NextStop Blog
September 26, 2011
Bus Stop Evaluation Program: #13 Union and #47 North Hanley
Return to BlogThe Bus Stop Evaluation Program is moving along and below is the new list of proposed MetroBus stops under consideration for removal for the following routes:
#13 Union
#47 North Hanley
These stops are being proposed for elimination as part of Metro’s Bus Stop Evaluation Program to make the system more efficient and faster.
Please submit your comments for the #13 and #47 by Monday, October 10, 2011.
Please submit your comments for the #04 and #48 by Monday, October 3, 2011.
NS – Nearside of the street-before you cross the street
FS – Farside of the street-after you cross the street
MB – Midblock after the street midway down
Categories:
Seriously? You want to eliminate that many stops on the Hanley bus route? You have already cut down on the Sunday route to where the bus does not go down Hanley on Sundays and now you want to stop it from riding down Hanley the rest of the week as well? Here is an example of how eliminating the Sunday route effects the customers. Mon-Sat you can take the Hanley bus from Hanley @ Monroe to Hanley @ Olive and the trip will take you approximately 7-10 minutes and one bus. On Sunday that same trip will take you 2 hours with two buses, the metrolink and some walking uphill. And you seriously want to cut out more of the Hanley bus route? Are you really thinking of the consumer when you are scheduling these changes?
Kathryn, we definitely are thinking of the consumer. Too many stops costs extra money and wear and tear on buses, money that can otherwise go to fund transit service. Other transit agencies have done similar projects to reduce costs as well. Bus stops that are used, and safe for buses and passengers alike, will stay. Many bus stops are evaluated because they are not ideal locations. But I understand absolutely that the Sunday service issue is very frustrating. I have sent your comment to Lance, our Director of Service Planning, and I will send you his response as soon as possible.
Thank you.
I know I’m only one person and generally only use the 47 a couple of dozen times a year but losing the stops at Graham and St. Virgil and Graham and Manion Park will disappoint me since the entire reason I ride the route is to get to a house on St. Virgil. Where are the nearest two stops to those? I think I found last year that the nearest stops at all south of those two are down at St. Anthony and Graham which is a decent hike but doable. Of course last year there was the bridge detour that caused me to have an additional mile or so hike so I guess this is still better than that… and I do know the detour wasn’t Metro’s fault. That was a joke.
Tony, I’ll find out for you and get you a response! Thanks for your feedback!
I noticed that the bus stop at hanley and olive has one of the removal stickers on it as well. Why would you take the one closest to the intersection away and have people going back a whole block to iff get to olive? I would have thought that the one right after that would have been a better idea if you have to get rid of a stop
Kathy, sometimes stops have other reasons for removal, safety or difficult for buses to use. But I will get you an answer and post here.
Hi Courtney. Thank you for responding. Maybe its just me, but it would probably be a good idea to keep the stops that allow connecting to alternate buses. I like many other people have no other means of transportation at this time, so I have to rely on metro bus to get where I am going. Take yesterday for example. I had to take the Hanley from Monroe @ hanley to Hanley @ Olive, stop at the walgreens for meds and take the Olive from there to the metrolink to catch the 16 to St. Mary’s. If you take away the stop at Hanley and Olive, you have to walk back a whole block to get to the intersection. Maybe removing intersection stops is not a great idea.
Please don’t remove 3047 stop @ Hanley and Ahern! My Mom and I use it all the time – we both use it 2x a day 5 days a week – because it is right outside our apartment. The stops before and after it can be really dark at night and it is scary crossing the street at those stops because cars go pretty fast on Hanley and I am afraid they will hit me. I am also afraid the drivers might miss me at the other stops because it is so dark. The Hanley and Ahern stop has a streetlight so it is way safer. Please tell Lance Hanley and Ahern is “used (a lot), and safe for buses and passengers”! Thanks!
Thanks for your comment Toshiko, and I’ll pass this along to our planning department and see what we can do. Certainly can understand wanting to keep a safe environment for you and your mother. I’ll let you know what I find out.
Thanks so much Courtney for your help. Having a safe and easily accessible bus stop is really important. I am really confused about why a stop that is used a lot is even being considered for removal when there are other stops that not being evaluated that I have never seen anyone use. When will we know what stops will still be here? Thanks again!
The southbound stop at the Flower Valley turnaround loop must have been posted in error; the #47 does not stop there anyway, so proposing to take away that stop is a moot point. The loop-stop is a safer stop than standing on the street in front of Burger King IF passenger/rider safety is an issue, … … …
Thanks.
Thanks for your feedback, Jackie. I’ll pass your comments on to Planning.
I live on Thelma Ave off North Hanley and the bus stop @ the corner of Hanley and Thelma is being eliminated. I don’t feel that this is fare, I have lived in the area for fourteen years and that stop has been very convienent for my travels on Metro Bus. I work late nights and feel that moving that stop would definitely put me in danger. Because the next available stop is a far distance from my street. And also the fact that my section of North Hanley is not very well lit. Several female passengers also ride late night as well and utilize that stop. Please reconsider removing this stop.
Deanna and Cassandra: Thank you both for taking time to share your comments about the #47. I will pass your comments and concerns on to our Planning Department.
