Downtown Workers using Transit

[monsoon]

The Observer published numbers for express transit ridership into the city from the surrounding areas. These numbers were calculated before the recent price increases in gasoline.

Ridership - 2005 - % change from 2004

North

77X Huntersville - 164,020 - +22

83X Mooresville - 36,713 - +46

Total - 200,733

South

41X Arrowwood - 80,379 - +37

82X Rock Hill - 36,708 - +26

Total - 117,087

South East

45X Carmel Rd - 27,659 - +13

61X Arboretum - 30,604 - flat

62X Rea Rd - 19,272 - +31

66X Sharon Rd - 23,607 - +23

74X Union Cnty - 32,650 - +40

Total - 133,792

East

40X Albemarle - 72,013 - -5

51X Idlewild - 37,474 - flat

64X Independence - 64,584 - +8

65X Matthews - 56,748 - +17

Total - 230,819

North East

54X University City - 66,129 - +29

80X Concord - 47,804 - +44

Total - 113,933

Other

85X Gastonia - 38,403 - 31.4

88X East Lincoln (W. Lake Norman) - 12,569 +1619

Some conclusions

• It's surprising there is no express service to the West except for Gastonia.

• The bus line to Huntersville is more than twice as busy as any other express bus in the system. That combined with Mooresville, which travels the same route, would indicate the North commuter rail line should be the next transit line built. People in this part of the county are very pro-transit.

• Transit is not popular in South East Charlotte. (no surprise there) It has 5 bus lines but pretty low ridership on each line. I guess this would be due to the low density in this area and this is traditional Charlotte where you will most likely find the most anti-transit people in the area. IMO

• I am surprised there is not more activity in the South given the problems on 485. Why aren't the people in Ballentyne using an express bus?

• East Charlotte is the busiest with 5 lines, but it appears to be losing ridership or is not growing. Does this mean the E. CLT may also be losing population?

• The North East area should be much busier than it is. Again it may be suffering from the same probems as SE CLT.

Comments?

[ilektronik]

I agree that the North Corridor line is a priority. Not only are the ridership numbers high, but I-77 is also packed coming from the north.

[orulz]

Take note that these numbers are only for the EXPRESS routes. I thought I read that the Independence Boulevard regular bus route in Charlotte had higher ridership than any other route in the whole system, making it an excellent candidate for LRT/BRT.

[Sabaidee]

^ The 9 and 27 local routes that run parrallel to Independence is always pack. The 9 runs every 7.5 minutes during rush hour and not only every seat is taken, but you will find many passengers standing up. The thing with the 9 and 27 is that their route is only about 7 to 10 miles long while Independence itself is 16 miles long. The Albemarle and Idlewild Express Routes are very short compared to Hunterville and Concord. Thus they are serving a smaller market than Hunterville and Concord. The areas those routes serve are still in Charlotte where growth isn't dramatically increasing or stagnant.

[RiverwoodCLT]

Looks like east Charlotte has the most riders, the east and north transit line should come next.

The University area is less than 1/2 that of the east transit line. I question spenting so much money at present to run LRT to University Area. Righ-a-way should be protective and secure, to the University area as well as all lines

[teshadoh]

Orulz's comment is very note-worthy, before making assumptions regarding ridership in the urban area of Charlotte, do consider express service is primarily geared to exurban / suburban communities.

[dubone]

does the FTA still rely more on new transit riders figures when evaluating new starts? it seems that that penalizes areas with high current ridership... and perhaps these express buses will mean fewer net-new riders if rapid transit is built, and thus a notch against us in seeking funding. am i missing something?

[monsoon]

Orulz's comment is very note-worthy, before making assumptions regarding ridership in the urban area of Charlotte, do consider express service is primarily geared to exurban / suburban communities.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ahh, I would have never guessed. Maybe you didn't realize that commuter rail was not geared for these areas either.

[MZT]

Maybe east side doesn't have a lot of ridership growth, since so many people there already use the bus. There's isn't as much "mind changing" going on, as there is on the commuter Express routes.

[A2]

Maybe east side doesn't have a lot of ridership growth, since so many people there already use the bus. There's isn't as much "mind changing" going on, as there is on the commuter Express routes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

MZT you hit the nail on the head with that statement.

East Charlotte is not going to grow to the likes of the North lines. However, it will never lose too many riders either as it is has the largest percentage of residents within an area that actually take advantage of mass transit.

A2

[teshadoh]

Ahh,

[RiverwoodCLT]

MZT you hit the nail on the head with that statement.

East Charlotte is not going to grow to the likes of the North lines. However,  it will never lose too many riders either as it is has the largest percentage of residents within an area that actually take advantage of mass transit.

A2

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would go for bus lanes in the middle Independence, if it would get its construction schedule move up.

[monsoon]

The Lake Norman version of the Observer has an article that claims the B.V. Belk Company is asking CATS for $25/parking space for the 83X bus to use its parking lot for one of the stops in Mooresville. CATS is faced with finding another lot of closing the stop.

Is this the same Belks company that runs the Belks stores? It seems to me they would be a bit more supportive of mass transit in the area if they are.

[atlrvr]

I think there is some relation, but none of the brothers that own the chain. B.V. Belk or his son actually went to jail a while back for some shady business dealings if my memory serves me correctly.

[DigitalSky]

i think the relation between BV Belk and the Belk family of Belk Stores is distant. BV Belk owns a lot of properties throughout the area though

[cinco]

the relation is very distant. b.v. belk is the one who went to jail for gambling not his son. all i can say is any jagazz with fake bullet hole stickers on his $70k car is someone you avoid doing business with.