WMATA, TheBus Talk Progress and Setbacks

Since sweeping changes made to their routes last December, bus service providers in Greenbelt claim net increases in ridership, though complaints also appear to be on the rise.    

“The Greenbelt routes are doing better than Metro as a whole,” Julie Hershorn, a manager from WMATA’s Office of Bus Planning, said at City Council's quarterly transit meeting worksession on Thursday.

Quarterly subtotals comparing Metrobus’ ridership figures before and after the changes appear to bear that out, but not by much, according to a performance report suplied by WMATA. Before the December service changes, routes R12, T16 and T17 bussed a combined 4,321 passengers on any given weekday between September and November 2010.

Since the change, the new routes — R11, R12, as well as G12, G13, G14 and G16 — averaged 4,491 passengers on any given weekday between the months of April and June, according to the performance report. That’s about a 170-person increase, albeit a quarterly average gleaned from a different segment of the year than in 2010.

Meanwhile, Metrobus’ C2 and C4 routes have seen a combined 1.3 percent uptick in ridership when comparing the end of last year to April, May and June's figures, according to the report. That’s an average of 11,046 riders versus 11,185, respectively.

TheBus has seen a slight uptick in ridership as well, according to a document supplied by TheBus, posting a .9-percent gain in June after mixed results between April, May and last year's figures.

Lawrence Glick, a Metrobus operations planner, told city council that the Metrobus’ and TheBus’ numbers should be looked at within the context of a shared service. “We really have a system of service together (now),” he said, suggesting any sluggish numbers along one particular route might be counterbalanced by positive numbers along another.

COMPLAINTS

The issue of filing complaints with both bus providers also drove much of last night’s discussion, with a handful of residents even showing up to the quarterly work session to express their frustrations.

Local resident Candace Wyatt outlined three primary problems with the Metrobus’ changes: poor evening, customer and time-transfer service.

Wyatt said she usually arrives at her transfer point 10 minutes early, and that “several times” the bus has either been late or didn’t come altogether. “I’ve called once, but it has happened several times,” she said. “People just don’t have the energy to call (and complain each time around)."

There used to be more options, she added, also criticizing the seven-minute wait period she sometimes encounters at her transfer point. “How useful is the transfer point if no one is using it?”

According to documents, Metrobus’ Greenbelt routes saw monthly complaints increase from the single-digits to double-digit territory in both May and June. Those complaints vary, from tardiness and a failure to stop for riders, to rude drivers and unsafe operation of the buses.

On that note, Councilman Edward Putens questioned each bus provider's accounting of rider complaints. “I’m wondering if your numbers match with what I’ve heard,” he said.

Several in attendance pushed Putens’ point ahead, asking whether either public company is fully tallying all complaints that are fed to their customer-care hotlines.

“Whether we have every single one — I hope so,” said Hershorn. But, she added, “We’re dealing with human beings.”

Others on behalf of WMATA said complaints aren’t always what they may seem. “It’s not always the operator’s fault,” said Carlton Rasberry, a service manager. “It’s the person coming late.” 

“You may be walking and the driver didn’t see you,” added Delores Proctor, superintendent of the Landover Bus Division, which oversees some of Metrobus’ buses.

Councilman Konrad Herling seemed to buttress that point, recounting his having to step out into the street so as not to be overlooked among several parked cars near a bus stop along Ridge Road. He nonetheless suggested that the bus drivers may need to slow down.

“The failure to stop really concerns me,” added Mayor Davis.

PERFORMANCE

In terms of performance, some of Metrobus’ routes appeared to be on time more often than last year's figures, according to the WMATA performance report. The T17 and T16 buses — replaced by the G12, G13, G14 and G16 — have been outdone in terms of on-time performance by a margin of about 11-percentage points when compared to this April, May and June.

TheBus, meanwhile, has been a bit mixed on this front. Part of that is a reflection of changes made in April, when it was determined both transit companies needed to stagger their arrival times more.

A WMATA handout also revealed that about 23 percent of WMATA buses precluded G12, G13, G14 and G16 riders from making their bus transfers on time on July 2. Albeit but one sample, Melissa Ehrenreich of Transit Riders United of Greenbelt (TRU-G) noted that that rate has to be reduced in order for the timed-transfer program to make any sense.

The question was also raised about how the bus companies define on-time performance. Both consider a driver who arrives as much as two minutes early or seven minutes late to be within the "on-time" threshold.

But, said Hershorn, “We’re looking very seriously at tightening up those parameters" as better GPS technology on each bus becomes available.

Hershorn added that could take about two years.