Downtown transit – an interesting experience
One of the things I did to help me in my move downtown was to purchase a VIA monthly pass so I could leverage public transportation as much as possible. The pass is reasonable at $30 and allows you to jump on any VIA bus or trolley without any hassle. It makes the entire downtown area accessible and easy to traverse. That’s a great thing considering there are three trolleys that run past the building (Red, Yellow, and Purple) and Commerce/Market is a main thoroughfare in the VIA transit network. One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve started riding the buses and trolleys is that there are several things VIA really should look at to improve the system.
Very soon I plan to try to leverage VIA in my commute to and from USAA. Even though it will take about 30 minutes longer it will eliminate the driving and help save on gas. I can catch the bus after walking about 4 or 5 blocks towards the middle of downtown. Having a flexible work schedule will help by allowing me to just catch the next available bus headed to and from USAA. I’ll also be able to take the time to catch up on reading the newspaper online and possibly even do a little work on the way in and out. Once again, it’s a part of the experiment to see how easy and accessible living downtown really is. This is not about getting around the commute as it’s really easy and takes only 15 minutes to get to and from downtown.
One thing I’ve noticed while riding the trolleys is how confusing the system is to tourists. I’ve been mostly riding the Red trolley since it runs up and down Houston St. beside the building. I’ve also ridden the Yellow trolley or bus, depending on what they decide to put in service. The trolleys are a great idea for the downtown as they capture the historic flavor of the area and also seem like a novelty. However, they really aren’t that tourist friendly. VIA has done a good job of printing instructions at the trolley stops but if you’re a tourist just trying to figure out downtown San Antonio reading all the instructions is the last thing on your mind.
More times than not, tourists are confused about the fare and how to navigate the system. The fare is the same as riding a regular VIA bus at $1.10 with a transfer to another bus available for another 15 cents. The problem is that fare is printed on the signs in normal VIA speak – fares, half fares, transfers, etc. Tourists often don’t understand the transfer process and usually end up paying full fare when transferring to another trolley. What makes the whole experience worse is the lack of help the VIA drivers provide. They basically just sit in their seats and ignore the tourists until fare is deposited. They are at least patient and don’t hold the process up while the tourists figure out the fare box and that change is not provided.
There is now talk about increasing the streetcar system with an electric system very similar to Portland’s. The discussion is about possibly extending the system to include more areas of San Antonio such as the AT&T Center, the missions, and OLLU. This is possibly a good thing but needs more discussion and planning before breaking ground anywhere. One thing about the Portland system that could help alleviate the tourist confusing is instituting a Fareless Area in the downtown area. Portland also has a streetcar fare that is much more reasonable than VIA’s universal fare. For $2.00 you can ride all day in Zone 1 and 2 on the Portland system.
Regardless of the plans VIA definitely needs to relook at their streetcar system downtown to find ways to improve the process. Watching tourists try to figure the maps out, understand the fares or just generally figure out how to ride the system is frustrating and embarrassing as a San Antonian. Driver training on being helpful to tourists is also something that should be addressed. These drivers, regardless of whether they like it or not, are ambassadors for the city. I’ve started taking it on myself to be a good resident and help tourists out who seem confused. If I see a tourist pondering the map trying to figure out how to get from point A to B I’ll walk over and ask if I can help. It’s the least I can do to be a good resident of downtown.
I like the idea of having electrically powered buses, but not necessarily steel-wheeled streetcars. I don’t see why we need to restrict lay track when electric powered buses with quiet rubber wheels would work just as well without being limited to specific tracks.
Electric buses would be a boon to air quality and noise.
Well, by dedicating the investment to steel track, the city will actually see the investment produce great results; something rubber can’t do. You also will see a whole new rider demographic start to hop on the train that normally wouldn’t touch a bus; people with $$, and if they have it, they will spend it near where they will live. Hopefully that will be in a new residential development in Center City.
$45 million a mile to get people to move into a neighborhood and ride a train? The economics don’t add up. This sounds more like a financial boondoogle at taxpayers’s expense. In fact, what makes me feel this is not being thought through very closely is that this sounds like a Munoz special much like the expensive gala for the Alameda that yielded very little. A lot of up front money with little result.
As opposed to the boondoogle that the highway system currently is?
It does add up becuase the outcome, which is unknown at the time, is limitless. The price of getting people to move into a neighborhood and ride a train will be felt all over the city in increased value of property and income, something that the city has never done for its citizens. This is smart growth, not the band-aid job that asphalt is. It makes more sense to pay $45 mil/mile then to spend $100 million for 5 miles of new road in the suburbs and continue the urban decay.