NextStop Blog
August 3, 2011
Bus Stop Evaluation Program: Routes #33, #45, #57, and #91
Return to BlogBelow you will find the lists of the proposed MetroBus stops under consideration for elimination for:
#33 Dorsett-Lackland
#45 Ferguson Florissant
#57 Maplewood Wildwood
#91 Olive
These stops are being proposed for elimination as part of Metro’s Bus Stop Evaluation Program to make the system more efficient and faster.
Comments for the #91 were submitted by Monday, August 8, 2011.
Please submit your comments for the #57 by Monday, August 15, 2011.
Please submit your comments for the #33 and #45 by Monday, August 15, 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:
On the 57 Manchester, no eastbound stops were proposed for elimination?
Good catch. I inserted the eastbound stops for the #57.
On the 33 one could you keep the one that is right in front of Jack in the Box going in the direction of westbound (the lackland/woodson bus stop).
Its not much of a difference in walking using the other stop right before it for me, its just that my mom (who has heart problems, breathing problems, and back problems) can’t take the walk up the hill from the bus stop that comes before it and the one by Jack in the Box helps her out more and so she asked me to ask you to consider keeping that one instead.
Also is there any way you could cut more bus stops on Rock Road especially towards the end of the line? The bus tends to stop at every single stop on Rock Road because someone is getting on or off, so it would be better to see more consolidation of those routes.
The Evaluation Response is a good idea. As a 67 year old with diabetes, arthritis and foot ulcers, I FEEL the loss of my closest stop on #70 Grand. And recall the salvation of the other nearest stop.
I would strongly object to the elimination of the stops along Rte. #45, NB at Florissant Rd at Hereford and SB N. Florissant Rd at Throughman.
Both of those stops service the businesses on the four corners of Hereford/Airport and N Florissant Rd. Those businesses benefit greatly from having public transportation to them from areas North and South of Ferguson. I would ask you to reconsider those stops. I appreciate the work Metro is doing to try and streamline and speed up the transit system, I just believe these stops are beneficial to both riders and the businesses in the area.
Thanks for the comments! Mayor Knowles and Julie, I’ve passed along your comments and will have an answer for you shortly. Your feedback is much appreciated.
Ron, to which Grand stop are you referring?
Is there anything physically located on these stops/buses to tell patrons that these stops are being considered for elimination and a way to contact Metro in case they don’t have computer access and/or don’t regularly check the Metro website/blog?
Ooops, just went back to the one where you first mentioned the elimination reviews and saw that signs were put up for the #57 and #91. But I’d still like to know about the #33 and #45.
Yes, all evaluated bus stops have a sticker on them for two weeks with a number to call for comments.
It would have been better, if the stickers read:
“This stop is being evaluated for elimination.”
As it reads now (“is being eliminated”), it seems there is no evaluation process.
I agree, stlplanr. Making that more clear would have been preferable.
I believe the list of stops considered for elimnation is too long. I propose keeping at least half of the stops listed.
Also, the #91 route is cruicial to people supported by the St. Louis Arc. I propose keeping all of the stops along that route.
Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts and concerns.
#57 isn’t that bad but in many parts long Manchester in Kirkwood, there is no place to where the bus could pull out of traffic and still pick up passengers. Clay and Manchester has one. Now between Curran and Bernice, there is a service road that the bus could use on eastbound runs. And there is a place to where the bus could pull over to let people on and off the bus.
The #91 stop on Warson at Gateway BLVD is an essential bus stop. This stop is directly in front of the St Louis Arc and is utilized by numerous individuals who receive support from our agency.
I understand there are several stops along Warson. This A.M. I rode #91 for the first time as an alternate to driving to the office. The bus never turned down Warson. It only stopped at Olive and Warson. This stop is too far away from our office to be the only stop servicing our building.
The route normally goes down Warson, so I’m trying to find out what happened with that particular bus.
The #57 Dawning Ln stop was for the new Schnucks store. Where is the stop for Schnucks now going to be located?
The #57 Lindemann stop was for the Walgreens store. Where is the stop for Walgreens now going to be located?
Courtney thank you for having the bus stop moved to where its no longer on the hill. My mom also says thank you too.
How does Warson fit into the Dawning Ln at Manchester stop of the #57?
Jim, we received several comments regarding the Dawning Ln stop and it will be kept for the new Schnucks access.
The 57 was almost 10 minutes late today. I usually expect some type of delay but this was a big shock to me.
The idea to eliminate some bus stops is good in principle. But it does little good in reality when many of your drivers ignore your rules and drop off/pick up riders and friends anywhere they want to, stop or no stop.
Also, one major purpose of public transportation is to help people who cannot get around very well; enlarging gaps between stops makes it harder for many with mobility problems, and that’s the opposite of what Metro should be doing.
There is a bad overlap on many routes that drags down the travel time. For example, the #33 makes too many stops on Rock Road when it should make a direct run to/from the metroLink station; the #32 or #35 bus serves the Rock Road riders, and skipping those stops would speed the journey for those with further to go.
Metro does many good things. But there are a lot that Metro could do much much better, and safer. Ridership and reputation will never increase as they should for you until Metro really starts putting its riders first — not letting the loud and the troublemakers rule the roost, but making it a quick quiet efficient professional trip for all.
Think like a traveller in need, not like a bean counter. Good luck!
Bruce, I believe a lot of the stops on Rock Road are up for evaluation, so I would expect some thinning out on that road for the #33. Thanks for your feedback!
P.S. This stop evaluation and comment program is a wonderful thing. But it is terribly underpublicized, mostly totally unknown by regular riders. I only discovered it when I came looking for information about rumored plans to merge the #33 and #64 routes (horrible idea; found no info about the rumor). Please communicate better with your riders, many of whom do not have or check computer connections very often. Thanks.
Regarding the comment about bus operators stopping where there are no bus stops, maybe the operators know more about where the riders want to go than the planners who make the lists and don’t ride the bus. Comments about the bus stop at Schnucks on the 57 illustrates this point.
The #45 was one of the last lines to be restored, now it’s one of the first to be cut.
The #45 is not being cut, Ellen, we are just evaluating stops to make sure there is adequate and reasonable spacing between them. The headways and route will not change. Hope this clarifies things, let me know if you have anymore questions!
I would like to comment about the #57 maplewood-wildwood….i would like for metro to look at the timing schedule for the routes in the evening. There is a uneccessary gap for when the bus arrives at the metrolink station. When the bus pulls in to the maplewood-manchester metrolink station customers always misses the train, and we have to wait 20 minutes for the next train and miss other connections. If there was a way for you to improve the timing then that would be great. Also on Sunday I understand that the bus runs every hour but the timing on that day needs to be looked at and evaluated. Having the bus run on the same schedule mondays tru saturdays are one of the best things that they came up with. But here a solution to the transfers “that be getting stolen off the bus” stop these bus drivers from having there female or male friends on the bus and when they get off they leave them on there. Also to ensure that bus drivers are on time I feel that they should stop conversating on phones, pulling the bus over to have a conversation on the phone. plus a full like newsletter should be emailed and given out on the new ideas or solution for the transfers…I really would like to know what the new ideas are. Thank you for you time and patience.
Thanks for your comments Dionne, I will get an answer for you. Thanks!