Get a Move on Public Transit

Sabrina Fenske lives 14 minutes away from her job at the Bagel Bakery — in theory. If she had a car, Fenske could get to her job in 14 minutes and not worry about being late. A bus, on the other hand? Well, first, she has to walk to her apartment’s bus stop and hop on the 20 route all the way to Oaks Mall where she’ll switch over to the 5 bus. The 5 will take Fenske down Newberry Road near the bus stop for the 43 bus. The 43 drops her off at Millhopper Plaza — just a short walk from Bagel Bakery where she works full time as a manager. It’s just an hourlong trip. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN GAINESVILLE

“I use public transportation almost daily,” Fenske said. “The bus is more cost effective than ride-share apps, but the downside is that it takes a lot of time and effort from my day.”

Fenske’s story isn’t unique. She hears complaints every day about how unreliable and time-consuming buses are in Gainesville. It should come as no surprise that Gainesville does not rank in the top public transportation systems globally. Nationally, Florida cities sometimes show up in the ranks, but it’s the bigger cities like Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville.

According to World Atlas, however, only one American city made it to its 2018 top ten list. New York City, with its iconic subway system, managed to edge its way to No. 7. Every other city on the list (with Berlin at the top) is European or Asian. For a country that likes to be the best in everything, the U.S. isn’t doing too hot in this category. Why don’t we boast more competitive transportation systems?

Jonathan English, a writer at CityLab, said the arrival of cars is what started our descent down the rankings. In the 20th century, the U.S. saw rapid growth in its cities and suburbs. The age of the automobile in America started around the same time in the 1920s, presenting a new competitor to railroads, which had dominated before. With car costs dropping, more and more people opted to invest in a car rather than take a train. Public transportation suffered as a result, and America was built around cars. In English’s article “Why Public Transportation Works Better Outside the U.S.,” he points out that Europe’s older cities were developed long before cars arrived on the scene. As for Asian cities, government investments in public transportation often accompanied growth. We’re here now though with our private cars and highways. The past is the past, and while not everyone can afford a car, our public transportation will have to do.

For the city of Gainesville, public transportation is centered around the Regional Transit System buses. While the United States Census Bureau recorded about 132,000 people living in the city in 2017, RTS most recently reported 758,902 passengers in April 2019. The lowest number of passengers recorded The buses are too on its “Fiscal Year 2019 Ridership by Route” report occurred in inconsistent or December 2018 at 386,108 people. Take into consideration that the University of Florida aren’t frequent enough. alone has about 56,000 students enrolled who account for multiple The stops are inconveniently bus rides almost every day of the week. Santa Fe College has about 16,000. Winter break, when most placed and too far away. students go home, may account for the drastically lower number

The buses don’t run early of RTS passengers. enough or late enough or In Fenske’s opinion, Gainesville’s student population has a ridiculous amount of impact on on the weekends or the buses. Employers typically ask if applicants have a reliable in some areas at all. source of transportation, and Fenske, a Bagel Bakery employee said most employers don’t consider buses reliable — especially when school schedules tend to influence these buses. Even city routes may see less buses when school isn’t in session. The 43 bus, one of Fenske’s main routes, doesn’t run on weekends.

“The majority of people I see on that route aren’t college students, but rather people working jobs much like mine — food service, retail, housekeeping, etc. — that don’t adhere to a Monday [through] Friday schedule,” Fenske said. “I have to get to work regardless of a college schedule. City buses being affected by a university just seems absurd.”

It’s not uncommon to hear people complain about public transportation: The buses are too inconsistent or aren’t frequent enough. The stops are inconveniently placed and too far away. The buses don’t run early enough or late enough or on the weekends or in some areas at all. Gainesville City Commissioner David Arreola is all too familiar with these grievances from city residents.

Unfortunately, solutions cost money. According to Arreola, the cost of an entirely new bus route would be about $158,000.

“Is that the best use of our taxpayer dollars,” he asked, “Or is the best use creating something better?”

During a MetroLab Network conference, where mayors and other city leaders from across the country gather and discuss ways to improve their cities, Gainesville programs were highlighted. Arreola said the city is trying to set itself as the national standard for innovative technology and policy. Here are three ways this innovation is being used to improve public transit:

AUTONOMOUS BUSES

Gainesville plans to roll out self-driving electric shuttle buses.

Previous reports from the Gainesville Sun and the Independent Florida Alligator chronicled the testing phases of four 12-person buses, which were operated by Transdev. The original target date for the launch of autonomous bus services: August 2018.

Various issues with the federal government have created delays, Arreola said. Not only did the 2018 government shutdown put a halt on all plans, but the federal government doesn’t have regulations in place for how to deploy these buses. Arreola said the city is hoping the Florida state government will step in to write new regulations allowing a launch in the next year.

The buses could potentially take passengers to other stations such as the Rosa Parks Downtown Station, making it easier for people to catch the bus they need regardless of how far away the bus stop is.

For those worried about the job loss for bus drivers, city officials have said the autonomous buses will create jobs because people are needed to monitor them and control them remotely in cases of emergency.

I-STREET

About a year ago, the City of Gainesville partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation and UF’s Transportation Institute to create I-STREET. This project is the first real-time transportation research lab, Arreola said.

Using technology such as smart devices and sensors, the project monitors street traffic, pedestrian and cyclist patterns. Arreola

said the goal is to use the information to plan future infrastructure. Figure out where pedestrians are crossing the street naturally (regardless of existing crosswalks), and you figure out where some crosswalks should probably be added. The same goes for vehicles. The research could potentially figure out what works and what doesn’t in Gainesville’s infrastructure.

A part of the reason European cities have better public transportation is because their infrastructure is better suited to have modes of transportation such as trains, metros and more. As said before, several American cities were built for cars because more people bought cars as they got more affordable.

“That was a stupid mistake,” Arreola said. “We need to rebuild to help people move around.”

In a city without a strong infrastructure for transportation or transit on demand, companies like Uber and Lyft become more popular. You get what you get when it comes to fixed bus routes. If the bus doesn’t show up or is late, that’s how it is. It doesn’t pick you up or drop you off when and where you want. Transit on demand beats out public transportation.

That’s where Arreola’s favorite city program comes in.

LAST MILE, FIRST MILE

For about $250,000, this pilot program was launched in the beginning of 2019 and is only available in parts of southeast Gainesville. Microbuses, similar to airport shuttles, go around the area and pick up people to take them to a bus stop, eliminating the inconvenience.

“One thing we know is that one of the reasons people don’t use RTS is because they don’t have a bus stop nearby or the route nearby doesn’t take them exactly where they need to be,” Arreola said. “Getting to point A itself and leaving point B to go to where they need to go is difficult.”

Although the service is only available on weekdays from 5:30 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 8 p.m., people can now download the TransLoc app, choose their pickup and dropoff locations and book their seats a week in advance, according to a Facebook announcement from RTS. Arreola said the program has been successful, especially with high school students who live too close to their school to get a bus ride there.

Gainesville recently passed a 10-year transit plan through which Arreola hopes the Last Mile, First Mile program will expand to all areas of the city that would benefit from better transit.

American cities may not rank high on the global list of public transportation, but cities like Gainesville are doing their best to change that. It’s going to cost money, and it’s going to take time. But step by step, we may even catch up to cities around the world. O&B