ROUTE 12A NORTH HILLS SHOPPER

Transcription

1 ROUTE 12A NORTH HILLS SHOPPER Route 12A North Hills Shopper provides local service along McKnight Road, serving shopping centers, apartment complexes and adjacent residential communities between Showcase Cinemas Park and Ride in McCandless and downtown Pittsburgh (see Figure 1). The route has been reconfigured several times over the past years, from separate routes serving the shopping centers on the east and west sides of McKnight Road to a single route today with different variants, some of which serve different sides of McKnight Road. Unlike most Port Authority routes, Route 12A primarily serves outbound trips in the morning and inbound trips in the afternoon and evening, taking people from downtown Pittsburgh to Ross Park Mall and other locations along McKnight Road. Figure 1: Route 12A North Hills Shopper Route 12A s schedule is tightly interwoven with that of Route 13A North Hills Express, which provides express service in the same corridor. Several times throughout the day, Route 12A service is essentially replaced by Route 13A, which does not enter the shopping malls. Similar Routes Route 13A North Hills Express and 13U North Hills-Oakland serve the same corridor, minus most of the deviations off of McKnight Road. Route 13A is an express version of Route 12A that largely provides peak period, peak direction service, bypassing turnoffs such as Ross Park Mall. Route 13U provides similar service as Route 13A, but to Oakland instead of downtown Pittsburgh. In addition, Route 11C Perry Highway also provides service along Cumberland Road to UPMC Passavant. Route 1D Mt. Royal and Route R Mount Royal Flyer also operate between Ross Park Mall and Northway Mall. Page 1

2 Alignment/Service Patterns Route 12A operates between the Showcase Cinemas Park and Ride Lot in McCandless and downtown Pittsburgh, largely along McKnight Road, but with deviations to major activity centers off of McKnight Mall. Most trips serve all or a combination of Pine Creek Shopping Center and K-Mart at McIntyre Square, Northway Mall and Ross Park Mall. Weekend trips also serve Cumberland and UPMC Passavant At the southern end of the route, the route serves the North Side via East Street, North Avenue, Cedar Avenue and East Ohio Street. The route then accesses downtown Pittsburgh via the 9 th Street Bridge, serving Liberty Avenue, and returns north via the 7 th Street Bridge. Note that although Route 12A and Route 13A are closely inter-related, Route 12A uses a different alignment than Route 13A through downtown because the latter utilizes the I-279 HOV Lane. The two different routes through the Golden Triangle inconvenience riders. In total, Route 12A operates with four inbound variants and six outbound variants reflecting different locations served at different times on weekdays, as well as different weekend services. Inbound 12A-IR provides inbound weekday service after 9:00 AM from Showcase Cinemas Park and Ride Lot to downtown Pittsburgh, serving Kane Hospital, McIntyre Square, Northway Mall and Ross Park Mall. Route 12A-IX operates as short-turn service between McIntyre Square and downtown Pittsburgh on three afternoon trips. It serves Kane Hospital, McIntyre Square, Northway Mall, and Ross Park Mall. Route 12A-IC provides weekend service between the Showcase Cinemas Park and Ride Lot and downtown Pittsburgh. Variant 12A-IC serves Kane Hospital, McIntyre Square, and Ross Park Mall, plus UPMC Passavant via Cumberland Road. Route 12A-ID is an alternate weekend variant that operates from the Showcase Cinemas Park & Ride to downtown Pittsburgh via Northway Mall and Ross Park Mall, but not UPMC Passavant, Kane Hospital, or McIntyre Center. Outbound 12A-OR, operates on weekdays from downtown Pittsburgh to Showcase Cinemas Park and Ride Lot via McKnight Road, serving Ross Park Mall, Northway Mall, Kane Hospital, and McIntyre Square. 12A-OU operates on weekdays from downtown Pittsburgh to the Showcase Cinemas Park & Ride. This variant bypasses Ross Park Mall, but serves McIntyre Square. 12A-OV operates on weekdays and Saturdays from downtown Pittsburgh to Showcase Cinemas Park & Ride, serving Northway Mall, Kane Hospital, and McIntyre Square. 12A-OC operates on weekends from downtown Pittsburgh to Showcase Cinemas along McKnight Road, serving Ross Park Mall, Kane Hospital, McIntyre Square, and UPMC Passavant. 12A-OD operates on weekends from downtown Pittsburgh to Showcase Cinemas via Ross Park Mall and Northway Mall. 12A-OY operates on weekends from downtown Pittsburgh to Showcase Cinemas via Northway Mall, Kane Hospital, McIntyre Square, and UPMC Passavant. Page 2

