METRO (Formerly Metro Area Transit - MAT)

[ita]

You can still comment on the proposed ORBT routes and there is a survey for this round 1 of public comment: https://www.ometro.com/metronext/.

[ita]

https://www.ometro.com/k-12/?fbclid=IwA ... cTNfHMbWFY

This is pretty cool. I don't know if they've done this before but k-12 passengers ride free starting May 10. The pilot program goes for a month, so I hope it goes well.

[Busguy2010]

Yeah, it used to be half price. Kind of a curious start time for the pilot. Most kids will be out of school like half way through it.

[ita]

Yeah, it used to be half price. Kind of a curious start time for the pilot. Most kids will be out of school like half way through it.

That might be the point. They will be able to see ridership during school and after the year ends? I don't know.

I think with good promotion of this pilot program, ridership should increase noticeably. I can imagine that with free bus rides, kids/youth are going to run it to and from school for after school activities and take advantage of it to get to malls and other destinations.

[labguy]

https://www.ometro.com/k-12/?fbclid=IwA ... cTNfHMbWFY

This is pretty cool. I don't know if they've done this before but k-12 passengers ride free starting May 10. The pilot program goes for a month, so I hope it goes well.

It's actually for a year. May 10, 2021 until June 1, 2022.

[Busguy2010]

Now that makes way more sense. I briefly saw their facebook post, don't remember if it said a month or a year, could have happened.

[ita]

https://www.ometro.com/k-12/?fbclid=IwA ... cTNfHMbWFY

This is pretty cool. I don't know if they've done this before but k-12 passengers ride free starting May 10. The pilot program goes for a month, so I hope it goes well.

It's actually for a year. May 10, 2021 until June 1, 2022.

Ah, I totally missed that. Thanks for pointing that out. Even better!

[labguy]

Metro just announced schedule changes coming on May 23rd.

https://www.ometro.com/alerts/may-23-20 ... e-changes/

Many routes (including ORBT) ending earlier. Some routes getting their peak service cut in half. #13 and 15 going from 15 minute to 30 minute frequency and #55 going from 30 minute to 60 minute.

Based on the press release it seems to be due to a combination of driver shortages and decreased ridership.

Disappointing, but not unexpected. There is often only 1 or 2 other people on my bus when going to or from work.

[Busguy2010]

The most disappointing are the 15 being reduced to 30 minutes all day between Downtown and Aksarben and an hour to Oakview, and the 13 being reduced to 30 minutes all day between Downtown and MCC South and an hour to Aksarben. There has never not been 15 minute peak frequency between Downtown and Aksarben along the 15/55 on Center and 42nd. There was also always 15 minute peak frequency between Downtown and South Omaha on the 13 more recently, and the 7/17 prior to that. Until now.

[PWL73316]

Typical bureaucratic nonsense to run the busses more than ever through a pandemic that had them all empty and then cut service just in time for what might be the most excited and crazy summer in living memory.

[buildomaha]

Typical bureaucratic nonsense to run the busses more than ever through a pandemic that had them all empty and then cut service just in time for what might be the most excited and crazy summer in living memory.

Omaha has one of the lowest per-capita spending in public transport in the nation. It’s no surprise that an organization tasked with providing city-wide bus service and next to no funding can’t keep their bus routes afloat in the aftermath of a once in a century pandemic. :/
It’s just another of the reasons I am disappointed there was no real challenge to the stale Stothert administration.

[labguy]

Having the 15 and 55 only run hourly west of Aksarben really makes me reconsider using Metro to commute to work. Hourly bus service just doesn't make much sense, especially on weekdays. If you're a few minutes late leaving work, you're waiting around for the better part of an hour for the next bus.

If ridership is part of the issue, I imagine this will only make it worse. I know it's a chicken-and-egg issue. Infrequent buses means people don't ride, but Metro can't afford to run 10 or 15 minute frequencies on more than a few routes.

I'm afraid this might be the beginning of the end for the 15 and 55, especially with the future of Oakview Mall in the air. (Maybe the 15 remains as a downtown to Aksarben route only?) I guess as long as they keep hourly service it keeps MOBY available for the people who need it.

