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Chandler light rail bus not used much

  The average bus trip transports a whopping 7 passengers on it.

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Chandler light-rail connection ridership low

by Edythe Jensen - Apr. 5, 2011 10:18 AM

The Arizona Republic

Chandler's first connection to light rail is off to a slow start.

Sleek new buses with comfortable seats, efficient air-conditioning and more frequent trips along Arizona Avenue rarely approach their 65-passenger capacity. But transit officials say that's to be expected during the first month of service and they're confident ridership will increase as rising fuel prices send people to the buses.

Arizona Avenue Link ridership for February - the first full month of service - was 9,291 weekday boardings in 28 days. [That is about 4,645 round trips in a month, or a measly 166 round trips a day. With 24 buses running in each directions that means each bus averages 7 riders] In contrast, Mesa's similar Link service on Main Street had 25,656 February riders. Mesa's route started when light rail debuted in December 2008.

"It takes several years for a bus route to mature, to build ridership," Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said.

The buses started running Jan. 24 after ceremonies around one of the art-enhanced shaded bus stations. Service runs from the Chandler park-and-ride lot at Germann and Hamilton streets through downtown Chandler, west Gilbert and Mesa to the light-rail line at Main and Sycamore streets. They run every 30 minutes during peak commuting times, and every hour during off-peak hours and weekends. The vehicles, stations and road improvements were funded with $11.5 million in federal stimulus money after Chandler spent $13 million since 2005 to prepare for the service with signal modifications, a park-and-ride lot and street work.

Promoted as a convenient way for Chandler residents to connect with the last light-rail station in Mesa, the Arizona Avenue Link runs later on Friday and Saturday nights to coincide with downtown Phoenix sports and entertainment. [Sounds like a corporate welfare program for the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks, along with the bars in Downtown Phoenix]

But there have been reports of passenger confusion. Because other buses that don't drive as far north stop at the same distinctive green Link stations, some have boarded the wrong buses by mistake. Tierney said the buses look different and are clearly marked but it is up to passengers to make sure they're getting on the right one. However, she said there have been discussions about scheduling changes so regular and Link buses don't arrive at stations around the same times, she said.

The enclosed metal stations rimmed with trees are designed to keep the waiting passengers cooler on hot days. They have bicycle racks and lighted signs that announce the time and next bus arrival. Fare vending machines promised in several of the 20 stations along the route will be installed before the end of May, Tierney said.

The machines will sell discounted all-day passes that are good on all Valley buses and light rail for $3.50; buying them on the bus costs $5.25. The discounted passes are available at the Arizona Public Service counter in City Hall at Arizona Avenue and Chicago Street and at Fry's and Safeway stores, the Chandler-Gilbert Community College bookstore or by mail through valleymetro.org.

Other Chandler bus routes - notably the express routes from the park-and-ride lot to downtown Phoenix, had ridership increases in February as gas prices started to rise. The biggest boarding increase - 29 percent - was on the non-stop Route 542. Route 540 from Dobson and Ray roads to downtown Phoenix had a 15 percent boarding decline in February. City transit official Jason Crampton said service was cut on that route in July because ridership was lower than on the other routes.

 

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