3 Schedule Service on Route 12A is provided seven days a week, and as described above, Route 12A s schedule is tightly interwoven with that of Route 13A North Hills Express. On weekdays, all inbound service operates as Route 13A until 8:45 am. After that time, all service except for two PM peak trips operate as Route 12A. Outbound, the first three trips operate as 13A, and then at 8:20 am, service shifts to Route 12A. Most service then operates as Route 12A until the pm peak, when all service operates as Route 13A. At 6:40 pm, service then shifts back to Route 12A. In general, the schedule is confusing as there are no regular patterns. Headways are also irregular. Table 1: Route 12A Schedule Statistics One-Way Trips Headways Span of Service Inbound Outbound (minutes) Weekdays AM Peak 8:20 AM 8:59 AM 0 1 N/A Midday 9:00 AM 3:29 PM PM Peak 3:30 PM 5:59 PM Evening 6:00 PM 11:45 PM All Day 8:20 AM 11:45 PM Saturdays 6:15 AM 11:59 PM Sundays 6:17 AM 10:05 PM On weekends, all service operates as Route 12A (and because of this, more service operates on Saturdays than on weekdays). Ridership Although ridership dropped more than 11% between FY 2002 and FY 2004, Route 12A has seen steady ridership increases since FY Between FY 2004 and FY 2006, weekday ridership climbed 13%, and then climbed another 13% from FY 2006 to FY Weekday ridership now averages 850 passengers. With more runs and longer service hours, Saturday ridership is significantly higher than weekday ridership, at 1,100 passengers. Saturday ridership has remained virtually unchanged over the past several years, with FY 2008 levels matching FY 2004 ridership. Sunday, with one-half the service hours of Saturday service, has less than half Saturday s ridership. With an average of 504 passengers, Sunday service in FY 2008 has 11% fewer passengers than FY 2004 or FY Ridership data is incomplete, but suggests that Route 12A carries more passengers outbound than inbound on weekdays and weekends. Given that Route 13A carries more passengers inbound than outbound, it appears that riders balance some of their travel between the two routes, depending on the time of day and the need to travel to locations not served by Route 13A. Considering that the two routes do not overlap service hours during most the day, for most Page 3

4 riders, the option of which route to take is a function of the time that they need to travel. As a result, riders who desire quick trip from end to end are inconvenienced by Route 12A s deviations into shopping center parking lots, which adds 20 minutes to end-to-end travel times (57 minutes versus 37 minutes). Also, people who need to access Ross Park Mall are faced with an inconvenient walk up the hill from McKnight Road if they need to take the bus when Route 12A is not operating. Route 12A boardings and alightings occur along the entire route, but many stops have little or no activity, especially those along McKnight Road in areas that are difficult and sometimes dangerous to cross (see Figure 2). Very few passengers board at the Showcase Cinemas Park and Ride Lot, suggesting the stop may be unnecessary. The first major boarding location is McKnight Road and Arcadia Drive, serving Arcadia Center and the business offices across the street, where 5% of riders board. Before reaching Ross Park Mall, the other major boarding locations are McIntyre Square (4%) and Club Julian (7%). The largest number of boardings at any single stop location along the inbound route occurs at Ross Park Mall (17%), with the segment between the mall and Stevens Road representing 28% of all inbound boardings. The remaining stops inbound, north of Allegheny General Hospital, represent only 9% of boardings. South of the hospital, boardings are consistently strong headed into downtown Pittsburgh. According to ridership data, a large number of passengers alight on the North Side before the bus reaches downtown, with more than 20% of riders getting off the bus along Anderson. The majority of passengers ride until the end of the line. Figure 2: Route 12A Ridership by Stop: All Day Inbound Passengers Total Ons Total Offs Load Out From Stop BLAZIER DR BUS SHOWCASE CINEMAS BLAZIER PINE CREEK SC GIANT EAGLE MCKNIGHT ARCADIA MCKNIGHT CUMBERLAND MCKNIGHT OPP DUNCAN MCKNIGHT PERRYMONT MCKNIGHT NORTHWAY MALL (BORDERS) KANE MAIN ENT KANE CENTER MCINTYRE MCINTYRE MCINTYRE SQ DRVWY MCINTYRE K-MART MCINTYRE FESTIVAL NORTHWAY MALL OPP SOUTH COURT ENT CORBET OPP CLUB JULIAN CORBET TOWNE TOWERS NORTH CORBET BROWNS LANE BROWNS ROSS PARK BROWNS MCKNIGHT ROSS PARK OUTER PARKING SHELTER MCKNIGHT OPP BP PROCARE MCKNIGHT JERADS JEWELERS DRVWY MCKNIGHT ROSS TOWNE CENTRE MCKNIGHT CHI-CHI'S MCKNIGHT SEIBERT NS MCKNIGHT SEIBERT FS MCKNIGHT N HILLS VLG NORTH ENT MCKNIGHT N HILLS VLG SOUTH ENT MCKNIGHT NORTHLAND MEDICAL MCKNIGHT BABCOCK RAMP FS MCKNIGHT OPP BROOKVIEW MCKNIGHT OPP STEVENS MCKNIGHT NELSON RUN MCKNIGHT INTOWN SUITES DRVWY FS MCKNIGHT PITTSBURGH REVIVAL CENTER MCKNIGHT IVORY AVE RAMP (ISLAND) MCKNIGHT OPP EVERGREEN EVERGREEN HARPEN EVERGREEN GRIBBLE EVERGREEN BAYTREE EAST EVERGREEN-NO STOP EAST VENTURE FS EAST OPP MT PLEASANT EAST MILROY EAST OPP HAZLETT EAST SUFFOLK EAST OPP ST BONIFACE CHURCH EAST OPP ROYAL EAST OPP LAREDA NORTH MIDDLE FS NORTH JAMES ALLEGHENY GENERAL HOSPITAL CEDAR OPP TRIPOLI CEDAR EAST OHIO CEDAR OPP PRESSLEY ANDERSON LACOCK ANDERSON GENERAL ROBINSON ANDERSON ISABELLA 9TH PENN LIBERTY 7TH (CLARK BLDG) Load Out from Stop Most outbound alightings mirror the inbound boardings, but there are some significant inconsistencies. It is unclear whether the available data is accurate, but it indicates the largest number of alightings occurs at McKnight Road and Brookview Lane or Babcock Boulevard. Page 4

