My uncles,
aunts and cousins are used to it now. When visiting them on my
travels across the continent, I’ll ask about their commutes, about
congestion on urban highways, and how easy it is to take transit
around town. They also know that I like to take time out to explore
the local transport system.
True to form, a
recent visit to Portland, Oregon had me out touring transit lines in
what is considered a showcase city -- filled with innovative
responses to the universal challenge of gridlock. After teasing me
about my odd “transportation tourism”, my uncle prepared a bag
lunch and drove me to a nearby suburban bus depot that he hadn’t
known existed.
Such Transit
Centers (or TCs) are appearing in progressive U.S. cities,
especially in areas where no rail-based service exists. While it’s
nothing new for a few bus routes to come together at a shopping
mall, suburban transit centres are now designed like the bus
terminals at GO train or TTC subway stations. Potential customers --
meaning car drivers -- will hopefully think of them as transit
stations without a train.
Although
Portland has a rapidly expanding light rail system called MAX, the
entire southern half has only bus service. Not only do TCs make it
easier to transfer among a wide array of bus routes, they give a
sense of permanence and reliability that a modest bus stop does not
convey. Eventually, a rider who is unfamiliar with local transit
lines will just have to locate the nearest TC -- and from there they
can get to any other TC, ideally via one direct bus.
It’s like
showing up at the Newmarket bus terminal, and knowing that with
simple, direct connections, you can find your way by bus to York
University, Scarborough Town Centre or any other suburban transit
hub in greater Toronto. This is one way of simplifying transit
between locations where rail-based transit does not reach, without
relying on complicated bus maps and schedules.
Linking TCs
with direct buses is the first step, but the challenge is to improve
these routes so that transit vehicles travel quickly in exclusive
lanes, free of suburban traffic. Portland has not yet boarded the
Bus Rapid Transit bandwagon, yet I found its suburbs easier to
navigate by transit than many other cities.
More
impressive is the rapid pace with which greater Portland has
embraced MAX, the popular three-line light rail network that reaches
far to the west, north and east, and runs right into the airport.
The newest extension is the Yellow line, which stretches north of
central Portland to the Columbia River. There are several proposals
to send the line across the Columbia to neighbouring Vancouver,
Washington -- a somewhat depressed city not far from steaming Mount
St. Helens.
Several
proposed southern lines are further along in the planning process,
including a commuter train service that would replace the bus route
I took between Transit Centers. Downtown, Portland has two popular
transit attractions -- the Portland streetcar and the Fareless
Square. Touted as the first “modern streetcar in the United
States”, this sleek ground-hugging tram differs from the light rail
MAX routes by running in mixed traffic, between several popular
downtown areas. This route, MAX and buses are all free within a
large central zone.
To see other
inspiring and rider-friendly innovations -- evidence of how much
money Americans are spending on transit -- go to
www.trimet.org. Be warned -- you
will envy such sophisticated tools as the Trip Planner or the
Transit Tracker, a service that gives up-to-the-minute arrival
information for almost 8,000 transit stops. How long until Toronto
commuters get such goodies?
Send e-mail to
transit@eddrass.com. Include
address and phone number.