Streetcar

[Urban Pioneer]

Shouldn't that already be incorporated as well since the verbal are there? Just curious (expectation) since ours are brand spanking new.

Just to clarify, I re-read this thread, we do announce the upcoming stops with digital signage and audible announcements throughout the streetcars. It's the Nextbus platform that I was referring to.

[HOT ROD]

ok, great thx

[Urban Pioneer]

Here is a link to the Facebook invite for the upcoming MAPS 4 transit presentation. This would be the meeting to attend if you want to advocate for bus and streetcar improvements.

https://www.facebook.com/okcstreetca...?ref=bookmarks

[Pete]

Fridays and Saturdays continue to be the big days:

[dankrutka]

And it looks like Sunday, which wasn't going to have service, is pretty clearly the third most popular day.

[Teo9969]

To me, this shows just how vacant Downtown is from the residential perspective. Time to build more residential and residential mixed use!

[Anonymous.]

I am not sure where that report is from, but do they have one showing fares bought against the ridership? I am guessing the ridership count is the counting devices on the doors that quantify enters and exits.

Riding without paying is super easy to do. Which I am not saying is a bad thing, but it just shows how dumb the fare actually is. I am pretty sure I have witnessed many times people who don't even realize there is a fare, they just hop on.

[Midtowner]

I am not sure where that report is from, but do they have one showing fares bought against the ridership? I am guessing the ridership count is the counting devices on the doors that quantify enters and exits.

Riding without paying is super easy to do. Which I am not saying is a bad thing, but it just shows how dumb the fare actually is. I am pretty sure I have witnessed many times people who don't even realize there is a fare, they just hop on.

If you watched me just "hop on," it's because I pay my fare through TokenTransit. But yeah, I'm sure there are many who just hop on. I haven't been challenged since about week 2 of it being open. I'm sure it's more of a hassle for the operators to deal with citing a freeloader than it is to just ignore the issue.

[shawnw]

I rode the streetcar in Detroit last week, same Brookville(?) vehicles as ours except they have a fare box onboard and their enforcement folks are on top of it. This little lady went up to every single person that got on board and asked to see their pass and if they didn't have one, walked them over to the fare box and explained how to use it. Unless you got on at one stop and off at the next, she was going to get you eventually, even if it took a few stops to get through all the people. They also had an app (different than Token), which I used.

[Anonymous.]

If you watched me just "hop on," it's because I pay my fare through TokenTransit. But yeah, I'm sure there are many who just hop on. I haven't been challenged since about week 2 of it being open. I'm sure it's more of a hassle for the operators to deal with citing a freeloader than it is to just ignore the issue.

Yes, I should clarify that this is persons who appear to not have done that, either. I mean the app tells you to present your fare to the driver when you board (lol, what?). So I am talking about people who look like they just get on, no paper ticket and don't have their phone ready for anything. I am not accusing them of not paying, just assuming that it appears to be a lot more common than one may think.

Personally I think the app is the way to go. Although I have never been asked to produce a fare, ever. And I have ridden it basically weekly.

[shawnw]

Yes, I should clarify that this is persons who appear to not have done that, either. I mean the app tells you to present your fare to the driver when you board (lol, what?). So I am talking about people who look like they just get on, no paper ticket and don't have their phone ready for anything. I am not accusing them of not paying, just assuming that it appears to be a lot more common than one may think.

Personally I think the app is the way to go. Although I have never been asked to produce a fare, ever. And I have ridden it basically weekly.

I've never been asked here in OKC on a weekday but I have on a weekend.

[CCOKC]

I have an annual pass and at this point all of the fare enforcers know who I am so I very rarely have to show my pass to anyone.

[OKC Guy]

Fridays and Saturdays continue to be the big days:

Ran some numbers based on July:

Best day avg 109 riders per hour
Worst day avg 24 riders per hour

Monthly avg riders per operating hour is 55.3 riders

This is based on if had 1 car and using numbers posted. If we have 5 cars operating all day long then divide my numbers by 5 to get average riders per car per hour. Its not very good for the costs.

4 days open 18 hours
2 days open 20 hours
1 day open 15 hours
127 hours of operation per week
18.14 hours per day average
18.14 x 31 (Jul) = 562 hours

[Teo9969]

The streetcar is never going to see it's full value proposition if we don't have more residents downtown. There's a reason it kills it on the weekend and suffers during the week. Add 10,000 residents downtown and those numbers look a whole lot better. The chart basically displays the desirability of the weather by month, with May being the exception due to the Devon fiasco (and Thunder getting bounced early).

