Circulator continues to post gains
The Charm City Circulator, the free city-run shuttle introduced this year, continues to post strong ridership numbers, with more than 160,000 boarding on its two routes in July, according to the Baltimore Department of Transportation.
Meanwhile, the north-south Purple Route became the busier of the two routes, pulling ahead of the east-west Orange Route in its first full month in operation. City figures showed 81,887 boardings on the Purple Route and 72,836 on the Orange.
"We're thrilled and it's exciting beyond our wildest expectation," said Jamie Kendrick, deputy director of transportation for the city.
The Orange Route, which runs from Hollins Market to Central Avenue, was launched in January. The Purple Route, from Penn Station to Ostend Street in South Baltimore, was inaugurated in June.
Kendrick said the ridership was running at levels more than twice the 2,400-2,800 a day projected by the city. He said the Circulator, which had given 463,000 rides by the end of July, will likely board its 500,000th passenger by Aug. 15.
In terms of boardings, the busiest stop on the Purple Route is the Inner Harbor, with 9,081 in July. The busiest on the Orange Route is the Hollins Market, with 7,435. Kendrick said the high total for the Hollins Market is an indication that many people from that neighborhood are using it instead of Maryland Transit Administration buses.
Kendrick acknowledged that the Circulator had problems a few weeks ago, when temperatures were running in the 90s and above 100, with maintaining its scheduled 10-minute intervals. However, he said a software fix has been found that has alleviated the problem, which had left some riders complaining of waits of a half-hour or more.
Comments
If only the purple route ran with any consistency. I've waited numerous times for up to half an hour or more (at the monument stop) for a bus to show up.
Posted by: bmuller | August 4, 2010 5:46 PM
You can't really count on these things. I waited for an Orange Route bus for half an hour in 100 degree heat a couple of weeks ago and it never came. I finally just walked to Camden Yards, but I'm 99% sure that I saw the bus I had been waiting for pull around the corner a block or so up from me and then drive on. It had driven off its route.
Posted by: Thom | August 5, 2010 9:24 AM
The orange route has gotten better, but I have two major issues:
1. Bus drivers do not always stop at the assigned stops. Three times last week, at the MLK stop on Lombard, I had to step into the street in front of the bus to get it to stop.
2. There needs to be more of the digital "next bus" signs, especially around the UMBiopark stops.
Posted by: Gunpowder Chronicle | August 5, 2010 2:34 PM
It's great that more people are using the CCC now. But that underscores the importance of getting the routes to the point where buses really do come every ten minutes. The Purple Line is always sporadic. Sometimes you'll have two buses 5 minutes apart and the third 40 minutes back. It makes no sense and is impossible for travelers to rely upon. Until the service becomes more reliable, it'll be a frustrating experience for many users.
Posted by: kungpow12 | August 5, 2010 2:50 PM
Delay and headway problems are definitely NOT resolved, at least on the purple line. Just last night, Friday, I was planning to board and the electronic sign showed 27 minutes until the next bus- this at 8:00pm. I walked, as any two points on the purple line are barely a 27 minute walk apart.
The buses continue to be plagued by mechanical issues- the doors don't work on half of them, and the buses frequently break down- I've had to de-board 3 times in the last month to wait for another bus.
It's nice that they are breaking projections, but if they are doing so with the ridiculously unreliable service currently offered, think what they could do with a professionally run system. It's inexcusable that Veolia, one of the world's largest transportation companies, considers this joke of a line acceptable. I think someone should post the phone number for Circulator on all the stops- hopefully a flood of calls from irate stranded riders could put on some pressure- apparently the city as the contracting agency is not going to do so.
Posted by: Ray Magliozzi | August 7, 2010 10:12 AM
The electric sign boards are nice, but a joke. I watched as one counted down from 11 minutes with the next scheduled bus about 8 minutes behind it. I watched as 11 counted down to 1, only to see it stuck on 1 as the second bus continued to count down. Then it tells you the bus is "now approaching" as I visually saw the bus rounding the corner. I hope that the city doesn't plan on putting these at all bus stops - its a waste of money if they can't keep the schedule.
Posted by: Lost in Mount Vernon | August 9, 2010 7:29 AM
I think the City is realize that running a transit is much more difficult than they thought!
Posted by: Nate Payer | August 10, 2010 12:59 PM