDRIA

CAPITOLHEIGHTS

DISTRICTHEIGHTS

OXON HILL

MOUNTRAINIER

COLMARMANOR

FT LINCOLN

COLUMBIAPARK

WESTHYATTSVILLE

TAKOMAPARKCHEVY CHASE

BETHESDA

SOMERSET

DOWNTOWN

LINCOLNPARK

M A R Y L A N D

D C

V I R G I N I A

GeorgetownLaw

Howard Law

SibleyHospital

USCapitol

VerizonCenter

SupremeCourt

Library ofCongress

EasternMarket

NationalsPark

Arena Stage

EmbassyRow

NationalCathedral

NavalObservatory

Carter BarronAmpitheatre

Knollwood

DC GeneralHealthCampus

RFK Stadium

UnitedMedicalCenter

St ElizabethsHospital

THEARC

Blue PlainsWater Treatment

Plant

DC Village

AnacostiaMuseum

DouglassHouse

Coast GuardHQ

TheodoreRoosevelt

Island

LincolnMemorial

MLKMemorial

FDRMemorial

JeffersonMemorial

WashingtonMonument

The WhiteHouseKennedy Center

ProvidenceHospital

AmericanUniversity Law

RonaldReaganWashingtonNationalAirport

JointBaseAnacostiaBolling

CapitolSouth

EasternMarket

PotomacAve

Stadium-Armory

MinnesotaAve

Deanwood

BenningRd

Capitol Heights

Anacostia

CongressHeights

SouthernAve

NaylorRd

FederalCenter SW

ColumbiaHeights

U St

Dupont Circle

FarragutNorth

McPhersonSq

FarragutWestFoggy Bottom-

GWU

WoodleyPark

Cleveland Park

Van Ness-UDCTenleytown-AU

Friendship Heights

Shaw-Howard U

Mt Vernon Sq

Georgia Ave-Petworth

FortTotten

Takoma

Silver Spring

UnionStation

Rhode Island Ave

NoMa-Gallaudet U

JudiciarySq

Archives

MetroCenter

L’EnfantPlaza

Waterfront

Rosslyn

Arlington Cemetery

Brookland-CUA

GalleryPlace

Navy Yard-Ballpark

Pentagon

Pentagon City

Crystal City

Ronald ReaganWashington National Airport

Federal Triangle

Smithsonian

Yellow Line to/fromGreenbelt duringpeak hours

rush

W4

W4

W4

W4

3234

34

34

92W4

9232

W4

W4

A2

W4

A2

B2

B2

9092

3236

9092

90

B2

V2V4

B2

X2

X280X2

U8

U8

B2

B2

B2

80

K6

E4

8070

80

8386

8386

T18

T18

A6A8

80H2H4

5253

70

7079

79

79

79

S2S4

S2S4

42

90

9290

S2S4

54

525354

H2 H4H2H4

96

N2

M4

M4

M4D6

M4

M4 E6

E6

L8

E6

N2

N2 N6

N4N6

N3

N4N6

N3

L2L1

37

37

37

X3

96

70

S9

S9

K9

S9

S9

96

L2

96 L2

G2

G2 G2

96

96

64

64

60

60

L1

H8

G8

G8

H6

G8

R4

H8

H8

H8

H864

H6

E2

E2

E2F6

F6

82

8182

E4

54

S4 S2

5352

E4

D8

D8

D8

D8

D4

D4

D8

D8

D4P6

P6

P6

P6

P6

P6

G8

G2

X3

D5

D5

D5

D5

3Y

3Y

X3

D2

G2

D6D1

D2

D6

D6

5A

5A

D1

X3

D3

D3

D3

X1

X3

K2

S1

S1

S1

K2

H3

H3

H3H3

H3

H2

H2

H4 H3

43

4243

42 43

H4

H1

H1

H1

H1

A2A8 W1

W1W1

W1

W1

W1W1

W1

W1

A7A6

A7

A7A6

A8

A8

A6

A2A2

36

V2

V292

32

A7

7Y

7Y

W2W3

W2W3

V4

74

P6

M6

M6

M6

U5 U6

U6 U5

96 9796 97

V1

V1

V1

P6

V1

N2N4

N3N6

U7

U4

U4

96

97

74

96

D6

X8

D6X8

D6

D6

U4

X8

97

A4A4

A4

A4

A4

A4W5

W5

W5

W5

W5

W5

W6 94

94

94

W8

W2 W3

W2W3

W6 W8

W6 W8

W2W3

W2W3

W3

W2

D12 D13

13Y

13Y

13Y5A

7Y

D14

F14

F14

R12

V15V14

W3

W6 W8

U5U6

U5U6

U5U6

W6W8

W6W8

W2W3

W2W3

H2 H4

H2 H4

90 9092

33

33

31

32

36

