What’s Next for METRO? You Decide

Ever since August 2015, not much has changed for the new bus network. In order to address
community concerns, METRO held a series of listening tours in order to get feedback from the
different areas of Houston.

The big question is what’s next? That’s up to riders and concerned residents. The biggest gain
was improving the broken network and making it a high frequency/high demand system. Another
question is what makes sense from the 2003 voter referendum? What kind of transportation
should be used? That is all up to you the rider.

Two big flaws are mobility and connections. Some bus routes do not serve park and rides or
transit centers along their route. This makes it harder for people to make a connecting bus route
to get to their final destination. The big mobility flaw is more miles of light rail. Right now, there
are only 24 miles of light rail and none of it goes out to the suburbs. The reason for this is
Houston area representatives Ted Poe and John Culberson always disagree on who should pay
for the extensions of rail line. The 2003 referendum passed and included more miles of light rail.
Express service can also be enhanced to accommodate midday commuters wanting to get home.
Right now, most express service only runs weekday mornings and late afternoon/evening. The
exception is the Bush IAH express which operates 7 days a week between downtown and
Terminal C at IAH.

There are also not enough shelters at the bus stops. Out of approximately 9000 stops, roughly
2000 are equipped with a shelter. This is not adequate since most stops are outside and exposed
to the heat, humidity, and rain. Adding a shelter at every other stop or at least at major
intersections would be beneficial.
Since opening, the Purple (southeast) and Green (east) lines have doubled in ridership according
to Chairwoman Carrin Patman. This has eased congestion on the freeways, but still doesn’t
completely solve the transportation problem. At $1.25 for local and light rail, Harris County
METRO is one of the most affordable mass transit providers in the country according to
Chairwoman Carrin Patman.

The biggest problems now are the Northwest corridor and the West Corridor. With more people
moving to the suburbs, these two corridors are either maxed out with freeway expansion or will
be in the near future. The big mistake Houston made was widening the Katy Freeway. In order to
accomplish this, an existing railroad line needed to be taken out. Instead of putting commuter rail
in, construction crews were given the go ahead to take out the rail line. Now, Houston is paying
for the mistake as the Katy Freeway (I-10) is nearing capacity once again and no room for
expansion.

There are currently three ideas in the works for improving mass transit in Houston. First is
commuter bus or bus rapid transit. Under this program, 60 people can be seated with an
additional 30 in standing room only. This would be beneficial for people who want to get to
downtown or another business district quickly. Another idea is expanding the current light rail.
Each car can seat approximately 80 people with room for 90 more in standing room only. The
final option is commuter rail with approximately 190 seats per car. This option would be best for
people needing to get from the suburbs to the business districts or downtown quickly without
frequent stops.

What will be the outcome of these community meetings? It will all depend on what METRO
officials decide after compiling all the comments and complaints from listening tours.