Under the cover of darkness two years ago, Tallahassee's StarMetro completely overhauled its entire bus system, replacing its out of date hub-and-spoke model with a grid-like system over one evening. This year, the system was honored by the APA.
Ryan Holeywell explains the radical transformation that earned Tallahassee's StarMetro transit agency the 2013 National Planning Excellence Award for Transportation Planning.
When Tallahassee eliminated every existing bus route and replaced them with new ones in one evening nearly two years ago, "the goal was to replace the city's existing hub-and-spoke bus route system -- in which every single one of the city's bus routes led to a downtown transfer station -- with a grid-like system that more accurately reflected the population and employment clusters in Florida's capital city."
Although the city undertook five years of planning and a vigorous public outreach campaign, the transition was still jarring. According to Holeywell, "Ridership shot up 10 percent, leading to overcrowding and delays. The transit agency had a system that allowed passengers to request information on wait times via text message, but it crashed under the unprecedented number of inquiries. Officials say problems and confusion lasted for about a month before things returned to normal."
Despite the initial hiccups, as the APA's award announcement notes, the long term improvements to operations and ridership have been substantial: "The new transit system reduced transfers at the downtown terminal by 30 percent; decreased total transfers system-wide by 14 percent; decreased the number of routes that share at least one mile of service from 21 to two and increased ridership by 21 percent in December 2011."
FULL STORY: How Tallahassee Overhauled Its Transit System Overnight

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie