Welcome to Green Mountain Transit’s NextGen Transit Plan blog. The NextGen Transit Plan will identify ways to improve our transit services. To achieve this, your input as passengers and non-passengers is crucial. We would like to hear your ideas and feedback on the Plan through this blog, and we will do our best to address the ideas that you share. Please note that this is a PUBLIC dialogue: Please keep commentary civil, and inappropriate and/or irrelevant commentary will be removed at GMT’s discretion.
Many elderly in the New North End do not have a vehicle and rely upon Public Transportation. Cabs are way too expensive for them, and many have eye doctor appointments and other medical appointments out on Tilley Drive, Timber Lane, NE Vision (Julie Larson). They’ve been told that they can get a ride to the U-Mall and pick up a shuttle to get their appointment out on Hinesburg Road.
A woman called for service from SSTA for the first time, she is disabled and uses a cane and/or a walker and the agent at SSTA was saying they have 3 different funding pools, and she discovered her funding source as a disabled person only includes a regular route and the regular route does not include the medical facilities out on Hinesburg Road. The woman had to cancel her pre-op eye appointment as it was just too frustrating and inconvenient, not to mention stressful, for a woman with a cane and/or walker.
The shuttle service is too inconvenient to coordinate with their appointments when the shuttle service is only 3x/day. It would be a whole day process. SSTA would need to be timely, in order to coordinate the connection, in order to make their appointment.
GMT needs to expand their routes to include all medical locations.
(1) 96- St Albans, stop at 242 S. Main Street is a good idea. CCV is the closest stop, and is being proposed to be removed. Those south of St Albans Highway have a more difficult time picking up the bus.
(2) need for real time GPS on all busses. Please get this soon. There’s plenty of studies that show Real Time GPS, increases ridership, because it gives potential riders confidence of when the next bus will be there – one of the largest contributing factors why people do not ride the bus. CCTA just launched it before GMT, and it was discontinued. Please bring it back.
Where to begin? At the simplest possible improvement: make the electronic signs at the DTC in Burlington work! They now do sometimes (better than before) tell potential riders which bus is at a particular station. This means that you don’t have to walk to the front of the bus to find out where it’s headed. Not always, though. Why not??
The next level of efficiency would install an app-based system that really worked to let you know when and if a bus is coming on your route. “Route Shout” has never worked well, when it works at all.
More frequent, more reliable and more efficient buses = more ridership.
I was super happy to see rte6 and rte2 combined in the transit plan, as that could get me to take the bus every day to work at GlobalFoundries, cutting off at least 15min each way…but then I saw the service to GF is to be discontinued! I think this is a mistake…making a very positive change that could increase ridership, but then taking it away with the other hand. I think 3-4 trips in in the morning, and 3-4 in the evening would be a boost. Or even just two, one for the 7am-7pm shift workers, and one for the 8am-5pm office workers. Anyway, some sort of compromise other than zero!
Regards,
Matt Grady
Burlington
I can’t tell if my comment had any effect or even find it in this long list. Will there be a public hearing about any conclusions or timing for changes to the Montpelier Circulator route? I want service up Northfield Street to Childs Garden Preschool to continue. I just called GMT and John told me to check the web site for scheduled public hearings but there aren’t any posted.
Increase service to the New North End in Burlington!! Have bus go further down North Avenue and have a bus go down Starr Farm Road and Shore Road. Many people have to walk a long way to reach the bus.
Thank You!!
The Richmond Park and Ride is utterly inadequate. It is full most days by 7:45, with the last bus to Montpelier at 8:15 (actually its more like 8:20). It needs to be hugely expanded. The lot is so There was supposed to be a Williston park and ride option, which might help alleviate Richmond, but I’ve been hearing about that for the last 4 years with no movement.
Also, each park and ride should have a local bus that brings people there. Why doesn’t the CCTA bus from Williston, Richmond, or Jericho go to the Richmond Park and Ride. This could also help alleviate the traffic problems by allowing people to leave their cars at home, or park in Williston municipal lots.
This all needs more support, FAST!
Richmond Park and Ride is completely inadequate for the need. I have twice been unable to find a parking space there when I was meeting somebody for a carpool and when I was taking the GMTA bus. Today I went for the bus at 7:20 am and there was a car parked illegally and unsafely because there had not been any available spaces. This lot gets less use because we cannot count on it being available. If we want to encourage people to use public transit and to carpool there must be useful places for them to park.
I agree. I’ve given up on taking the bus on days I’m in Richmond because there’s never space. I do my circle around the lot (still hopeful I’ll find something) then end ip driving.