My sister lives on Thelma Ave off North Hanley and the bus stop @ the corner of Thelma Ave & Hanley is being eliminated. I ask that you reconsider this elmination for safety reasons. My sister works late nights and I feel that her safety will be in jeopardy. Hanley provides very little street lights. On Sundays she is already forced to walk to Hanley & Naturalbridge @ 520am to catch a bus for work because the #47 doesn’t run down hanley on sundays which I fell is very dangerous. Why isn’t service for the #47 provided on Sundays many people still have to work. Even if it ran every hour on Sunday from 530am-7pm that would help alot of people.
I think it would be helpful if drivers stop to pick someone up from a stop that is being evaluated for removal, they tell the rider that the stop is being evaluated.
I talked to two gentlemen who live in on Hanley and Ahern opposite my apartment complex (one on the way to work and one on the way home) and they had no idea our stop was up for elimination! If I had not told them that the stop was up for elimination, they would have just showed up one day to find the stop gone. The sign is a good six something feet off the ground and regular riders have no reason to look up because they know the stop is for the 47 Hanley at Hanley and Ahern.
I let the two gentlemen know that Metro is going to take all valid comments are being taken into consideration – what could be more valid than our stop is safer and used more often than the other stops in the neighborhood not up for elimination? I hope they call or write to let you know that the stop is worth keeping. If frequent stops are a problem, the Hanley and Ahern stop should be okay because I see at most one person every other week using the other stops on the block, so the bus does not actually have to stop at those stops. It might not make for the most symmetrical route, but that shouldn’t matter either because Metro has made a commitment to people and not symmetry.
I think it is horrible for any stops to be removed. Metro does not seem to be looking out for the customer and every since the first year that bus routes started to be eliminated, it was obvious that the customer was put in the last position. There were many people who lost their jobs because of this decision. It appears that saving money is the main driver in all these cuts. However, it appears that Metro needs to figure out how cut and save in other ways, than to hurt the consumer. When the big guys are in their offices making the decisions and not realizing the impact of the community. You can easily say cut this and that when you probably have transportation.
Dianne, we do not want to remove stops that will hurt the consumer; the point is to make the system run better for customers. For example, my bus stop (the closest one to my house) is up for elimination. However, I know there is one only a block up the road, where many more customers access it because it is at an intersection. While it makes my walk slightly longer, it means that less time will be needed for the bus to stop along the route, making it easier to predict and stay on time. At one time, we had fewer stops, and in the last ten years they were added whenever and whereever people wanted one. But maintenance and running costs increase over time, making the stop less sustainable. Hopefully, with customer feedback, we can find the right balance and make it a better route overall.
Did the planning department go out and look at all these bus stops individually, or did they just sit in the office and look at their computers? I think the latter, otherwise they would not have proposed taking the stop in front of the Schnucks store on the 57 route down. The end result of this should be to speed up the service, but nowhere do I see that reason on the website.
Steve, all of the bus stops on the list have been checked out through field observations (going out and looking at stops) as well as other data, computer and otherwise. Linda in the planning department said that stop was proposed because there is a bus shelter at Brentwood and Manchester where people have shade and seating. Do you use that stop, or know others that do and do not like the proposed change?
I’ve was keeping track when I was riding on the 47 last week and people are using
Hanley and
Ahern (North and South)
Midland (North)
Ellerton (North and South)
Thelma (North and South)
Page (South)
I really hope that stops that are being used are not up for elimination and Metro has not already made up their mind and is just asking for feedback because they have for some legal reason. I can’t believe that Metro would go to the effort of asking if they did not mean it. However, from I have been hearing, being evaluated means being removed no matter what.
When will we know one way or the other?
Please do not remove the south bound hanley stop at page and hanley! I get off there to catch the page bus. LOTS of people get off and on at that bus stop. It is one that makes it easier to connect to the page bus. Please don’t remove the stops that make it easier to connect to other bus lines. There is not another stop going south bound for blocks in either direction that is close to page avenue. Also, I would really appreciate you not moving the south bouth hanley and olive stop. It is across from the grocery store and allows easy access to the olive bus. Thank you.
Kathy and Toshiko, thanks so much for the all feedback on the #47. I will pass this information along and get you a response.
Have you ever got off of a bus and had to walk so far back to the connecting bus line that the bus drives past you and you still have a block to go to get to the stop? That is what you are proposing by eliminating the stops that make it convenient to connect to alternate routes. Now imagine that the buses are running 45-1hr apart and you just watched that bus go by, your hands are full of groceries, it is 8 o’clock at night, you are female and by yourself?
We definitely do not want to eliminate stops that are at connecting bus lines. I will have a response for you as soon as possible!
Thanks Courtney! I hope Metro takes into consideration the points about personal safety. A lot of Metro riders are women riding alone or with small children and some of the areas are not safe. For example, the closest stop to Thelma (where Deanna lives) is Hanley and Natural Bridge. It was not that long ago that a young woman was abducted when she was parking her car near that very intersection. That is the kind of horrible thing that makes these stops important and is probably why so many women are responding to these proposed cuts.
Courtney, you did not answer my comment about the reason for this campaign to make the system less attractive to the rider. Is it Metro’s intent to speed up the service when they have removed all these stops? If not, there is no reason to inconvenience the rider, because there is no benefit for the rider. Public transit serves the riding public.
Steve, the reason this is happening is because for years bus stops were put up whereever someone requested one, regardless if it was well-planned or not. Now, in order to streamline routes, keep buses on time, and keep down unnecessary maintenance costs, we are looking at which stops are unnecessary. Like I mentioned before, less than 10% of stops per route are being evaluated. Same as we don’t need stop signs at every intersection, we want to have good, useable stops on the route that make the route work better.