[Midtowner]

Yes, I should clarify that this is persons who appear to not have done that, either. I mean the app tells you to present your fare to the driver when you board (lol, what?).

I've not yet seen a driver interact with the passengers outside of the couple of times I ended up visiting with the driver after someone parked on the track and shut the whole system down.

[/quote] So I am talking about people who look like they just get on, no paper ticket and don't have their phone ready for anything. I am not accusing them of not paying, just assuming that it appears to be a lot more common than one may think.[/quote]

Again, that'd be me, because I'd be able to show the graphic on my phone if asked, but I never expect to be asked because that hasn't happened to me outside of the first couple of weeks the thing was opened.

[Urban Pioneer]

The streetcar is never going to see it's full value proposition if we don't have more residents downtown. There's a reason it kills it on the weekend and suffers during the week. Add 10,000 residents downtown and those numbers look a whole lot better. The chart basically displays the desirability of the weather by month, with May being the exception due to the Devon fiasco (and Thunder getting bounced early).

I would argue that our MAPS director, public works, and traffic engineering did significant damage to how the streetcar was perceived by many first time users by not allowing us to integrate Automatic Signal Priority into the original design. Undoubtedly, delays caused by cars parked incorrectly affected reliability of the streetcar as well. However, they pretty much had to be forced through negative pressure to allow us to implement it. It has worked wonderfully and the streetcar is generally an efficient and comfortable way to get around downtown. This week I got to ride it regularly into the weekend. Streetcars were often at capacity. Regarding residential units, yes. As more residential units come online, it will help create broader weekday demand. However, keep in mind that this is a "last mile" system and demand was supposed to be provided not only locally, but by influxes from commuter trains that have yet to have been installed and are still years away.

One interesting comparison is to compare streetcar usage to the usage of the entire OKC Embark bus system. It has significantly increased the monthly public transit usage totals.

[Urban Pioneer]

I've not yet seen a driver interact with the passengers outside of the couple of times I ended up visiting with the driver after someone parked on the track and shut the whole system down.

It really depends on the driver but has been a regular complaint by me to the system manager. This weekend I saw and heard several operators interact with riders and people on the platform. It was encouraging.

[amocore]

Why do you want the driver to interact with passengers ? It is not your school bus driver.
Except making some announcement regarding the route or delays.

[Plutonic Panda]

Why do you want the driver to interact with passengers ? It is not your school bus driver.
Except making some announcement regarding the route or delays.

Yeah many cities I've been to you can get fined for contacting the operator unless its an emergency.

[Anonymous.]

The only time I have even heard the driver speak was when they announced a dwelling period. And each time, the driver came out and talked with passengers near the front while they stretched their legs.

[jn1780]

Hopefully, the new convention center can attract some conventions and bump those weekday numbers a bit.

[Urban Pioneer]

Why do you want the driver to interact with passengers ? It is not your school bus driver.
Except making some announcement regarding the route or delays.

We have had complaints in the past about people feeling stranded on board not fully knowing what was going on. I have asked EMBARK to have the streetcar operators explain to the passengers that the Dewey Avenue stop is a designated dwell location. The operator can take their bathroom break there as well as correct for timing issues between trains. There is also often confusion on platforms between "B" and "D" Lines. Our exterior speaker system allows the operator to announce to the people on the platform which train they are. We also will have people trying to use the ticket machines and pay for a group of people. Operators are instructed to tell the people to board and use the app or pay when they depart. Otherwise, they have to wait 10 - 15 minutes for the next train. Other communications related to incorrectly parked cars, emergency situations ahead on the track, and other issues warrant communication. I want the operators to acknowledge people at the platform, crossing near trains on crosswalks, etc. There are many genuine reaosns to communicate. And generally, communication is one-way through the interior and exterior speaker system. It is just part of good customer service.

[OKC Guy]

Hopefully, the new convention center can attract some conventions and bump those weekday numbers a bit.

I actually think CC/OMNI tourists will be its best calling, and numbers will go up once they open

[dankrutka]

It totally makes sense for a driver to make a quick statement, "We are going to take a three minute break here to allow..." I remember the first time the driver stopped I didn't know what was going on. A 5 second announcement would have cleared it up.

[Ross MacLochness]

hmm... i ride all the time and have found the drivers to be quite communicative, especially when they need to dwell or if something is blocking the road. I even hear drivers giving advice on how to ride and where to go after they get off from time to time.