[bbinks]

Metro is hiring drivers. So, that may be part of the route restructuring. FedEx, UPS... CDL drivers all around.

[skinzfan23]

I finally rode on ORBT yesterday. The buses were clean and efficient, although the monitors in the bus were not working. There was an overhead display that showed time and approaching stops.

One thing I thought was funny is the voice announcing didn't always pronounce Dodge St correctly. It did once we were headed out of downtown, but the first few blocks it said: "Dod" St.

Either way, a huge upgrade and it definitely makes Omaha feel like a bigger city.

[buildomaha]

I finally rode on ORBT yesterday. The buses were clean and efficient, although the monitors in the bus were not working. There was an overhead display that showed time and approaching stops.

One thing I thought was funny is the voice announcing didn't always pronounce Dodge St correctly. It did once we were headed out of downtown, but the first few blocks it said: "Dod" St.

Either way, a huge upgrade and it definitely makes Omaha feel like a bigger city.

ORBT does feel like a big upgrade for the city, and I love the buses.
I recently travelled to NYC (yes, ik we don’t have anywhere near the population or density as the city) and having the subway available made it easy for me to travel around and hit every spot on my list in the matter of a few days. I can’t imagine how much it would benefit omaha to be able to travel the city with public transport. A boy can hope!

[Busguy2010]

The best part about Dodge ORBT for me has been seeing one almost every time I cross Dodge, along with the very nice stations, very recognizable buses. We definitely out-did KC. I only say that because they are our nearest city that has BRT.

[ita]

Buried in the Midland Business Journal, OMetro reported that K-12 students logged in 11,000 rides since the free ride program began. For those keeping track, that's mostly during the summer. I would like to see how that compares to the first few months since the school year started.

[Louie]

Buried in the Midland Business Journal, OMetro reported that K-12 students logged in 11,000 rides since the free ride program began. For those keeping track, that's mostly during the summer. I would like to see how that compares to the first few months since the school year started.

Will the free rides continue for students?

[jjjjhskr]

yes - free rides for sfudents will continue

[jjjjhskr]

yes - free rides for students will continue

[ita]

It will go until June 2022. It's a one year pilot.

[ita]

2019-2024 Transit Development Plan

This was completed pre-pandemic and there is some useful data here. I was trying to find ridership numbers before 2020, and found this plan. I heard Ms. Cencic did not like it, which prompted the MetroNext master planning. However, there is a lot of good information here regarding financing and how we compare to other cities in the region when it comes to public transit.

One thing in specific I will point out is the table and graph on page 4. There is a strong correlation between per capita spending and per capita ridership.

[ita]

Metro Transit seeking feedback on MetroNEXT initiative

Katherine Wiley
Metro Transit will host several virtual meetings in November and December to continue its strategic planning initiative, MetroNEXT.

The initiative aims to outline a path toward enhanced public transit for the region and will guide transit improvements in Omaha for the next 10 years.

“The landscape of our city continues to change, and the pandemic has illuminated the importance of a safe and dependable transit system,” Metro’s CEO, Lauren Cencic said in a statement. “With MetroNEXT, we’re collaborating with our community to shape a more connected region.”

The meetings will focus on five topics with the goal of presenting transportation enhancement scenarios for public input early next year.

The first three topics and the dates they will be discussed are:

Rider amenities, including bus stops and shelters, benches, technology, and passenger information
Wednesday, November 10th: 7 p.m.
Friday, November 12th: Noon
Bus routes and schedules, including how often buses arrive, how early or late buses run, and where bus routes are located
Wednesday, November 17th: 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, November 20th: 2 p.m.
The rapid transit network, including a recap of Metro’s next priority corridor study and future ORBT lines
Tuesday, November 30th: 6 p.m.
Thursday, December 2nd: 12:30 p.m.
Meeting dates for fare payments and policies, and new types of service will be posted at a later time.

[PotatoeEatsFish]

Metro Transit seeking feedback on MetroNEXT initiative

Katherine Wiley
Metro Transit will host several virtual meetings in November and December to continue its strategic planning initiative, MetroNEXT.

