King County Metro operates one of the nation’s busiest transit systems—without running any trains. The agency recently released a playbook as a guide to transit service.
In an article published by Transportation for America, Jackson Pierce shares news and details on the “Transit Speed & Reliability Guidelines and Strategies” published by Washington State’s King County Metro in late 2021.
According to Pierce, the guide presents a “playbook” for operational tools and capital projects that can be copied by other transit agencies to save riders time and money. “At a time when building public trust in transit is essential, it’s an excellent guide to the infrastructure and services that make transit trustworthy,” write Pierce.
Kings County Metro is one of the nation’s highest performing transit agencies—"one of America’s ten most-ridden transit agencies in 2019, and the busiest not to operate any rail services,” as noted by Pierce. “They achieved this high ridership through smart comprehensive planning (and funding!) for services that run to the places where people actually go.”
As for the specific investments and strategies recommended in the guide, Pierce highlights several (with more detail to be found in the source article below), including changes to street and intersection design and bus stop planning considerations like stop consolidation and bulbouts.
An article by Jeff Switzer for King County Metro at the time of the guide’s release in November 2021 offers additional insight into the document and its recommendations.
FULL STORY: King County’s blueprint for better bus speed and reliability
Bus Stop Consolidation Improving On-Time Performance in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh-area buses operating on routes with a recently reduced number of stops are more likely to arrive on time than before the changes.
Report: One-Fifth of Seattle Households Are Car-Free
According to one local writer, the city’s low rate of car ownership should encourage officials to support public transit and reduce parking minimums.
The Bus Revolution Has Been Revised in Philadelphia
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority went back to the drawing board with its Bus Revolution system redesign after an initial round of feedback completed earlier this year.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association