Jump to content

CATS | Sprinter

ontap

By ontap
in Charlotte

Recommended Posts

AMZIE Unincorporated Area

AMZIE

Posted
Posted

The new Enhanced Service to the Airport will come from the Transportation Center to Mint St, W. Morehead and then on out Wilkinson. there will be stops at the Transportation Center, Epi Center, Convention Center, Cedar St ( Wesley Heights ), Julian Price PL ( Bryant Park ), Remount Rd ( Camp Greene ), Ashely Rd ( Walmart ), Old Steele Creek ( Westerly Hills ), Morris Field Dr ( West Service Center & CPCC West ), Boyer ( Billy Graham ), Harlee ( Employee Entrance Airport ), Little Rock Rd ( Airport ).

The buses will be nicer than the regular bus, the seats will be reconfigured with larger isle for lugage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 71
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Raintree21 Town

Raintree21

Posted
Posted

The new Enhanced Service to the Airport will come from the Transportation Center to Mint St, W. Morehead and then on out Wilkinson. there will be stops at the Transportation Center, Epi Center, Convention Center, Cedar St ( Wesley Heights ), Julian Price PL ( Bryant Park ), Remount Rd ( Camp Greene ), Ashely Rd ( Walmart ), Old Steele Creek ( Westerly Hills ), Morris Field Dr ( West Service Center & CPCC West ), Boyer ( Billy Graham ), Harlee ( Employee Entrance Airport ), Little Rock Rd ( Airport ).

The buses will be nicer than the regular bus, the seats will be reconfigured with larger isle for lugage.

Sounds like the only thing enhanced are the seats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MZT Burg

MZT

Posted
Posted

I agree, sounds like a lot of stops for an Express. I know from dispatching shuttle vans back in the day, that airport passengers do not like more than a few additional stops for the benefit of others. They want to either be sure to catch their plane, or they are tired from a long trip and just wanna get home.

Even mixing airport passengers with the Wal*Mart customers is something of a dare, if you want to get "business" or "convention" type people using it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mobuchu Burg

Mobuchu

Posted
Posted

I'd have to agree, if this is going to be an express service, make it express!! Anything more then 2-3 stops between point A and B are too much. The typical rider going to and from the airport is only going to use this service for a couple reasons. To get to their hotel, to transfer to another line, or to reach a meeting spot. Most of that is going to be uptown, so keep the airport line and add the express service on top of it.

A stop at the CTC will serve transfers to other bus lines, and Tryon st office buildings and hotels. Make another stop in Gateway to serve the West side of uptown, as well as the hotel and office buildings over there. After that, it needs to be "express" with maybe one stop on Wilkinson, and I'd agree with the shopping center at Ashley. After that, employee parking at the airport and the final dropoff in front of the terminals.

Anything more then that and its just another bus route....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ontap Whistle-Stop

ontap

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I don't think that the number of stops are excessive. Unless someone is standing at the station the vehicle will just pass by it. I imagine the only stop that will consistantly have passengers is the Wal-Mart stop and the stop for airport employees. CAT's can't eliminate all the stops since the #5 will be replaced with this line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

Posted
Posted

"Enhanced" should mean that this bus service will have more "official" looking stops (aka "stations") and- more importantly- signal prioritization, meaning that the bus will ONLY stop at its "stations" and have green lights everywhere else. An express bus would not have this ability. The name absolutely needs to be something distinct from the other express lines that go into the surrounding counties to distinguish what this really is.

My vote would be to call it the Greenlink or something to that effect. If you can establish that "green" part, then the future trolley service- aka the "green line" will be an easier transition. It would also allow CATS an opportunity to by some kind of hybrid bus or other environmentally effective like Durham and Greensboro have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 months later...
Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

Posted
Posted

The Sprinter is going to run from CTC up Trade to Cedar, to Morehead, to Wilkinson, and then to the airport. There are lots of other stops besides the ones they mention in that article. It should be u/c in the spring and operational by next summer. The green busses will be very distinct from the standard blue of the other CATS busses. Plus I think they are electric hybrids, so they will actually be "green."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 10 months later...
tozmervo Metropolis

tozmervo

Posted
Posted

I was wondering the same thing looking at the photos, but it looks like there is plenty of room in the front to hold your luggage next to you. I would reckon that also makes the buses more flexible and faster to load/unload, as opposed to having dedicated rack space.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ontap Whistle-Stop

ontap

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I was wondering the same thing looking at the photos, but it looks like there is plenty of room in the front to hold your luggage next to you. I would reckon that also makes the buses more flexible and faster to load/unload, as opposed to having dedicated rack space.

Yes, there is dedicated rack space for luggage as you enter the bus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
Posted

3842619022_f6c568ee71_o.jpg

3842618640_ddaba1153b_o.jpg

3841826711_b0021c69c7_o.jpg

3842618878_7f184e9652_o.jpg

3841826953_cf42472776_o.jpg

3842618906_67fea1f5ff_o.jpg

The frame of the shelter, with lighting, walls, banner, and public art to be added:

3841826783_01d5ca28f0_o.jpg

Google map of the route with each stop listed.

Does this mean the service starts soon? It looks like a really good idea to provide tourist-friendly transit service to the airport without a massive investment. I hope they do extend this on a few routes.

Also, is it official that they will be using 77 between Trade and Morehead? I think it is a good choice, but just wondering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
queensguy06 Hamlet

queensguy06

Posted
Posted

This line might not have been the place to test it out, but I certainly hope in the future both rail and bus stops in Charlotte incorporate 'smart' stops. In this month's issue of Popular Mechanics there is a small article about San Fran's new bus stops that include solar panels in the canopy which powers WiFi, electronic signage, and ad space that helps pay for the cost of the stop. In addition to several other energy saving techniques, the solar panels pump any unused electricity into the city's grid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.