Productive Transit Service through Old Town Temecula

(4/1/13) – IE Transit Talking Points Short

The Transit Coalition is going to state this one more time: The bus routes running through Temecula and Murrieta need to be more direct, especially the transit lines running through Old Town Temecula. 

The City of Temecula is looking to improve public transportation options for its robust city center as numerous private sector lines, taxis and pedicabs serve the area. Talks are in place of establishing shuttles which would ferry passengers from the downtown's parking structure and public lots into the downtown core. Additional bus stops are also being conceived. Such service may work well. However, the city must not forget that streamlined public bus service under a hub-and-spoke model would also fare well for both Old Town and the connecting commercial arterial roads. Officials need to get serious of streamlining the region’s over-circuitous bus routes.

Fixing the Pass Transit Bus System

(3/20/13) – IE Transit Talking Points Short

The City of Beaumont plans to hire a consultant to conduct a transit study of the Pass Area which is welcoming news for the region, although it is questionable that Beaumont taxpayers are footing the bill instead of Riverside County. The Transit Coalition has noted that the Pass Area’s local bus routes are very circuitous and there are no connections through the City of Calimesa into San Bernardino County outside of rush hour.

As Beaumont’s study moves forward, it is evident that Pass Transit’s trunk routes which connect Beaumont, Banning and Cabazon need to be simplified and streamlined into a hub-and-spoke model combined with feeding bidirectional circulator routes. Calimesa is long overdue to have its bus service reinstated with a regional connector route.

It’s also clear that Pass Transit’s commuter express route can use additional intermediate stops in Downtown San Bernardino and Loma Linda to build up its commuter ridership base. Also, why is the last AM-peak bus departure at 5:00 am? The 24 hour reservation mandate also needs to go. These are just a few issues of the Pass Transit bus system that the consulting firm needs to address in its report.

Stay tuned for more details.

Streamlining Circuitous Bus Routes

(2/20/13) – IE Transit Talking Points Short

The Transit Coalition has noted that several local bus routes in Riverside County are very circuitous. All one has to do is board such a route and ride it from one end to the other to witness a slow public bus “tour” of the region. Local bus riders can attest that circuitous bus routes are difficult to understand and use excessive resources since they have many loops and extensions. 

Streamlining the bus routes and making them more direct would avail much capital and financial resources while considerably shortening bus trip times. Bus routes which run through Eastvale, Murrieta, and Temecula together with the Corona Cruiser and Pass Transit systems are clear candidates for direct routing under a hub-and-spoke model. This would preserve the mobility, efficiency, and usefulness of the region's bus transit system by running direct service through high density commercial corridors between major transit hubs while continuing to provide circulator service through residential areas.