Section of a map that describes the trip origins and destinations of ART riders participating in the 2013 survey. See “Documents for Download” below for a high-resolution version.
As Arlington residents, employees, and visitors have grown accustomed to transit in the county, they have come to embrace it, and, having enjoyed it, they want more of it. At least, that’s one takeaway from a recent survey of nearly 3,000 Arlington Transit (ART) riders.
According to the survey, ART riders are happy with the service that they have.
The system in the Virginia county has come a long way from its earliest days in 2001, when it started out with two buses, testing the market to see if there was desire for Arlington-focused bus service to compliment WMATA. Today, ART has about 50 buses that serve 13 routes; between 2004 and 2012, annual ridership grew by an average of 19 percent a year (675,000 annual trips to 2,645,000 annual trips), while the amount of service provided only increased by 12 percent per year.
However, only two routes (the 41 Columbia Pike-Ballston-Court House and the 51 Ballston – Virginia Hospital Center) run every day of the week. Also, most buses come no more often than every 30 minutes at their most frequent. In the survey, riders told ART that they want more service on weekends and later into the evening (known as service “span”), as well as increased service frequency (the length of time between the arrival of buses at a stop).
Demand for more service is a logical outcome of Arlington’s evolution as a smart-growth community and a positive indication that the people who live and work in the county are “on board.” For those already riding ART, existing service can serve some trips well. Yet buses must run seven days a week and later into the evening in order to serve the wide range of daily trips that people make.
As the transit consultant, Jarrett Walker, puts it in his book, Human Transit, “frequency and span are the essence of freedom for a transit passenger” (p. 85). Over the decades, more and more Arlingtonians have been living the “car-free” or “car-light” life made possible by transit and amenity-rich neighborhoods (and as new residents have moved in specifically to enjoy those amenities). Now they want transit that serves more and more of their trips, and their expectations for ART service have risen.
If Arlington can meet those expectations, then even more residents, employees, and visitors will want and be able to live, work, and play in Arlington without driving. More frequent service encourages riders to take the bus for more trips because riders have peace of mind that should they miss one bus, there will be another bus coming soon. Finally, increasing frequency makes using bus service easier; as Arlington County Transit Bureau Chief, Steve Del Giudice, frequently points out, the best transit timetable that you can give a customer is service so frequent that he or she does not need a timetable (usually every 10 minutes or more frequent).
Frequent service will draw in even more riders, driving expectations for service higher still, and the county will continue on a virtuous cycle towards a future where the community can accommodate growth with cleaner air and without choking on traffic congestion (it’s the reverse of the vicious spiral of sprawl, followed by congestion, followed by roads, followed by more sprawl, and then more congestion).
Over the coming years, ART staff and county leadership will be figuring out how to make added service possible in line with the Arlington County Transportation Master Plan Transit Element . The costs will be described in terms of hours of added driver wages and number of new buses, while revenue will be measured in the expected number of new riders and the fares that they will pay. However, it will be important everyone keep in mind that these details connect with broader, big-picture goals for the county. As Walker puts it, “f we want people to choose more transit-dependent lifestyles by owning fewer cars, they will need transit that’s there most of the time, and where they’ll never have to wait long” (p. 85).
You can help make ART’s future a reality by sharing your priorities for increased service. Are there specific lines on which you would like to see additional service? If so, why? If you have considered using ART service before but decided not to because the schedule did not meet your needs, which routes were you considering?
For another take on the study, go here.