Short Range Transit Plan 2008-2013 - Omnitrans

IBI GROUP
SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN REPORT
OMNITRANS COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
& SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN
implementation. A way to eliminate this time pressure is to put a removable
decal at the top of the sign loudly announcing the new service and its effective
date. These signs then do not have to be modified on implementation day,
though the decals should eventually be removed. If the new signs have a new
look, as this report recommends, then the difference will further call customer
attention to the fact that they need to study the sign closely for new information.
This approach helps to ensure that passengers are not standing forlornly at new
stops before the new service begins.
• Changed stops – Stops that are remaining in service, but with different routes
serving them, present the biggest challenge, especially since these are likely to
include the busiest stops in the system. There are two ways to handle changed
stops:
1. Treat a changed stop as a new stop and a deleted stop at the same location,
dealing with each as described above. This is the most capital-intensive
approach, since it requires replacing all signs (and briefly having two signs
on the same pole), but it is also the easiest to implement accurately, offers
the best promotional value, and requires the least intensive overtime effort in
the days before the new service begins. It also permits the whole system to
be “re-inaugurated” with a new look, including new signs everywhere.
2. Use decals to change the route number information on each existing sign. At
stops where old information must be removed, this effort must occur
intensively in the 24 hours before implementation. Decals announcing new
service can be added earlier, so long as the decals identify the start date of
the new service. Using a different “look” for the decals makes it easier for
riders to identify the new service. Service that is unchanged would get these
decals last, after all the other implementation tasks are complete.
Route Naming/Numbering and Overhead Signage
Many Omnitrans routes are associated with one or two arterials. Most key destinations are along these
arterials, not just at the route terminals. In these cases, Omnitrans should consider adopting an arterialbased
style of route naming – a style also used by San Francisco Muni, Portland’s Tri-Met, Spokane
Transit, and several other agencies.
In this style, a key arterial, rather than the terminals, forms the basis for the route name. Since most
people in Southern California navigate by arterials, this style is more useful, because it helps people to
think of the route as an intrinsic part of the arterial.
Several ideas are at work in this signage style:
• Route names are consistently the name of a primary arterial used, not simply the
terminals. The arterial named may in some cases describe only part of the route
(as with 65-Central) but it gives some sense of the corridor that the bus follows.
• The sign announces both the name – that is, the major arterial – and the
terminus. This helps clarify which way on the route the bus is going, and also
whether it is turning back at a shortline. More importantly, though, it serves as a
“passive advertisement” of the service. “Euclid/to 19th” is a pretty complete
description of what the bus in question does, and by announcing both the route
and terminal, the overhead sign gives the casual observer some potentially
useful information about the bus system.
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