The past year has been a whirlwind for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and while you enjoy your time at the American Public Transportation Association’s Annual Meeting and Expo, there are a number of major projects they’re showing off, as well.
Metro Chairman Gilbert Garcia says they’ve been crazy busy planning for the APTA conference. “We are thrilled to have the APTA conference here. Houston is one of the best-kept secrets in the country and I hope people will find that out ...”
The other jewel of the city is its public transportation. They’re knee-deep in two new rail lines set to open early next year and in the Re-imagining of the bus system.
The two new rail lines should be open by the end of the first quarter next year Garcia says. President and CEO Thomas Lambert says, “We started burning on the new cab vehicles about a month ago. We now have 12 cars on the property and we’re continuing to burn those in … to get them ready for revenue operation.”
Board Member Christof Spieler says of the Main Street Line, which has been running for 10 years, “It is one of the most successful light rail lines in the United States. If you look at how many miles and how many boardings, the only systems that carry more people per mile are Boston and San Francisco.”
Something else he says you’ll notice along the rail line is all of the development up and down that line. “We’ve seen more than $8 billion in development along that line since it opened.” You’ll see a lot of construction cranes and a lot of new residential projects, office projects and hotels. “You really see how transit is transforming Houston,” he says.
When it comes to Re-imagining the bus system, Spieler says they took a blank-slate relook at the entire bus system, which still has routes that descend from the 1920s streetcar lines. “This is the first time we’ve looked at the entire system as a whole, rather than one line at a time.
After about three months of public input, 18 public meetings, 13 events at transit centers, more than 60 neighborhood organization briefings, an in-depth project website with more than 1,000 detailed comments, the plan has been refined and is ready to move forward.
“We’re going to create a frequent bus network – buses that run every 15 minutes, 7 days a week,” Spieler says. “One million people and one million jobs within walking distance of that network. We are going to triple the number of current riders that have access to 7 day-a-week frequent service.
“And we’re doing that with 93 percent of the current riders to be able to get on the bus at exactly the same stop they get on today,” he adds. In addition, they are doing all of that without increasing the bus operating budget.
Garcia says they will be implementing the new system next June with the summer service change and they anticipate a 20 percent ridership increase.
In addition to sessions talking more about the rail lines, transit-development connections, and the route Re-imagining, Lambert says there are a number of other sessions people will find interesting. “We’re really trying to showcase all the things we’ve been doing here, whether it’s on a tour or in a session.
The Arts in Transit tour will show how Metro has blended arts and celebrating the neighborhoods as part of the rail development. A bike tour will showcase how they see bikes as one of the last-mile solutions for transit, showcasing the Bayou Greenways bike path system. Spieler says, “People will actually be able to ride the bike share and ride the Bayou trails and see how it all connects.”
Over the past few years and especially this past year, Lambert says Metro staff has been working very close with APTA staff and the Houston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to ensure a great time for attendees. “We want to make sure that we give them every opportunity to take in what this community has to offer.”
