CommuterPageBlog

Who Was Dr. Transit? Find Out Here.

We learn more and more reasons to like the folks at Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space blog. Today's post (Bus Conference and Blogging; November 30, 2006) provides a wealth of transit information from their archives. We find that there was once a counterpart to Dr. Gridlock called Dr. Transit, Six Reasons Why People Don't Ride Metro, Making Transit Sexy, Rethinking Transit Marketing, Bus Shelters for Marketing Transit and so so much more. A wealth of information for us transit fans. Enjoy!

More on the Bus Conference and Marketing

As we near tomorrow's WMATA Bus Conference (Conference Gives Buses Needed Emphasis, November 25, 2006) our friend Richard Layman at the Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space blog reminds us that simple marketing techniques can go a long way toward enhancing bus systems (More on bus marketing in Pittsburgh, November 11, 2006). In a comment to our post, like us, he wonders why these things aren't on the Bus Conference Agenda. Using Pittsburgh, Portland and Seattle as examples, Richard's November 11 post discusses using a systems own buses as billboards for "out-of'-home" advertising," the importance of maps and schedules at bus stops, and the importance of providing basic "how to ride" information. He also provides a link to an interesting article of a few weeks ago in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Would you know how to take the bus if you couldn't drive?, November 6, 2006) which discusses why this will be increasingly important to Baby Boomers. We'll try to fill you in on what we find out at the conference. (Picture: is an Arlington Pike Ride spinny tube bus stop information unit.)

More On Transit Schedules For Handheld Devices

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) announced today that they are beginning an ad campaign to promote free electronic bus and train schedules for web enabled cell phones, PDAs, SmartPhones, hand-held computers and other mobile devices. Schedules are available for ART, CUE, DASH, Connector, George, LC Transit, OmniRide, VRE and Northern Virginia Metrobus routes. Beginning this week posters will be going up promoting the service on these systems.

The ad campaign comes shortly after the service was upgraded to also include schedules for the Windows Mobile platform (Coming to a Pocket Near You, October 12, 2006). NVTC reminds riders that the same schedules are available in one handy place online and that when downloading schedules customers can download daily Commuter News updates too. You can read NVTC's press release on their web site.

Noted Transportation Author, Alan Pisarski, To Speak At Friday's ACT Luncheon

Noted transportation research expert and author Alan E. Pisarski will be the keynote speaker for the local Chesapeake Chapter of the Association for Commuter Transportation's (ACT) Annual Awards Ceremony & Chapter Meeting luncheon (Download chesapeake_chptr_luncheon.pdf). The 20th Annual Event is taking place Friday, December 1 at 11:30 am at the Hotel Washington on 15th Street.  To attend the meeting you should RSVP by calling 301.631.3543. ACT is a trade association for TDM (transportation demand management) professionals and the annual luncheons are always a great way to network with industry professionals from across Virginia, Maryland and the District.

In a previous post (Now Available: TRB's Commuting in America III - The Story of America's Commuting Trends, October 17, 2006) we talked about Mr. Pisarski's latest work Commuting in America III. It should be a real treat to hear from him in person and be able to ask him questions.

It's Time for Congestion Pricing in D.C.

After the successes of London's congestion pricing program have become clear, many American cities have begun considering what effects such a program would have here. With a charge of $8/day to drive into the center city, London has cut congestion by 26% in the congestion pricing zone and improved air quality with more people taking transit, walking, and biking. Streetsblog reports on a recent study by the Tri-State Congestion Campaign, titled "Congestion Pricing: Support Among New York City Residents", concluded based on the survey that most New Yorkers would likely favor congestion pricing. (Click on the image for a results graphic.) Washington, D.C. is similar to New York City in terms of congestion, consistently ranking in the "Top 5" most congested cities according to the Texas Transportation Institute. While $8/day sounds like a lot to charge Washingtonians who drive into downtown, a less expensive charge would still have the effect of decreasing congestion, improving air quality, and getting people to and from work quicker.

Politics has been a problem in our own Tri-State region as D.C. has proposed a congestion pricing program and keeping the revenues collected from it. Virginia and Maryland have balked at this. As congestion pricing is a regionwide program, the monies could be shared regionwide, going toward making transportation improvements like improving transit service, creating more and safer places to walk and bike, and making road repairs. In fact, the congestion pricing funding source would ideally be connected to the dedicated revenue stream that WMATA and the states have been searching for.

by Paul DeMaio

Conference Gives Buses Needed Emphasis

Good for WMATA for putting together the upcoming The 2006 Regional Bus Conference - Charting a Common Route (Download regional_bus_conferencefinal.pdf) on November 30. The conference, which is being held in Bethesda, is an opportunity for transit and transportation professionals from throughout the region to get together to share and learn. Given the fragmented nature of the region's transit service (list of transit services), this kind of thing should happen more often.