There needs to be more attention to rural communities and small towns. We have little to no public transportation. This impedes economic development and just accelerates the decline of these areas. It isolates older people and others without access to personal vehicles. A few more regular runs – not just for commuters – could make a big difference in the lives of these communities.
I note that in the Nextgen Comprehensive Service Analysis Service Improvement Recommendations in the June Board Packet (https://ridegmt.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/0.-June-Board-Packet.pdf) only includes blog an email comments from the past month, so it looks like no one has commented about #2 Essex Junction.
The public hearings all tend to be during working hours when I am at the job which is the reason I take the bus. For example, the most recent meeting near my residence in Winooski was at 9:00 am, when I get on my bus at 7:27 am.
With the proposed elimination of all service on Maple Street in Essex Junction (#4 Essex Center) as well as the GLOBALFOUNDRIES stop (#2 Essex Junction) my walk to the nearest stop goes from 15 minutes to 30 minutes, and 40 minutes to get the the bus I am actually trying to ride.
Also, I am still having trouble wrapping my head around how low the ridership is stated to be at GLOBALFOUNDRIES when even in my immediate team there is another rider that I personally know, and there used to be a third who has given up taking the bus for the summer because he now lives in the village and due to the unreliability it is faster just to walk the whole way.
I live off of Kennedy Drive in South Burlington. I have to take three buses to get to work on Shelbourne Road. Having the airport bus go directly downtown with cut one transfer , Also there should be a Sunday bus going down Shelburne Road As far as IDX Drive.atl least.
I am a senior citizen, living in Warren. From what I have been told we have public transportation during the winter here in the Mad River Valley. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide for anyone on the East side of the Valley and it doesn’t provide service outside. Seems to be more of a shuttle for tourists at the ski areas. I wonder how many people would use services to and from here to CVMC/Walmart/Barre-Montpelier Rd. clinics/Price Chopper. One day a week to start?
And it would make a lot of sense to put this REPLY section at the top of the page!
I am concerned about the proposal for the 92 Montpelier Route to no longer travel up Elm Street to the recreation fields and the nature center. Our Montpelier based preschool uses the buses to take the children on field trips to these locations most weeks. In addition, I expect there are many families within Montpelier who value being able to access these locations by bus. We should not limit access to these enriching locations to only children whose families own cars. I also suspect that there are a number of families who live on Elm street who need to be able to access the bus to travel into town. I urge you to revisit this aspect of the plan. Thank you.
I’d like to comment on the proposed changes to the Montpelier Circulator Route 92. Removing a mid-day gap and attempting to simplify the route–great. Removing the stop at the public recreation fields, swimming pool, CCV, baseball field, playground, and access to North Branch Nature Center trails–not great at all. This change would be a disservice to our community members who will wish to use these services. I encourage you to think of public access to public recreation areas and keep that stop on Route 92.
In Montpelier, my child has greatly benefitted from the Circulator bus route from downtown out Elm St. to the North Branch Nature Center. Please keep this route running! It’s amazing that the 3 and 4 year olds from Montpelier Children’s House have the opportunity to play outdoors in a beautiful location on a weekly basis. The preschool is in a very “urban” part of Montpelier with a tiny playground, so it’s essential that children have continued access to a large meadow, woods, streams, etc. in which to explore and learn.
Thank you!
My son’s preschool regularly uses the Montpelier Circulator’s route from Barre Street to the North Branch Nature Center. Eliminating this route will be devastating to his program. I urge you to reconsider eliminating this important route for so many families!
Please don’t eliminate the Montpelier Circulator route to Elm St / swimming pool / North Branch Nature Center. My family and I ride that route and we would sorely miss it! Thanks for you consideration.
I am disappointed to see that the proposed changes to the Montpelier Circulator bus eliminates the Elm Street route extending to CCV and the Recreation Fields. This stretch a far walk from town for those headed to these destinations and in my own ridership I see students being dropped off at the college and families riding out to the public pool. It connects those in town to our community’s limited recreation facilities and natural areas. My own use of the circulator has been limited by the “gap” in the morning schedule, which is when I would typically need to use it. The Circulator is a great resource for Montpelier, and is most useful when it can connect us to the less walkable areas of town. Please don’t cut this route!
I use the Montpelier Circulator with kids from my registered home day care. We love riding the bus to the North Branch Nature Center and hope this remains an option!
