Shuttle 42 Frequency From Reduced from Every 15 Minutes to Every 30 Minutes
Which Areas of the Triangle are served by Shuttle 42?
Shuttle 42 operates exclusively within Research Triangle Park, serving IBM 062 IBM 205, and RTI. During rush hour, Shuttle 42 departs from the RTP Bus Transfer center every 15 minutes.
Why Propose this Change?
For several months, Shuttle 42 has been the lowest-performing Shuttle route and has been low-performing for 5 out of 5 service standards indicators. Among all TTA services, Shuttle 42 usually carries the lowest or second-lowest amount of passengers per hour.
The other shuttle routes all operate on a 30 minute frequency, and are more productive than the Shuttle 42. By running the Shuttle 42 every 30 minutes instead of every 15 minutes, TTA can improve shuttle productivity, reduce costs, and make the shuttle service frequency uniform across all shuttles.
What did the public say?
"Changing shuttle 42 to every 30 mins. instead of 15, would make some people wait an extra 15 mins. at the TTA transfer station for their bus. But if that's the only way to keep the cost to $2 per ride, then I approve of it."-J.B.
"Limiting the times from every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes does the following:
- Limits which bus (105 or 107) I can catch and still make it to/from work in less than 1.25 hours (I can drive in 20 minutes, so a further increase in ride time decreases the likelihood that I will take the bus)
- Limits when I can leave work, requiring me to plan my day, rather than just know I can walk out when I'm ready and not have to wait long for the next shuttle
- Limits other riders whose buses only leave the RTP bus center every 30 minutes but may not connect directly with the shuttle times" -J.W.
TTA Responds: TTA recognizes that when frequencies are reduced, some riders experience a loss of convenience. Despite most of the other shuttles having been reduced to 30-minute headways from 15-minute headways, we have not seen a significant deterioration in passenger traffic on the Shuttles.
Therefore, TTA staff believe that the TTA can achieve considerable cost savings in revenue hours while not affecting many passengers. To minimize potential impacts on riders, TTA will also be undertaking a synchronization effort of those buses that arrive at RTP at 30-minute intervals, to minimize the likelihood that passengers will experience 15-minute waits to transfer from one bus to another. |
For current maps and schedules for the Shuttle 42, visit the Maps & Schedules page.
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