P1711Y

11Y

16Y

16Y

16X

16X

P19W13

P17 P18 P19W1335

37

33

25

25

W14

P18W14

W19

W13P17P19

X9

X9

39

39

39

39

V2 V4X9

V5

V5

V5

V5

V5A9W9

W9

W9

W9

A9

A9

A9

W9A9

A9

H6

B8B9

H6

B8B9

R2R1

H6B8 B9

L2L1

L2L1

H6

B8B9

B8B9

B9

B9

D8T14

T14

T14

B8B9

63

6263

F1F2

F1F2

6263

P12

P12

P12

111

29

29

2323

23

23

X1X3

38B

38B

38B30S

30S

30S

30S

30S

30N

30N

30N

32

3633

30S30N

333130S30N

333130S30N

38B

36

3430N

3630N

30S

30N

V1

V1

V2V4

DC

MO

PGVA

WASHINGTON,DCMetrobusSystem Map Aug 2015

wmata.com 202.637.7000

This map provides an overview of bus and railservices. For detailed information on each route,please refer to individual schedules.

Consult other Metrobus System Maps for servicein Virginia, Prince George’s County, MD, andMontgomery County, MD.

schematic mapnot to scale

NW NE

SESWUS Capitol

East Capitol StThe Mall

Nor

th C

apito

l St

Sou

th C

apito

l St

Know YourQuadrants!

Washington is divided intofour quadrants. Many streetnames and intersections existin more than one quadrant.Check the full address of yourdestination to be sure that youare off to the right quadrant!

Rail Lines

MAP LEGENDMetrobus Routes

Metrobus Commuter RouteWeekday peak-hour service linking residentialareas to Metrorail stations and employment centers.

X3

Metrobus Local RouteLess frequent service, with some evening andweekend service available.

A4

MetroExtra RouteLimited stops for a faster ride. Days, times andservice levels vary by route.

S9

5A

Metrobus Major RouteFrequent, seven-day service on the core route. On branches, service levels vary.

A2

Bus Routes Operated by City/County SystemsBus Routes

Major RouteFor all service providers, frequent, seven-day service on the core route isdenoted by a thick line. On branches, service levels vary.

B2core route branch

On all route types, a lowlighted badgeindicates a route segment with limitedor peak-only service hours.

all-day service limited service

Map Symbols

Hospital

College/University

Other Point of Interest

AirportMetrorailStation and Line

A4

Ride On - Montgomery County

The Bus - Prince George’s County25

1

DC Circulator

23A711

Designed by CHK America

Commuter RailroadTransfer Points

Additional ServicesThese Metrobus routes operate at irregular times. For clarity, they are not shown on the map.

Please refer to individual schedules for specific times and more information.

Outside of Metrorail Service Hours

Follows Route 90-92 and travels toCongress Heights via Stanton Rd SE.

93

Follows Route J12 in Prince George’s Countythen operates to Potomac Ave.

J13

Follows Route A2 in Anacostia and thenoperates to/from Archives via M St SE/SW.

A42


A46


A48

Follows Route K12 in Prince George’s Countythen operates to/from Potomac Ave.

K11

School Routes

All school routes are open to the general public;service is available when school is in session. Routes,times and days of operation are subject to changewithout notice.