Please provide more specific information to the general public – at public places where you will reach a larger population – about the nature of the changes you are proposing. There has been very little public outreach about the proposed changes to the Montpelier Circulator – its buried in the details of your reports on your website. Several area day cares use the northern portion of the Circulator regularly for field trips to the Nature Center. Neither of them were aware of the proposed changes until I told them. Please make a good faith effort to collect robust public feedback!
I recently started taking the Route 116 Bus 46 to/from work at UVM. It has been most welcomed as our office recently moved and not all of us are eligible for parking. Bonnie is a wonderful driver and has made my morning commute effortless and enjoyable. I am fortunate in that I am able to be picked up at a bus stop not far from my house and dropped off at a bus stop right at the corner near my work. I would love it if the bus would pick up at 7:30 instead of around 7:15, but I understand beggars can’t be choosers. There are at least half a dozen or more drivers taking the small commuter bus both directions. I pick up the return bus at the medical center, but it would be ideal if I could be picked up at the bus stand on Colchester Ave. just before the hospital. I was told the corner of Prospect St./Colchester Ave. might be a pickup option for Bus 46, but I didn’t want to take the chance and not have them stop and then miss the bus and it’s about equal distance to go to the hospital anyway. Ideal time would be 4:45 p.m. Again, I’ll take what I can get and do so appreciate this service. I hope this route will continue to be offered.
We defnitely need safe places to cross Williston Road – I have noted that for several years. It is very dangerous to try and cross.
I have many comments.
1. The kisok should always be attended during operation hours. When I go to buy a pass and the clerk is AWOL, it’s very frustrating. You need coverage for breaks.
2. The whole bus station could be much more efficient. The fancy electronic clocks at every spot should say what bus is parked there instead of making people run back and forth, missing their bus.
3. Better yet, have each bus have an assigned spot.
4. You all have the same technology as Pueblo Co where if someone pays too much, they receive a change card that allows them to use it towards a later bus ride. I know I have over paid before, so where does that money go? Sometimes we can’t get change because there is no one in the kiosk.
I live on Grandview off Kennedy Drive in South Burlington. I take 3 buses to get to work on Idx drive on Shelburne road.
It would be nice if there was a bus going directly to Shelburne road even if it is a smaller bus. I like the idea of the Umall airport bus going downtown without having to transfer at the mall. It would save me 1 bus transfer.
Somewhere to put strollers or luggage would be good. It is hard to get to the front of the bus to get off with these items in the aisle.
I am pleased to see the route profile for Route 1 suggests having all Route 1 buses stop at the airport and strongly support the change. It is annoying to take the 1 from downtown to the UMall and then have to transfer, and you run the risk of missing your connection; however, walking to the airport from the Route 1 Kennedy Road stop is impractical if you are an able-bodied person with more than a backpack for luggage, and difficult or impossible for those who are less able. Having the Route 1 bus stop at the airport would give people a practical, efficient, and affordable way to get to the airport. I’m sure many people would still take taxis, and at certain days and times would have to; however, we need a realistic public transit option as well.
Please do not discontinue service to Williston village! Ridership is low but shouldn’t we work on why (different times, more times, extending the route…) and changing it first before eliminating it altogether? The village is such a gem and losing public transportation here would sadly be a step back in time. I do not use it often at this point in my life (multiple kids with multiple pick up and drop off times) but plan to in the future (work in Burlington)
After reading the proposed changes to the Montpelier Circulator it sounds like you will be cutting out the Northfield St., Colonial Drive, Freedom Drive area. I hope I am just reading the changes wrong, because there is a need up here. Kids take the bus to and from school. My friend takes the bus to and from work at Child’s Garden. Parents take the bus to get there children to and from Child’s Garden. Others take the bus to get downtown or to work. The bus is my only means of transportation. So, I take it every day. If you discontinue this portion of the route I would have to walk regardless of the weather. I don’t want to walk in the pouring rain or freezing cold. I also don’t want to walk on those days that I am in pain every step. Please tell me that I am misunderstanding the changes and that you are not cutting us out of the Circulator Route.
I live in Barre and would love to ride the bus to the Waterbury State Office Complex at least a couple times each week. However, I can’t seem to find a free place to park in Barre City, Barre Town, or South Barre that also has a bus stop for this route.
As a Montpelier resident who lives on Elm St, I’m very concerned about further reductions to the Circulator route that would make it essentially non-functional for anyone trying to commute within Montpelier car-free. I rode the Circulator most frequently on a Saturday morning when it still operated on Saturday mornings – it was a great way to get downtown with kids to go to the farmer’s market. It is harder for me to use it regularly during the week because it runs too *infrequently* and I have more time pressures.