The initiative aims to outline a path toward enhanced public transit for the region and will guide transit improvements in Omaha for the next 10 years.

“The landscape of our city continues to change, and the pandemic has illuminated the importance of a safe and dependable transit system,” Metro’s CEO, Lauren Cencic said in a statement. “With MetroNEXT, we’re collaborating with our community to shape a more connected region.”

The meetings will focus on five topics with the goal of presenting transportation enhancement scenarios for public input early next year.

The first three topics and the dates they will be discussed are:

Rider amenities, including bus stops and shelters, benches, technology, and passenger information
Wednesday, November 10th: 7 p.m.
Friday, November 12th: Noon
Bus routes and schedules, including how often buses arrive, how early or late buses run, and where bus routes are located
Wednesday, November 17th: 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, November 20th: 2 p.m.
The rapid transit network, including a recap of Metro’s next priority corridor study and future ORBT lines
Tuesday, November 30th: 6 p.m.
Thursday, December 2nd: 12:30 p.m.
Meeting dates for fare payments and policies, and new types of service will be posted at a later time.

More possible ORBIT lines while the current one runs almost empty 24/7 is the dumbest idea I've ever heard. They wasted too much money on this when a streetcar from epply to downtown to midtown/blackstone and UNMC would have been actually used.

[Busguy2010]

More possible ORBIT lines while the current one runs almost empty 24/7 is the dumbest idea I've ever heard. They wasted too much money on this when a streetcar from epply to downtown to midtown/blackstone and UNMC would have been actually used.

I definitely don't think ORBT is a waste of money, I think it was a casualty of the pandemic. But I think it will recover over time. Metro obviously was flexing ORBT, and ORBT is arguably the best BRT line within our perimeter states.

Where I agree with you is not adding too many ORBT routes. Lets be honest, every bus route in Omaha is easily meeting it's needs capacity-wise, and it would be a waste of money, and might negatively affect ridership experience (stops too far apart). I'm not in support of an ORBT or streetcar on 24th, which seems to be the next focus.

[Garrett]

Metro Transit seeking feedback on MetroNEXT initiative

Katherine Wiley
Metro Transit will host several virtual meetings in November and December to continue its strategic planning initiative, MetroNEXT.

The initiative aims to outline a path toward enhanced public transit for the region and will guide transit improvements in Omaha for the next 10 years.

“The landscape of our city continues to change, and the pandemic has illuminated the importance of a safe and dependable transit system,” Metro’s CEO, Lauren Cencic said in a statement. “With MetroNEXT, we’re collaborating with our community to shape a more connected region.”

The meetings will focus on five topics with the goal of presenting transportation enhancement scenarios for public input early next year.

The first three topics and the dates they will be discussed are:

Rider amenities, including bus stops and shelters, benches, technology, and passenger information
Wednesday, November 10th: 7 p.m.
Friday, November 12th: Noon
Bus routes and schedules, including how often buses arrive, how early or late buses run, and where bus routes are located
Wednesday, November 17th: 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, November 20th: 2 p.m.
The rapid transit network, including a recap of Metro’s next priority corridor study and future ORBT lines
Tuesday, November 30th: 6 p.m.
Thursday, December 2nd: 12:30 p.m.
Meeting dates for fare payments and policies, and new types of service will be posted at a later time.

More possible ORBIT lines while the current one runs almost empty 24/7 is the dumbest idea I've ever heard. They wasted too much money on this when a streetcar from epply to downtown to midtown/blackstone and UNMC would have been actually used.

ORBT is seeing increasing ridership as we ease out of the pandemic. They definitely aren't empty 24/7, and see more weekend ridership than the old bus route. Furthermore, it cost $37 million for the dodge route, and a streetcar could easily be in the range of $200 million

[riceweb]

ORBT is seeing increasing ridership as we ease out of the pandemic. They definitely aren't empty 24/7, and see more weekend ridership than the old bus route. Furthermore, it cost $37 million for the dodge route, and a streetcar could easily be in the range of $200 million

Bus rapid transit is definitely the way to go. Seems to have similar desirability as a trolley/streetcar/etc with much lower cost and much greater agility. Can be easily expanded. We should look first for a 5-10x expansion of the current ORBT system before we explore alternatives.