The speaker/moderator list is a Who's Who of local transit experts and politicos such as Gordon Linton, Chris Zimmerman, Gladys Mack, Michelle Pourciau, and Kathy Ichter. Working with the WMATA and local professionals these leaders hope to come away from the day with regional action plans in four topic areas that ultimately will, according to the program, lead to a "seamless beginning-to-end bus trip that's easy, affordable and comfortable." The topic areas include traffic management, fare policy, bus stops and service integration.

All of the bus systems will be bringing their latest buses for a showcase and The Mobile Commuter Store will be there too. The highlight of the conference looks to be a lunch-time keynote speech about Providing Outstanding Customer Service by Craig Keish, Marketing Manager for Southwest Airlines.

While this looks like a very well designed conference, it would have been nice if there were a section dedicated to Customer Service and Information. For example, perhaps a discussion about timetables, maps and how to ride info and looking for better and more varied ways of presenting and getting this kind of information to customers and potential customers. Anything we can do to demystify the bus would be helpful. If these and other topics aren't discussed, perhaps they can be part of the next event.

Here's wishing everyone good luck on a successful conference!

See it. Say it. Enough Already.

"See it. Say it. The Metro Transit Police would like to remind you that if you see something out of the ordinary that you say something." How many times have you heard this robotic announcement in the Metro tunnels and platforms and wanted to scream at the voice to please stop already? Seems that this isn't just annoying, but according to scientists, repeating such messages over and over is ineffective too. In a fascinating article in Monday's Washington Post (Repeated Warnings Have Diminishing Returns, Nov. 20, 2006), noted human behavior writer Shankar Vedantam enlightens us on why the human brain tunes these messages out. We'll let Mr. Vedantam explain why this is so. In the meantime, lets hope someone at Metro read the article and will heed the scientists' advice to regularly change the message so that people might actually pay attention to the content instead of tuning it out and being annoyed.

Metro Town Hall Meetings

In addition to the NVTA and WRN meetings scheduled on November 28 and December 5 that we told you about last week (Upcoming Transportation Events Nov. 17, 2006), we wanted to let you know that WMATA is holding two Open House and Town Hall Meetings on November 29 and December 5 at 6:30 p.m. in Rosslyn and Rockville respectively. This is your chance to meet and ask questions of the Metro Board memers as well as their Riders' Advisory Council.

Lessons from Europe #4: Walking is key to a Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stay happy this holiday by encorporating walking into your holiday plans wherever you are, here are just a few ideas:

1. 1. Need to run to the grocery store for a last minute recipe item? Slow down and avoid the crowded parking lot by walking.
2. Plan a group walk between the turkey and pumpkin pie, get everyone's blood moving. Great ideas at Arlington County's excellent Walk Arlington website: http://www.walkarlington.com/go/walks.html
3. If you are hosting, encourage folks to take transit or carpool, help stop the dangers of drinking and driving.
4. Skip the traffic and shopping malls on Friday, walk to shopping or a movie, it is easy in walkable Arlington. Or take the bus, figure out how here.
5. If the relatives get to be too much, like mine do, go take a walk.
6. Plan to walk the kids (young and old) over to the park to play (football anyone?).
7. Airports can be extremely hectic, instead of waiting with the anxious hordes at the gate, go take a quick walk around the terminal to find a quiet place, or do a little window shopping.  Don't forget to stretch those legs on long flights!
8. Take advantage of the time off to be a tourist wherever you are, in DC the Smithsonian museums are open, take the family! Take the bus or rail to get there with these handy directions to all the local venues.
9. Not seeing everyone this holiday, take the cell phone and call them while you are on a long walk, but be careful not to get too distracted!
10. Participate in an organized walking event, Turkey Trot anyone? link at: http://www.walkarlington.com/go/events.html

Previous Post: Lessons from Europe #3: Action on Climate Change, November 15, 2006

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Jeff Price, a local transportation engineer and world traveler, is a regular contributor to CommuterPageBlog.

Building Livable Communities Through Art

WMATA has just posted a good video on the front of their web site about their MetroArts program. MetroArts, Metro's Art in Transit Program, installs artwork throughout the Metrorail system to enhance the travel experience of Metro customers.

Another long term arts program is Moving Words, where poems by kids and adults are posted on Metrobuses throughout Northern Virginia. Hundreds of poems in nearly 30 different series have been displayed since April 1999. All the poems are listed at the Moving Words site. Check it out.

And while on the subject, our friends in Bethesda put poetry on benches at 12 different bus stops downtown. If you know of other local art in transportation projects, let us know please.