Short Range Transit Plan 2008-2013 - Omnitrans

IBI GROUP
SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN REPORT
OMNITRANS COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
& SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN
Enhance Economic Development
Public transit provides access to jobs, retail concentrations and local attractions. High quality public
transit allows employers to better fill positions and retain employees, and gives improved access to retail
concentrations and local recreation/entertainment attractions, increasing market size and sales volumes.
1.5 Traffic
Traffic congestion continues to increase with population growth, low-density development and a high
reliance on SOV use. The 2005 Urban Mobility Report 1 ranked Riverside and San Bernardino Counties
ninth in the nation in terms of traveler delays due to congestion. Increasing traffic congestion poses two
critical challenges for Omnitrans: 1) increased bus running times, which have a negative impact on ontime
performance, service reliability, and ridership; and 2) finding a practical and effective role for public
transit in a strategic effort to move travelers from SOV to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) use.
Traffic congestion will continue to be a critical issue in the Omnitrans service area, resulting in longer
regional commute times, increases in local travel times for work and non-work related trips, increases in
parking capacity requirements, higher household travel costs, and a general deterioration of the quality of
life. A significant mode shift to public transit will not be possible until land use development goals reflect
an urban landscape that supports efficient and effective transit service.
1.6 Population and Employment Growth
Omnitrans service area population is projected to grow from 1,342,465 in FY 2004/05 to 1,427,242 in FY
2009/10 (a 6% increase), and to 1,536,138 in FY 2014/15 (a 14% increase). During the same period,
150,191 new jobs will be created in the Omnitrans service area. The majority of these will be created in
the trade, transportation and utilities industries (approximately 54%) and in the office and administrative
support sectors (approximately 26%).
While this is healthy growth for San Bernardino’s economy, it does not necessarily translate to growth in
Omnitrans’ market. Much of this growth will occur at the periphery of Omnitrans’ service area, in lowdensity,
geographically dispersed business parks and subdivisions that are difficult to serve costeffectively
with transit. And while there will be an overall net increase in employment and population,
some of Omnitrans’ core service areas are losing jobs and people, which has contributed to the current
decline in systemwide ridership.
Nevertheless, Omnitrans has seen ridership increases in parts of its service area that are adding
population and employment, and it is in such areas that future opportunities for growing ridership will
come. Currently, high-density areas with over 7,500 people per square mile and over 5,000 jobs per
square mile in the Omnitrans service area include:
• Southeast Upland, south of SR-66 and north of I-10.
• Southern Montclair, along Holt.
• Central Rialto, south of SR-66 along Riverside Avenue.
By 2015, these three areas will be joined by four other areas with high population and job densities earlier
specified. These additional areas are:
• San Bernardino, east of I-215 along Highland and Baseline.
1
2005 Urban Mobility Report, David Schrank and Tim Lomax, Texas Transportation Institute, (May 2005), p.12.
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