If there was an additional route after 5 pm or if there was an 8:30 am route, I would be able to use it to commute to work.
Instead, GMT is going in the opposite direction, and proposing eliminating the Elm St portion of this route altogether. Folks who go to CCV, or to the Nature Center – or any Montpelier residents who live on Elm St – are going to lose an important option for carless commuting.
I echo this sentiment. Please keep the Elm St, Montpelier route! This is a public good connecting downtown people with the Nature Center, CCV, the pool, rec fields, and hiking trails. For Montpelier preschoolers, the Nature Center is a valuable part of their curriculum that they wouldn’t be able to access without the Elm St part of the bus route. Thank you!
I am a daily bus rider, I ride the bus with my two children for a total of 3 hours a day, and another 3 hours communizing by myself.
I truly think you should have safe areas for strollers, I constantly have people pushing past me as I’m trying to get my kids in a seat, while wearing one child, and just shoving my stroller into me.. and then I have one child ina seat, a stroller shoved between my seat and the one in front of me while a child is strapped to my chest.
Your bus drivers start driving before me and my kids are even sitting down, I fell once because the driver started moving, and HE yelled at ME.
I truly believe you need to provide and over hangs to store the stroller safely.
It also disappoints me that I can not put my stroller in the front where it says “items not permitted in this area” but I continuously see people’s groceries, and back packs, and even people sitting in the rack when it’s not a seat.
If one person can’t use it, no one should be able to.
As a Mallett’s Bay resident without a car, I strongly support the proposal to extend #7 service to the Malletts Bay/Colchester Shopping Plaza!
A few points and comments from our family:
1. I think Williston bus (between airport area and Walmart) should run via Kimball Ave instead of Williston Rd. Kimball has big office buildings and Fedex (high job density). Williston Rd in this area is more used car dealers (low job density). I would take the bus to work if it ran on Kimball.
2. South Burlington Circulator needs to go to Community Drive area on every run, not just one AM and one PM. Although honestly, the Circulator could be cancelled if change #1 is made.
3. The City Loop is the only route that goes from north end of Burlington (Archibald area) to south end of Burlington (Cliff St) without the time wasting downtown transfer. When deciding on how to modify route, please don’t remove this functionality.
4. I agree with others that RouteShout is great, but it seems to take GMT 4 months to get it working after every schedule change.
5. My kids are Burlington High School students. I know that additional North Ave service has been added in the afternoons. However, the additional service doesn’t coincide with BHS schedule. The 15 minute service starts at 4:30 PM, but BHS is dismissed at 3:05 PM. Can the more frequent North Ave service align with BHS schedule, as BHS has more than 1300 potential riders?
6. Given the decreasing regional importance of the University Mall, must every Williston bus stop there? It slows everyone down to detour from Williston Rd, and it’s no longer as popular a destination as 20 years ago.
7. Bus to local ski areas on winter weekends!
8. Can RouteShout functionality be added to the ACTR buses than come into Chittenden County (116)?
I can’t begin to express my thanks for the Milton Commuter. I am hoping the current weekday schedule will continue, and ask consideration for a couple of weekend runs. If there was service, I wouldn’t have to pay $70 for a taxi to and from Winooski every Saturday, so I can get on a bus to get to my job.
I commented at National Life in the fall, but my request to maintain the use of Route 2 for the Waterbury Commuter has not been recorded here. I am perplexed by the notes for that route in the Draft Recommendations that say there is no recorded ridership to/from the Red Hen/Middlesex stop. I use that stop regularly, and have observed others – students, workers, and other passengers – using that stop in both directions (and other points along Route 2 on occasion). Please keep in mind that the current bridge construction is creating some delay for that route, but that once that construction is complete there will not be as great a time savings as what might be perceived by moving to I89. There will still need to be stops through downtown Waterbury and Montpelier; the time savings will not outweigh the loss of ridership and service provided to those whose access to the Commuter is along Route 2.
Regarding Route 36
I live in Johnson. Johnson desperately needs the 36 or some other connector to connect Johnson to the 36 to Burlington and also a way to get to/from Morrisville. I think ridership would increase significantly! We have the College and so many Burlington commuters!
I just took the 36 for the first time to Burlington and back on different days. The driver was great, the route was just as fast as driving, all good!