Brookland Education CampusB51

Capitol Hill ClusterC40

Duke Ellington School of the ArtsD51

Eastern High SchoolE32

Archbishop Carroll High SchoolH9

McKinley High SchoolM31

Sousa Middle SchoolS35

Phelps High SchoolS41

Anacostia High SchoolA31A33

A32

Deal Middle SchoolD31D33

D32D34

Wilson High SchoolW45 W47

Metrobus Airport Express RouteLimited stop service to Dulles International Airport.

130522ngx

Mt VernonSquare

LafayetteSquare

FranklinSquare

Rock Creek &Potomac Parkway

National Mall

The Ellipse

Potomac Park

T I D A L B A S I N

PO

TOM

AC

RIVER

14

TH

ST

14

TH

ST

14

TH

ST

15

TH

ST

16

TH

ST

17

TH

ST

15

TH

ST

14

TH

ST

15

TH

ST

16

TH

ST

18

TH

ST

17

TH

ST

18

TH

ST

19

TH

ST

19

TH

ST

20

TH

ST

17

TH

ST

21

ST

ST

20

TH

ST

20

TH

ST

19

TH

ST

13

TH

ST

11

TH

ST

10

TH

ST

9T

H S

T

8T

H S

T

6T

H S

T

5T

H S

T

4T

H S

T4

TH

ST

3R

D S

T

1S

T S

T

1S

T S

T

3R

D S

T

1S

T S

T

NO

RT

H C

AP

ITO

L S

T

5T

H S

T

6T

H S

T

7T

H S

T7

TH

ST

4T

H S

T

3R

D S

T

2N

D S

T

1S

T S

T

1S

T S

T

DE

LAW

AR

E A

VE

1S

T S

T

2N

D S

T

D ST

INDIANA AVE

D ST

E ST

C STC ST

E ST

F ST

G ST

H STH STH ST

K ST

I ST

K ST

I ST

H STH ST

F ST F ST

CONSTITUTION AVECONSTITUTION AVE

EAST CAPITOL ST

INDEPENDENCE AVE

JEFFERSON DR

C ST

D ST

C STC ST

D ST

E ST

3R

D S

T

2N

D S

T

SO

UT

H C

AP

ITO

L S

T

INDEPENDENCE AVE

JEFFERSON DR

D ST

E ST

6T

H S

T

VIRGINIA AVE

12

TH

ST

MARYLAND AVE

L’EN

FAN

TP

LA

ZA

9T

H S

T9

TH

ST

7T

H S

T

G ST

10

TH

ST

10

TH

ST

E ST

PENNSYLVANIA AVE

I STI STI ST

K STK ST

K ST

21

ST

ST

NEW H

AMPSHIR

E

AVE

CO

NN

ECTIC

UT AVE

N ST

P ST

Q ST Q ST

N STN ST

O ST

P ST

Q ST

M ST

23

RD

ST

24

TH

ST

24

TH

ST

25

TH

ST

22

ND

ST

22

ND

ST

L ST

M ST

L ST

M ST

MASSACHUSETTS AVE

MASS AVE

MASSACHUSETTS AVE

M ST M ST M ST

L ST

M ST

N ST

O ST

N ST

O ST

P ST P ST

11

TH

ST

12

TH

ST

12

TH

ST

13

TH

ST

10

TH

ST

9T

H S

T9

TH

ST

8T

H S

T

7T

H S

T

6T

H S

T

5T

H S

TVER

MO

NT

AVE

RHODE ISLAND AVE

RHODE ISLAND AVE

C STC ST

D ST

F ST

G ST

F ST

G ST

E ST

H STH ST

22

ND

ST

23

RD

ST

23

RD

ST

CONSTITUTION AVE

VIRGINIA AVE

PENNSYLVANIA AVE

PENNSYLVANIA AVE

WASHING

TON AVE

LOUIS

IANA A

VE

MASSACHUSETTS AVE

MASSACHUSETTS AVE

NE

W JE

RS

EY

AV

E

NEW YORK AVE

PENNSYLVANIA AVE

PENNSYLVANIA AVE

ThomasCircle

ColumbusCircle

LoganCircle

ScottCircle

DupontCircle

WashingtonCircle

NEW

HA

MP

SH