5 This may be due to passengers alighting and walking to locations along Babcock Boulevard, but it is unclear why the high numbers of alightings at this stop would not also be reflected in boardings inbound. It is also surprising that no passengers alight at Ross Park Mall, according to the APC data, which suggests there may be inaccuracies in the outbound passenger counts. Maximum loads on weekday and Saturday midday runs generally are good at about 30 passengers. With fewer trips and high demand on Sundays, maximum loads on afternoon trips are in the range of passengers. Figure 3, illustrates the reverse commute nature of Route 12A, showing the highest outbound loads are on AM peak-period trips while inbound passenger loads are higher between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM. Figure 3: Route 12A Maximum Loads by Time of Day (All Sampled Weekday Trips) Inbound Outbound Maximum Load ` :56 AM 8:58 AM 8:58 AM 9:02 AM 9:29 AM 9:30 AM 9:35 AM 10:01 AM 10:26 AM 10:41 AM 10:42 AM 11:23 AM 11:24 AM 11:26 AM 12:10 PM 12:50 PM 12:55 PM 1:16 PM 1:48 PM 2:06 PM 2:16 PM 2:22 PM 3:24 PM 3:35 PM 4:05 PM 4:40 PM 5:46 PM 6:40 PM 6:44 PM 7:23 PM 7:45 PM 8:04 PM 8:45 PM 8:56 PM 9:31 PM 10:12 PM 11:07 PM Productivity Route 12A is neither especially efficient nor effective, with below-average productivity in most measures (see Table 2). Operating Cost/Passenger: The operating cost per passenger on weekdays is well above average on Route 12A, at $6.40. It is worth noting that Saturday average cost per passenger is less at $4.21 and Sunday s is $5.16, demonstrating higher cost-effectiveness on weekends than on weekdays. On weekdays, Route 12A s operating cost per passenger is more than twice that of Route 13A. Page 5

