Public transit is at a precarious moment in time with ridership still significantly below pre-pandemic levels, a significant driver shortage, and the approaching depletion of federal funds meant to shore up operating budgets. While some newspapers are looking for answers to how transit agencies might approach solving these issues (funding more frequent service, reducing fares, reforming construction procedures), others, including my hometown paper, have chosen to openly question one of the first significant investments in transit in my lifetime.
On April 6, 2023, the largest news outlet in Syracuse published an article titled, “Centro has millions of dollars and a new idea. Will anyone ride it?” The article aims to inform readers of the upcoming implementation of bus rapid transit (BRT) but instead frames the investment as a boondoggle that is unlikely to attract riders and does not provide service to the areas that truly need it. Well, as you can imagine, it sparked a lot of conversation amongst advocates and planners who see BRT for what it truly is: a major step in the right direction. So let us look at some of the issues raised in the report, what they got wrong, what they oversimplified, and how we should be looking at this investment.
First, let’s begin with a key fact that the report chose to omit - the BRT plan currently moving forward is based on an extensive study completed by the SMTC in 2018 (SMART 1). This is not a new scheme, but instead a thoroughly researched plan based on best practices seen in cities across the world, including in nearby cities such as Albany and Cleveland. The plan identified the two routes, which form an X across the city due to the high demand of ridership already seen along those corridors. They connect the three largest employment centers within the region (Downtown Syracuse, Destiny USA, and University Hill), some of the densest neighborhoods in the city, along with four large college campuses (Syracuse University, SUNY ESF, SUNY Upstate, SUNY OCC) and a fifth satellite campus (SUNY Oswego’s metro campus in Downtown Syracuse). As the vast majority of City residents commute within the City, not just for work but for their daily needs, improving access to these key destinations is vital. BRT will become the backbone of the transit system.
Now the article does bring up the valid concern of individuals who must reach far flung suburban jobs or medical appointments. Over the past 70 years, Onondaga County has promoted suburban sprawl through zoning and land use policies that have resulted in a decentralization of services and jobs. Shopping centers, office parks, and medical campuses now sit on the fringes of our county, making themselves difficult to reach for anyone who does not own a car. This form of development also makes transit difficult as every mile added to a route means the frequency of that service will decline. This is why many routes in our region are lucky if they have a bus more than once an hour. Spreading service thin to serve a handful of individuals or workplaces is not a sustainable model for mass transit. This has led to difficult decisions in the past. In 2017, the Town of DeWitt built a new public library, moving away from its long time location in Shoppingtown Mall as that property was slowly abandoned all together. The library’s new location is roughly a mile away from an existing bus route. Instead of the Town working with Centro to identify a location along existing routes, the library was built and then service was demanded. Centro, understanding that this additional mile would throw off the rest of that route’s service, made the difficult decision not to serve the library. This same story could be written for many employers who choose to be located in suburban communities but rely on workers from the City who in turn rely on Centro.
Riders are right to voice their frustration with old routes that no longer make sense, or routes that result in longer trips than needed. Central Current, a start-up news outlet, wrote a tremendous series on rider experiences that reflect these issues, but also showcase what the service means to them. There are models of service that can help fill these gaps experienced by a more suburban oriented growth pattern. The individuals quoted in the article who provide van and shuttle services to specific employment centers are following more realistic models for how to serve these locations. Sending a 40 or 60 ft bus to carry one or two people just does not work. This is why Centro is also exploring the use of vans for on-call services in more suburban locations, something mentioned in passing in the article but given no explanation. LA Metro, RTS in Rochester, and CDTA in Albany have all begun experimenting with similar services to supplement their fixed route systems. Riders can either travel door to door within specific zones, or from a fixed route stop to their final destination, calling a van with an app similar to Uber. These are not replacements for fixed route services, but instead help boost flexibility in areas that are not conducive to mass transit services.
So what should we be looking for in a BRT system?
As noted in the SMART 1 report, BRT in Syracuse will run mostly in mixed traffic, as Syracuse does not experience much congestion. This may need to be reevaluated in the future if development spurred by the Micron development leads to the job growth anticipated, but it holds true today. Stops will be spaced out further, closer to 1/3 or 1/2 mile apart, allowing buses to move faster between each instead of stopping nearly every block. Buses arriving every 15 minutes makes traveling predictable and easy to use. This is one of the reasons people prefer subways and streetcars as they feel more predictable, and often arrive far more frequently than buses do.
The article notes, “The new bus rapid transit lines won’t have … raised station platforms …,” and later continues, “Centro could used the $35 million to build infrastructure for the bus lines, including new curb cuts and bigger bus shelters that may be equipped with kiosks of customers to pay their fares in advance.” There’s a lot in those two sentences, but this is where we do need Centro to step up - the stations. While BRT will result in shorter wait times overall, providing comfortable spaces for riders to wait is still important. It shouldn’t just be a slightly larger bus shelter. Raised platforms would speed up boardings by reducing the number of times buses must “kneel” to allow individuals with reduced mobility to board. Instead, those same individuals can easily walk or roll across the platform and onto the bus. Stations should also have kiosks for fare payment along with real-time countdown clocks to inform riders of when the next bus is expected. These simple amenities both help speed up boarding and provide peace of mind to those waiting.
A standard bus shelter in Downtown Syracuse. BRT stations must be more robust and contain more amenities as a way to improve its service quality.
One note on the pre-pay kiosks and payments in general, we should also be encouraging the faster deployment of tap systems throughout our transit services. Utilizing a tap system (either through using a credit card, phone, or prepaid transit card) helps simplify the process of using transit. No longer must you have exact change or a pre-purchased transit pass. It will allow casual riders to take a trip when they see a bus coming without having to plan ahead, especially as more and more of life goes cashless.
The last piece of the equation I must mention, and that I have covered more thoroughly in my Growth in CNY series, is the need to develop around the stations. Encouraging dense development, both residential and commercial, will help promote the use of the system. The BRT planned for Syracuse already has ridership levels to sustain it, but to see growth we must build for growth. This goes for future extensions as well. In the Salt City has already written about what future BRT expansions may look like, with some pretty excellent maps to go along with it. But this goes for developments along all major transit corridors in our region. Building more sprawl will only make it more difficult to serve our region successfully with transit. Dense nodes of activity (town centers, villages, urban cores) lend themselves to transit in a way our current development pattern does not. We must look at BRT as the backbone of the system, and it will only get stronger as we build denser along it.
To end this piece before I go on for too long, I just want to summarize my thoughts in this way: BRT in Syracuse will improve the lives of thousands of people and may even encourage others to take advantage of its services, even if it does not solve all of our transit issues. We should not let perfection be the enemy of good, scratch that, great.