IRE

AVE

25TH

ST

N W N E

S W S EARLINGTON

MEMORIAL

BRIDGE

THEODORE

ROOSEVELT BRIDGE

30N

30S 3

2 3

3 3

680

52

52 5

3 5

452 5

4

80 X

2

S2 S

4X

2S2 S

4

42 4

338B

80

42 43

43L2

L2 N2 N4 N6

G8

X9

42

42 S

2 S

454 S

2 S

4

31 32 36 80

31 32 36 80

39S1 X1 N3

N3

X1

80

54

5230N 30S 32 34 3630N 30S 32 34 36

30N

30S 3

2 3

4 3

6 5

454

70

70

70

39

79 79

80

80

80

P696

P6

79 79 74

74

70

79 7474

16X 39 A9P17 P19 W

13

P17 P19 W13

G8

S9S1

S9S1

3Y D1 D3 S1

80 53 80

D6 D

1 D3

37 39 A9

37 39

37 39

11Y P17 P19 W13 7Y

P17P19W13

P17P19W

13

P17P19W

13

11Y P17P19W13

11Y 11Y11Y13Y

11Y13Y

16Y 16Y A9

37 39

S9 3Y 7Y D1 D3 D6 D4

7Y

7Y

7Y

D4

D4

D1 D

3 D6 37

D1 D

3 D6 37

G8 S9

80

80

3Y 7Y 11Y S1 16Y

80

3Y 7Y 11Y S1 16Y

7Y 11Y S1

7Y 11Y S1

D6D5

3YD1D3D5S1

N2

N4

N6

30N 30S 31 33 38B

38B

30N 30S 32 33 36

D5

39

31 3

2 3

631 3

2 3

6

80

80

H1 X1 L1 N3

L1

L1

L1 N3

L1

H1

X1N3

7Y

ARLINGTON

MEMORIAL

BRIDGE

X1

L1

H1

3Y

16Y

H1

39

32 36 38B

38B 8038B

X280 X2

D8 X1 X9

D3 D4

30N 30S 32 33 36 42 43 S2 S4 X2

30N 30S 32 33 36 42 43 S2 S4 X2

D1 33 3

4 S

2 S

4

33 S

2 S

4

52 54

52

5A V1 5A

5A 5A

97

97

X1

V1

13Y 16X 11Y

16X

63 64 P6

63

63D6

64 G8

63 64

L1 N

3 H1

D5

G8

N2

N4

N6

L2

A9W9

74

P6

P6

P6

373979X1

V5V1

G2G2 D2 D6 G2

D2

N2 N3N4 N6

H1 L1

37D2 D6

D1 D3

D1 D3 G2

G8

G2

G2

96

96

42

63 G8 X9

P6

P6

3739 G8

63 64 N3

96

96 D6 X8

D4

96

X9

D4 P6

D3

D3

13YD6

D3

13YD6

13Y 16X

79

L1N3 H1

43, L2 via underpass

16Y 3Y 7Y

13Y97

D6

A9

30N 30S 32 33 36 33 30N 30S 34 36 54

GalleryPlace

L’Enfant Plaza

FederalCenter SW

CapitolSouth

Archives

Mt VernonSq

MetroCenter

McPhersonSq

FarragutWest

FarragutNorth

Federal Triangle

Smithsonian

Foggy Bottom-GWU

Dupont Circle

JudiciarySq

Union Station

NoMa-Gallaudet U

George WashingtonUniversity

GWU Hospital

KennedyCenter

LincolnMemorial

World War IIMemorial

VietnamVeteransMemorial

Korean WarMemorial

MLK Memorial

FDR Memorial

StateDepartment

WatergateVerizon Center

WMATA

NationalBuildingMuseum

GeorgetownLaw Center

US Capitol

Supreme Court

Library ofCongress

WashingtonMonument

Bureau ofEngraving &

Printing

HolocaustMuseum

SmithsonianCastle

Museum of Natural History

Museum of AmericanHistory

John A WilsonBuilding

NationalTheatre

WarnerTheatre

Ford’sTheatre

Air & SpaceMuseum

Museum of theAmerican Indian

NationalGalleryof Art

The WhiteHouse

Walter E WashingtonConvention Center

Not to Scale

See individual route schedulesfor additional details.

