On January 24, 2016, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County rolled out a series of changes and enhancements to their bus network. Changes included adjustment of running times, changing route configurations, and moving stops along routes to alleviate congestion inside some of the transit centers.
One route that saw a significant change was line 82 (Westheimer), which runs from the old Downtown Post Office to West Oaks Mall. At first, the peak frequency during rush hour was eight minutes. This worked for a while until buses started to become overcrowded. Now, instead of running every eight minutes during the morning and afternoon rush, buses now run every six minutes. This has led to a significant decrease in overcrowded buses and the changes have worked so far.
Another route that saw significant changes was line 56 (Airline/Montrose), which runs from the Texas Medical Center Transit Center to Greenspoint Transit Center. The first change was making the September 2015 detour along Fulton-Lyerly-Airline on the northbound trip permanent. The other change was moving the stop at Fulton and Deerfield to Northline Transit Center effective November 30, 2015 in order to create a safer passenger waiting area.
“I actually like the new system, minus the weekend flea market traffic on Airline,” driver Dee stated who drives route 56 on the weekends.
Line 85 (Antoine/Washington), also saw a major change that now allows it to stop across the street from Downtown Transit Center instead of stopping inside the Transit Center. One driver likes the change since it was very congested inside Downtown Transit Center before the changes went into effect. Instead of terminating inside the Downtown Transit Center, the line now stops across the street. One driver, who wished to not be identified, likes the change. “The changes are a lot better since it was really congested inside the Transit Center.” Since some of the buses are accordion-style, regular buses sometimes had trouble pulling out of their loading areas. Accordion style buses are longer than standard buses and bend in the middle. This makes them harder to pull into spaces designed for standard buses. “There were times when two accordion-style buses would pull in. They may not have to leave right away either,” the driver, who did not wish to be identified, stated. This made it necessary to find a different end point for the buses since the Downtown Transit Center was not designed for longer accordion-style buses.
Line 47 (Hillcroft), which runs between Airport Blvd and Northwest Transit Center also saw a schedule change. A 6:40 am northbound trip and a 3:45 pm southbound trip were added to reduce passenger overloads.
One passenger, who has only been riding the bus system for about one month, found it to be an effective mode of transportation. “It’s actually a lot easier to understand the routes now and figure out which bus services connect at major intersections or Transit Centers and Park and Ride lots.”
Line 65 (Bissonnet), which runs along Bissonnet between Wheeler Transit Center and Synott Road, also had a major change. Weekday eastbound peak times between 6:00 am and 7:30 am were 12 minutes. Due to an increase in ridership demand, the time was changed to 10 minutes since the bus connects to the METRORail Wheeler Station platform.
Another passenger said that they liked the addition of line 84 (Buffalo Speedway)to Northwest Transit Center. They also liked that the buses run more frequently. “I love the fact you can now text and get real-time information about buses arriving at every stop. There are also other features that I have not tried yet.” One thing that really impressed them is that the drivers are really good about lost and found. “I also like the motor coach bus service during the week that service the Park and Rides as well as some Transit Centers.”
Not all passengers like the changes, though. One passenger commented that the buses are slower since the changes were implemented. Another passenger did not like the new route changes since they now have to take three different buses to work instead of just one bus. The only thing they like so far is the frequency that the buses run.
University of Houston-Downtown student Sixto Pina stated that he hated the changes at first since the correct bus did not always pull in right away to Denver Harbor Transit Center. One thing he did like though is how often the buses run. He also likes that students ride for half price with a discounted Q-Card or Day Pass purchased at METRO headquarters.
So far, the changes have made a difference. The differences have reduced passenger overloads, made the bus system more predictable and reliable, and added more buses during peak rush hour periods. The real test though will come when Spring Break and Rodeo Houston come in March.
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