Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
MAY 16, 2024
Subject
SUBJECT: NEXTGEN RIDERSHIP UPDATE - Q4 CY2023
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE the NextGen Bus Ridership Update.
Issue
ISSUE
This report provides an assessment of Metro bus system ridership for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2023 (Q4 CY2023, including the months October - December 2023) compared to ridership from the same period of 2019 (pre-pandemic/pre-NextGen Bus Plan). Ridership changes are examined by the day type (weekday, Saturday, Sunday), area, Equity Focus Communities (EFCs)/non-EFCs, time period, line/line group, and average passenger trip length changes.
Background
BACKGROUND
* The NextGen Bus Plan was adopted by the Metro Board in October 2020.
* The NextGen Bus Plan was designed to be rolled out in two phases: Reconnect and Transit First.
* Reconnect is the initial phase set to restructure the existing network and was implemented over three implementation dates between December 2020 and December 2021.
* The plan was designed to create a fast, frequent, and reliable Metro bus system. Transit First is an additional phase that maximizes the plan's effectiveness through strategic, quick-build capital investments to improve bus speeds, and direct saved revenue service hours to bus frequency improvements.
* While the NextGen Bus Plan was fully implemented by the end of 2021, the national operator shortage required Metro to temporarily reduce service by 10% in February 2022 to stabilize service reliability.
* Full restoration of NextGen Bus Plan service levels was completed in phases by December 2022.
* Metro continued to operate the full NextGen bus service levels through 2023 into 2024 with improved reliability, thanks to full bus operator staffing, which was achieved by August 2023.
The NextGen Bus Plan Reconnect phase implementation established a set of service frequency tiers for Metro's 12...
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