[ita]

Metro's current round of public meetings:

Status Update
We’ve heard many suggestions on how Metro can improve service in the future, ranging from requests for more buses on existing routes, expanded service to new areas, better bus stops, additional ORBT lines, and more.

Metro staff is seeking feedback on each of these topics through a series of virtual and in-person meetings.

Meetings on Rider Amenities, Routes + Schedules and the Rapid Transit Network were held previously. Scroll down for meeting recordings and presentations.

Additional meetings will be held, covering Rider Amenities, Routes + Schedules, the Rapid Transit Network, Fare Payments + Policies, and New Types of Service:

Tuesday, December 7 – Charles B. Washington Library, Meeting Room A (2868 Ames Ave)
5 – 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 8 – MCC South-Connector Lounge (2909 Edward Babe Gomez Ave)
5 – 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 12 – Westroads Mall-The Lounge (10000 California St)
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Tuesday, December 14 – Zoom
5 – 6 p.m.
Wednesday, December 15 – Metro Offices (2222 Cuming St)
12 – 1:30 p.m.

Also, METRO got $1.6 million to help 24th Street corridor be a complete street: https://www.facebook.com/FTADOT/photos/ ... 138956479/

[Dundeemaha]

The stretches of 24th St closest to Downtown are wide 3 or 4 lane roads, it would be great to see these converted to dedicated bus lanes with physical barriers or shrink the travel lanes and just add a free* protected bike lane alongside. *I know we're hamstrung by NDOR requiring minimum 11ft wide lanes. (How do we get that fixed?)

At least break up the 24th Ave / 24th St one way pair and make them both 2 way if nothing else.

[ita]

The stretches of 24th St closest to Downtown are wide 3 or 4 lane roads, it would be great to see these converted to dedicated bus lanes with physical barriers or shrink the travel lanes and just add a free* protected bike lane alongside. *I know we're hamstrung by NDOR requiring minimum 11ft wide lanes. (How do we get that fixed?)

At least break up the 24th Ave / 24th St one way pair and make them both 2 way if nothing else.

Making it two way is a no brainer if one of the goals is to slow traffic through there. That area through downtown could be a nice, somewhat walkable corridor. I would love to see your suggestions make it through to the final plan.

[BRoss]

At least break up the 24th Ave / 24th St one way pair and make them both 2 way if nothing else.

The recently finished study has them doing that: http://keepomahamoving.com/application/ ... educed.pdf

[ita]

Ticket troubles: Some ORBT users with disabilities find themselves left behind

Adam Sanderford
Thousands of Omahans rely on the bus, including many with disabilities.

But several say they are frustrated after having trouble using some bus tickets — including those distributed by social service agencies.

Their complaints center on how old paper tickets work with Omaha’s new rapid bus system, ORBT, which shuttles people down Dodge Street.

The problem: ORBT buses use a new electronic payment system, Umo, that scans a plastic card or a QR code from a cell phone for payment. Older paper cards that work on regular buses won’t scan.

Riders say some bus drivers don’t accept paper passes to ride ORBT. Metro leaders say those tickets should be accepted, but they’re open to exchanging the paper tickets to avoid confusion.

[Busguy2010]

Its understandable to a degree. Metro is pretty well stuck in the past, and ORBT is their very first foray into the future. I've seen it a bunch of times, drivers have been very strict with transfers, monthly passes, ID's, etc. I even saw somebody put 124 pennies in the farebox (granted, this was close to 15-20 years ago) and was was denied service and exited because she would have needed 125, and nobody else on the bus could help her out. I mean, in any other retail situation, if you don't pay the full amount, you can't get the item.

But I do understand there was a misunderstanding of the driver.

[Coyote]

[Dundeemaha]

It drives me nuts when the bus just sits there waiting for people to pay, I mean if the person is elderly or disabled sure wait to go. But never in a city with real transit infrastructure do the buses stop and hold everyone up waiting for the last person in to pay.

[Busguy2010]

It drives me nuts when the bus just sits there waiting for people to pay, I mean if the person is elderly or disabled sure wait to go. But never in a city with real transit infrastructure do the buses stop and hold everyone up waiting for the last person in to pay.