Central Washington, DC


Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 16

Summary of network design strategiesFigure 12 summarizes some of the key strategies that effective, freedom-increasing network redesigns generally employ, and why those strategies work. These strategies are associated with increased ridership because they make service useful to more people, for more purposes

How do we get more service without more money?Strategy Benefits Downsides

Strategies that Decrease Duplication and Excess Service

1 Remove Duplicative Route Segments

Resources can be reallocated to create more useful services.

More people have to transfer during their trip, but this does not mean total travel times are longer. Sometimes they are shorter due to less waiting.

2 Remove Excess Peak-Only Service

Resources can be reallocated to create more useful services. Peak-only service is especially expensive to run, so more resources are freed.

Minor, as this would only be done only where demand does not justify added peak service and frequency is high anyway.

3 Consistent Route Spacing

Avoids partial duplication where parallel routes serve the same area. Resources can be reallocated to create more useful services.

Longer walks to service are difficult for those who have difficulty walking.

4 Wider Stop Spacing Increase average speed. Faster trip times free resources to create more useful services. Better infrastructure is possible at each stop.

Longer walks to service are difficult for those who have difficulty walking.

Strategies that Increase Connection Opportunities

5 Remove Fare Penalty for Transfers

Encourages connections, which are the essence of an efficient network. The more connections a route makes, the more useful it is.

Would require review of fare structure. Could increase base fare.

6 Focus Service on Transportation Centers

Expands usefulness of all routes serving a transit center. Especially important for travel between City and suburban counties.

Transit Centers must accommodate more buses. In some cases this may require infrastructure.

7 Strengthen the Frequent Grid The most efficient form of network for dense cities.

Frequency is expensive, so can be deployed only where many people will use it.

8 Link to Regional Rail Connections Improved travel between city and suburban counties.

Difficult, due to low frequencies and irregular sched-ules of regional rail, but worth doing to extent possible.

Figure 12: Budget neutral strategies for increasing service.


Ex

EC

UTI

vE

SU

MM

AR

y

| 17

What should happen next?We recommend that SEPTA undertake a redesign study for the Philadelphia network, building on the analysis from this report. A redesign should:

• Develop multiple alternatives for what the network might look like, depending on different priorities that might be chosen. For example, one network alternative might focus more on ridership, and the other on coverage.

• Launch a major public conversation about these alter-natives, to get feedback from citizens about what the priorities should be.

• Develop a draft recommended network based on the priorities that have been expressed.

• Conduct a second round of public conversation, to get public feedback on the recommended network.

• Revise the recommended network and implement it.

While this report focuses on just the network within the City of Philadelphia, a similar conversation and redesign process can, and should, be undertaken in the other jurisdictions within the SEPTA service area. How that conversation and process is structured is a critical next step in the overall redesign process.

It is sensible, though, to work on the network in separate parts, in parallel planning processes. This way issues in one part of the network do not sidetrack the planning process in a far away part of the network elsewhere. Of course, where the network in different areas overlap, coordination in the planning process will be crucial to a successful redesign.

Outline of this reportChapters 1 and 2 introduce the network and its current performance.

Chapter 3 discusses speed and reliability issues, and the important role of City of Philadelphia leadership in this area.

Chapter 4 explores the transit market, looking at how the patterns of development and demographics affect transit demand.

Chapter 5 dives deeper into existing performance at the route and stop level. It studies examples of different kinds of design problems and showing why certain design prin-ciples make sense.

Chapter 6 lays out recommended design principles that should guide a network redesign.

Documents

Executive Summary · Executive Summary. JARRETT WALKER + ASSOCIATES SEPTA Philadelphia Bus etwork Choices Report Ex ECUTI v E S UMMAR y | 8 If you use public transit, or want to,