fresno area express Archives - Page 3 of 3

Categories : UncategorizedTags : Clovis Clovis stageline cogs council of governments FAX frequency fresno fresno area express parsons ridership service stageline transit study Visalia1 Comment

Fresno COG conducting (bad) survey on FAX service – deadline June 23!

On June 19, 2014February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

I got an interesting email today from the Fresno Council of Governments, the metropolitan planning agency for the Fresno area.

They’re conducting a study on how to improve FAX, which like most studies, includes public comment. Apparently, they put a survey online in late May, and sent out emails yesterday because the deadline is next week.

They’re paying the good folks at Parsons Brincherhoff large sums of money to do this.

In an effort to improve the efficiency and sustainability of our existing fixed route bus systems, the Fresno Council of Governments is currently examining the metropolitan area’s travel patterns for both Fresno and Clovis through extensive surveys and analysis of area transit riders and non-riders.

Project documents are available for review on the Fresno Council of Governments website at www.fresnocog.org/strategic-transit-plan. Please take our survey and share your preferences about the transit system.

Public comments are encouraged and may be submitted in writing by 5:00 p.m. on June 23, 2014 to: info@theriosco.com

Sounds great right? A perfect opportunity to tell them that the area transit sucks, and they must do more to improve it.

Don’t get excited. It’s a loaded survey with a leading questions giving people a false choice. Here’s what it says: Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : blackstone brt bus rapid transit city council downtown fresno FAX fresno fresno area express kings canyon shaw the Q transit18 Comments

No one noticed, but Fresno killed its proposed BRT system

On April 21, 2014February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Nashville, and the ludicrous attempts to ban bus rapid transit (BRT) there by state legislators, has been getting all the news lately, but it’s not the only BRT system to see its future flushed down the toilet by short-sighted elected officials.

After two months of “retooling,” the Fresno BRT project returned to the City Council a few weeks ago; problem is, there was no BRT left to approve.

Back in January, the Fresno city council put a temporary hold on the $50 million BRT plan which had been in the works since 2008. Even though the process had gone through dozens of public workshops, council presentations, and other forms of outreach, the council acted as if this was the first time they’d heard about it. I wrote about their “concerns” here. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : blackstone brt bus rapid transit downtown FAX fresno fresno area express funding high speed rail kings canyon small startsLeave a comment

Federal budget includes more money for Fresno BRT

On April 17, 2013February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Part of the recent release of the 2014 federal budget included a list of what the FTA will fund as part of their “small starts” program. That budget includes another piece of the Fresno BRT (bus rapid transit) funding puzzle – another $10 million. The Fresno Bee last reported on the initial $17.8m grant over two years ago. No money was handed out in the 2013 budget.

BRT in Fresno is supposed to improve bus service along Blackstone and Kings Canyon, via downtown (and eventually the high speed rail station). Those are currently the corridors with highest bus ridership.

Unfortunately, Fresno isn’t getting real BRT. Very few bus lanes, street-level boarding and really nothing more than you’d find on what other cities might label an express route or special route. Regardless of the lack of features, the project is expensive – almost $50 million. Some of those costs are for new articulated buses. A little more goes towards improving bus stops and shelters. But the meat of the funding will go towards….well, this is Fresno, so you know the answer. Road widening. Even though Blackstone and Kings Canyon already are very wide (6 lanes + parking + turn lanes), that apparently isn’t enough to paint a bus lane. The laughably small 20% of the project that will involve exclusive lanes revolves mostly along wider roads. Oh, and new traffic signals. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : city council fare fare hike FAX fresno fresno area express Fresno area express FAX fail owl service transit transit rates and service committee2 Comments

Fresno council committee recommending bus fare hikes

On January 18, 2013February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Yesterday’s City Council meeting included a presentation from the “City of Fresno Transit Rates and Service Committee” which issued a report outlining short, medium and long term goals for FAX (Fresno Area Express). The committee was formed in 2010 during steep city budget shortfalls, and recommended a fare hike of 25 cents, which was put into effect January 2011, resulting in fares of $1.25. That would be to correct the “problem” that was the political decision of keeping mass transit affordable, and on par with peer systems.

One of their first recommendations is a series of fare hikes, including one this year of an additional 25 cents, and raising the base fare to $2.00 by 2017. That would mean a complete doubling of the fare in just six years, and this is in spite of the fact that the last service expansion was over a decade ago. Indeed, over the past decade, as the city population has ballooned and unemployment has spiked (currently still over 14% in Fresno), four routes were actually eliminated and no new service has been introduced. Probably not the best way to connect people with jobs. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : bus city council FAX fresno fresno area express Fresno area express FAX fail strike unionLeave a comment

FAX moving towards strike?

On December 21, 2012February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

In another example of the city of Fresno not realizing the importance of a functional bus network, the council today made a move that looks to push FAX closer to a strike….a strike that will jeopardize thousands of jobs as people have to miss work and may get fired.

The city fails to understand that buses connect people with jobs, and so fails to fund a network for the city of 2012. FAX hasn’t grown since 2000, and has actually cut routes since then. Bus service ends at 9:30pm, making commutes to evening jobs impossible. And now, the city doesn’t want to pay the drivers.

The union has been without a contract for quite some time, and instead of coming to an agreement, the city is imposing their own terms. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : FAX fresno area express Fresno Bee route signage tiger5 Comments

The new FAX bus signs

On May 14, 2012February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

A few weeks ago I wrote about FAX taking out an ad in the Fresno Bee to promote new signs coming to bus stops. I thought it was absurd. The sign itself wasn’t very good, and the concept of a bus agency taking out an ad in the paper to tell people about a new sign was baffling.

There is some good news. Kiel Famellos-Schmidt of archop posted a picture of a new sign today and I was happy to see that large route numbers were included, even though the ads didn’t mention them.

Where do those routes go? What is the service frequency? What are the service hours? Who knows, but at least the sign does do the bare minimum and inform people of the routes that stop there. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : brt changes FAX fresno area express Fresno area express FAX fail google mapsLeave a comment

A further look at FAX route changes

On February 14, 2012February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Last week I talked about how FAX is proposing route changes. Still no info on a timeline, public comment etc, but here are some maps showing the rest of the existing routes and the proposed changes. While mapping out these changes, it really hit me how incompetent the FAX routes are at serving destinations and balancing the routes.

The FAX route system seems to have been designed in the 1950’s, and yet here we are, with proposals that do nothing to address some of the major failings.

In the last post, I highlighted the changes coming to routes 26 and 39, which would switch off on areas covered. I noted that these changes would probably help balance operations, but not necessarily help out riders. The changes would not include an increase or decrease in area served, time of service of frequency. Click to read more!