Suggestions for increasing ridership on the 36:
The bus is really uncomfortable for such a long ride. This could be detracting ridership, especially for anyone with back problems…
I also think public education about how to connect within the chittenden county area for new riders would be especially important for increasing new rider confidence. Rural areas have never had bus service and so folks don’t know much about how riding the bus works. Even the most basic things should be on the website like how it works to purchase tickets with cash on the bus, that you need to pull the stop ringer for your stop and when to do so, more detail about stop locations on website if you hover on the stop etc… It was difficult to find this information and when I called GMT to ask which stop to use on Pearl St for my return trip. The person who answered told me the wrong location and I almost missed the outbound bus.
Please, Please don’t discontinue the 36 without first trying the timed connection or continuation of the 36 through Johnson to Jeffersonville to increase ridership. Then as ridership grows, perhaps more runs could be justified in the budget, which would further increase ridership.
advocating to continue senior center bus stop in Waterbury.
The stop at the senior center is very convenient for me. I am fortunate enough to not have the “last mile” issue and can easy walk from home to/from the senior center. walking to GMCR adds a lot of stress to catching the bus in the morning especially since i often have a preschooler in tow.
Thank you for considering Saturday service between Waterbury and Burlington. We would certainly use that service on a regular basis to travel with our family of 4 to Burlington for museum trips, shopping, farmers market, and other outings. I commute on weekdays between Waterbury Park & Ride and UVM Medical Center and appreciate this service immensely. The mid-day route back to Waterbury is very helpful as well as typical rush hour commuter hours. I love being able to put my bike on the bus too! Thanks for this incredible service. Makes it possible for us to keep our mileage low and enjoy the commute!
I want to suggest that the gap between Jeffersonville and Morrisville be closed. Our college students are often without transportation and their options for work and internships is limited by the lack of public transportation. Thank you, Beth Walsh, Director of Career Development, Northern Vermont University-Johnson
It would be great if the Montpelier LINK had a park and ride more convenient to I89 commuters coming from north of Burlington. By the time I get to Richmond, the time and cost don’t pencil out for me to get on the bus. The Soith End PARC is also too far off the beaten track and adds too much of travel time for me. A LINK from Exit 16/17 area would be really convenient.
Montpelier to Burlington needs weekend service!!! So many people would use it even if it was only Saturdays. The Burlington to Middlebury commuter bus runs on Saturdays, why not the Montpelier bus? People want to go spend the day in Burlington at the Lake, meeting friends, shopping dining ect. Please make a Saturday Montpelier -Burlington commuter bus!!!
Yes! I was coming here to say the same thing!!! Please add a weekend Montpelier-Burlington LINK route!
Agreed! There are many college students that would use this to get back and forth from UVM as well. Would LOVE to see this happen.
Count me as a fan of the IV-Williston Village bus route. I ride this bus, and would not like to see that service discontinued, although I certainly understand the need to optimize service delivery based on ridership. I wonder if there is any room for compromise here. Instead of 2 morning, 1 mid-day, and 2 evening runnings, could there be 1 each morning, mid-day, and evening? Could the route be modified to include other areas from which more riders may come (e.g. the Richmond Park & Ride)? Could the I-Williston route have a circulator route tagged onto it that ran from, say, Walmart into and out of Williston Village, somewhat like the way the UMall/Airport route links to the I-Williston route at the UMall? On a separate issue, I would LOVE to see each bus have a greater capacity to carry bicycles. Two doesn’t seem to be enough, especially when bad weather occurs during biking season. Finally, please don’t take my comments as anything other than a desire to make a good service even better. Everyone at GMT does a fabulous job, and I am grateful for your presence in this community. THANK YOU!
I would like to advocate strongly for maintaining the Williston village bus.
I understand there are concerns about ridership being low. One important reason is that there is a 1.3 mile gap between two bus stops, Old Stage Road in Talcott Road. Notably, there is no bus stop at the corner of Williston and SouthRidge Rd. Residents of the large SouthRidge community, and the adjacent Coyote Run, Pinecrest, and planned Northridge development, have to make a long walk to the nearest bus stop. Plans have been in place for many years to widen the road and make a bus stop there, but so far, there has been no action.
The Williston Village area continues to grow, and I feel it would be penny-wise and pound-foolish to cut it off from public transportation. To do so would only continue to encourage single-rider vehicle commuting, and the attendant congestion, pollution, and impact on our infrastructure.
I have been a bicycle commuter for years, rely on the Williston Village bus on the days when it is not safe to ride. Please do not remove this important service. Thank you.