6 Table 2: Route 12A Productivity Radial Route 12A Average Operating Cost/Passenger $6.40 $2.53 Passengers/Revenue Vehicle Hour Passengers/Total Vehicle Hour Passengers/ Revenue Vehicle Mile Total Vehicle Hours/Revenue Vehicle Hour Bus Stops/Mile Directness Average Speed (mph) Number of Variations Ridership per Unit of Service: Passengers per revenue vehicle hour is 21.5, or 55% lower than the average radial route. Passengers per total vehicle hour is 15.5, also well below average and reflects the higher than average deadhead required for this route. Passengers per mile is only 1.2, almost one third of the average, and an indicator of the long distance this route travels in combination with limited ridership. Total Vehicle Hours Versus Revenue Vehicle Hours: The ratio of total vehicle hours to revenue vehicle hours, at 1.38, is higher than average for radial routes (1.29). Average Speed: For significant portions of the route along McKnight Road, the bus travels with few traffic lights at high speeds with few stops. This brings the route speed almost in line with buses that operate on the Port Authority s busways. The average speed of 17.5 mph is 25% faster than the average for radial routes at 13.9 mph. Bus Stops/Mile: Route 12A has an average of 3.4 stops per mile, which is comparable to an express route. On average, buses stop only every 1,550 feet, with some stretches having even fewer stops. Even with the relatively limited number of stops, a review of inbound data shows no passengers boarding or alighting at 15 (or 25%) of the stops. Number of Variations: Route 12A has 10 variations: four inbound variations and six outbound. Shown in combination with Route 13A on Port Authority schedules, the array of variations along this alignment makes the service difficult to understand. Service Design Route 12A is overly complex due to the number of variants. The Port Authority has made modifications to this route in the past, operating different variations designed to reduce travel times by serving shopping centers on only one side of McKnight Road or the other, eliminating the need to wait at traffic signals to cross over the road. Passenger demand for access to shopping, apartments and services on both sides of McKnight Road has shaped the current route configuration. While it is often congested with traffic, portions of McKnight Road allow for higher speed operations. The combination of two separate routes, 12A and 13A, serving most of the corridor allows the comparison of the effectiveness of local and express versions of service in this corridor, and that indicates that the express version is far more efficient. Page 6

7 Other Irregular Headways and Multiple Variations Although Route 12A has fairly regular headways on Saturday and Sunday, on weekdays they are erratic and interspersed with Route 13A trips without any regular pattern. In addition, when mixed with Route 13A trips, the corridor has a significant amount of variation, complicating trip planning for users on weekdays. The inconsistency of service and the mix of route variants may impact ridership. Pedestrian Safety and Passenger Bus Stops Along McKnight Road, many stops are situated in areas without sidewalks or crosswalks. Some stops are located along portions of the route where there is a cement barrier in the center of the road, and in some instances, pieces of the barrier have been removed to allow bus passengers to cross what functions as a limited-access highway. These areas are not served by safe crosswalks or signals. Pedestrian fatalities have occurred when people have tried to cross McKnight Road in areas with poor driver visibility and high traffic speeds, and as a result, some route deviations were designed to provide access to adjacent housing. Service Improvement Opportunities Route 12A s productivity problems suggest some other approaches may be more effective and offer greater efficiencies than the current operation. Potential improvements might include the following: Simplify Service: Provide regular headways and eliminate variations on Route 12A so that all runs serve the same locations, in order to make service more user-friendly. Redesign to Provide More Consistent Route 12A and Route 13A Operating Patterns: Route 13A serves a traditional commute market to and from downtown Pittsburgh, while Route 12A serves more of a reverse commute market. Service could be reconfigured so that nearly all AM peak inbound/pm peak outbound service operates as Route 13A, and all other service operates at Route 12A. In this manner, Route 13A would provide traditional express service, and its reverse direction trips would serve job access/reverse commute trips, midday shopping trips, and supplement Route 13A service. Convert to Feeder Route: Route 12A could be converted to a true shopper shuttle that serves the various shopping centers and Ross Park Mall, as well as some of the apartment complexes adjacent to McKnight Road and UPMC Passavant. The route could cross McKnight Road at several points allowing riders to transfer to a frequent, fast service operating along the corridor. (For this to occur, an appropriate transfer location would need to be identified. Operate as Route Deviation Service: The conversion to route deviation service could provide for continued service to all current locations, and reduce travels times to the extent Page 7

8 that buses would not need to operate along deviations when there is no demand. (This would require the use of a dispatching system in order to take reservations for off-route pickups.) Reduce Length of Route/Provide More Frequent Service: The elimination of service north of McIntyre Square would allow Route 12A s cycle time to be reduced to 120 minutes. With the shorter cycle time, it would be possible to improve service frequencies to every 30 or 60 minutes. Shift the Outer End of the Route to UPMC Passavant, to provide weekday service to that facility, as well as to LaRoche College. Remove Unsafe Bus Stops/Create Safe Bus Waiting Areas: Although it may inconvenience some riders, the Port Authority should consider eliminating unsafe bus stops. These stops are unsafe not only for riders, but also for drivers who must stop in high-speed traffic with poor driver sightlines. In eliminating stops, the bus would provide closed-door service along portions of McKnight Road. A better alternative for riders, but far more capitalintensive, would be to create safe bus pullouts, waiting areas, crosswalks and gradeseparated crossings at key locations along McKnight Road. Depending upon ridership demand, local development or property owners along McKnight road could help pay for these improvements. Page 8