St. Petersburg will overhaul its bus system in early 2016, expecting improved efficiency from operating on the downtown city grid as well as upgrades to the area that serves as the current hub of the system.
According to an article by Kate Bradshaw, the city of St. Petersburg has approved changes to the "hub and spokes" model for operating buses in its downtown. "The move, which officials said was decades in the making, comes just over a year after voters rejected a sales tax proposal that would have funded a dramatic enhancement and overhaul of the county's bus system," writes Bradshaw.
Instead of the hub and spokes, the buses will now operate more along the framework laid out by the city's grid. The implications of that change include a new role for Williams Park—the former hub in the system. "It would clear downtown's William's Park, the current bus hub, of multiple bus shelters and the smog and heavy traffic that accompany them."
The city council members on hand to announce the new system noted that cities around the country have moved away from the hub and spokes model. The city of Houston has made perhaps the most ambitious effort to implement a high frequency grid system in recent years. The article also notes that the changes, scheduled to be in place by February 14, 2016, will only affect are only downtown.
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