I think if they're going by the book, they aren't allowed to move until the person is behind the white line. But yes, in other cities, I have noted the drivers to be more aggressive. I think maybe because they have tighter schedules to keep. Although the schedules are much better now, Omaha bus schedules still have built in down time, some of them quite excessive, which is why you see this, as well as buses sometimes driving 10 under. Other factor is bigger cities actually have a decent amount of people riding who have a train or another bus to catch to get to work with a tight transfer window, that would be very upset if they missed... More pressure in bigger cities.

In the mid 2000's with ridership at all-time lows, Metro, for whatever reason, increased ride time duration on almost all their routes. For instance, the 18 at the time went from 43 minutes, to 53 minutes. Now, the 18 is a bit different, but if I snip the new ends off the route today to make it more like 2000 route 18, it would be back down to about 48 minutes. So in general, they did this with most routes, putting a bit more pressure of drivers to at least drive the speed limit.

[ita]

As part of the recent rounds of public meetings in connection to MetroNext, OMetro created another map that you can comment on existing and proposed routes.

https://platform.remix.com/map/b0b65abb ... 815,10.452

[ita]

OMetro has posted presentations from the public meetings. There is some good information (you may seen some of these slides before, but I think it's a good reminder about what OMetro has to work with in terms of funding and how they have focused service in the City):

[ita]

Metro seeks public feedback on MetroNEXT scenarios

This March, Metro will be seeking public input on the next round of MetroNEXT, its yearlong initiative to improve transit in the Omaha region. After hearing from hundreds of community members in 2021 about their ideas and priorities, staff has developed three scenarios to be considered for the MetroNEXT plan, which will guide the agency over the next 5 to 10 years.

“We’re looking ahead to the service we want to provide as our community recovers from the pandemic,” said Metro’s CEO, Lauren Cencic. “This is a unique opportunity to reimagine our transit system, and we need to hear from all perspectives as we make decisions about what efforts to prioritize now and into the future.”

Those plans include consideration of converting to a regional – rather than city – transit authority. “Many details remain to be worked out as we explore this option,” said Amy Haase, Chair of Metro’s Board of Directors. “We’ve seen that our community’s transit needs extend beyond city borders, and a regional transit authority would be better equipped to address those needs on a holistic level.”

At the March meetings, community members are invited to provide their perspectives on the most pressing transit needs in our region, and review Metro’s three proposed scenarios that have been developed to address those needs. Each scenario emphasizes a different strategy: improvements to rider amenities, bolstering existing bus routes, or extending service to new areas.

Here are summaries of each scenario (I am leaning more towards Option B, with the second half of Option C, primarily the airport service):

Scenario A: Enhancing Rider Amenities
In this scenario, we focus as much of our budget as possible towards expansion of our ORBT network. We’ve also included a new Park & Ride in North Omaha, 25 additional bus shelters, and real-time arrival displays at 50 of our most active bus stops.

Scenario B: Improving Frequency + Extending Hours
This option prioritizes improvements to bus schedules, adding 15-minute daytime frequency to as many core routes as possible, while also running more buses in the evening and on weekends.

Scenario C: Expanding Service to New Areas
This scenario explores ways to expand the footprint of Metro’s services with a broad microtransit zone connecting riders to our Westroads Transit Center, plus two new bus routes and consistent service to Eppley Airport all days of the week.

All scenarios include the following improvements:

Improving signage at all bus stops
Installing 25 new bus shelters
Identifying permanent funding for the K-12 Rides Free program
Adopting new policy to allow Moby-certified customers to ride the bus fare-free
Coordinating a regional vanpooling service
Restoring pre-COVID schedules to most routes
Piloting a new shared-ride, flexible service zone (often called microtransit)
Adding mid-day service to Village Pointe on Route 92
Increasing mid-day frequency on Routes 4, 15, and 55
Studying and implementing enhancements to service on 24th Street

[ita]

Here is OMetro's handout outlining each scenario. It has a lot more information than what I posted above:

Scenario Overview

Here's the link to the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PLZXCC2

What do you all think about each scenario?