As a loyal 86 express bus rider I want to say how much it means to my personal values and family budget- we only need one car because of this option and it costs so much less than gas and mileage! I always wonder about a livable wage and benefits for your drivers. They frequently deal with bad weather, bus breakdowns and stressful situation with professionalism. Could you let us know what their pay and benefits package is like? Personally I’d pay a dollar more per trip if it meant they got what they needed. Several of our drivers have had health challenges and I always wonder if they’re getting what they need.
In terms of routes, I would love a couple of options to access more natural and recreational areas on the weekends from Burlington. A shuttle to area trailheads in the morning and afternoon would be wonderful, and popular I’m sure!
Thanks for the chance to comment, although I had to scroll for a long time to get here! Put the comment box at the top of the page…
I was reading the NextGen ideas for the Montpelier Link and had a couple of thoughts about the ideas and some general questions/comments:
1. One thought was to eliminate some of the stops along Pine Street. I notice that a number of riders get off at VEIC and Champlain. Perhaps having the bus leave from Lakeside as the first stop and then travel to Pearl DTC would make sense if we wanted just one stop off of Pine?
2. I think one reason that folks try to get on the earlier bus to Montpelier is to avoid the Richmond/Waterbury stop since it saves about 20 minutes, so I would support keeping that route.
3. I would love to sign up for an App to get service alerts!
4. Any chance we could improve the Wi-Fi on the link buses?
Thanks for the great service so far! The bus has opened up so many more work opportunities for me!
It would be nice to have more sunday options. Specifically the shelburne bus. It’s not the 1800’s and tons of people work on sundays now. I’d gladly pay a little more to not have to walk 2 and a half hours out of shelburne to get to work on a Sunday.
To get to Burlington from Montpelier, you have to take infrequent shuttle to Montpelier, then express to Burlington which is also infrequent. Busses are not running on weekends. From Montpelier you need shuttle at 0600 to Hospital and Woodfidge as you have many workers,whose shifts start before 0700, and they all do not live in Barre (service available from there earlier than Montpelier). Thanks for the chancer to comment.
It was hard to follow the proposed route changes to the Montpelier Circulator (Route 92) since the map legend was covering part of the route. I have said for a long time that the route needed a revamp to be more effective. Please note that the data on where riders get on is flawed. For years drivers marked everyone who got on at Pearl St as getting on at the intersection of Winter and Summer St. This is important because driving through the neighborhood slows down the bus when it could just go up and down Elm St. With this change, the bus could go a bit further and service North Branch Nature Center which is a frequently requested deviation. If the ability to deviate to the Nature Center was removed (as has been proposed), then I would use the bus less frequently.
I strongly support the idea of adding Saturday service for the Link between Montpelier and Burlington. Currently it is difficult to manage visits to shop in Burlington and visit my daughter in Shelburne on my days off.
Good afternoon James,
Weekend services on the Montpelier LINK Express will be one improvement, but may be difficult to achieve due to the additional costs involved.
Stay tuned.
Regarding the Globalfoundries (ex. IBM) stop on #2 Essex Junction, I am wondering why when you have a methodology that is counting boardings you calculate riders per stop including both the runs with scheduled as well as request stops when boarding passengers cannot make a request to stop in the latter case. (I.E. The route overview https://ridegmt.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2-Essex.pdf lists 17 boardings per day under “Ridership by Stop” and under “Service Improvement Options” lists “approximately one passenger per weekday trip”. This result requires counting both the 9 weekday runs with a scheduled stop and the 7 with a request stop.)
I’m also curious how you account for nearly all of the boardings being for inbound destinations despite the fact that the stop is only on the outbound leg.
Good afternoon Matthew,
Thank you for taking the time to write us. Yes Globalfoundries is served per regular stops and by request (total of a maximum of 16 per day). An average of 17 boarding per day, it is an average of 1 person per trip, or if you prefer if the bus does not go at all at Globalfoundries one day, an average of 2 persons boarding per trip. It is still very low, when you considerate that the bus deviates its regular route and it adds between 5 to 10 minutes to go in and out of Globalfoundries site.
That is why our consultant suggests to eliminate that stop. But previous of its application of that idea, there will be a public hearing.
Please stay involved, public comments help us.
Alain
Has GMT considered a route that goes all the way down Route 2 to Montpelier for commuters who are better served by that path? I wonder if it would increase ridership, especially if it left at the 1/2 hour in-betweens of the other Route 2 bus. Those departure times are too early and too far apart for many of us.
I ask this because I was looking at the giant parking lot at Grossman’s the other day and realized what a great park and ride that would make for commuters — and a convenient hub for Route 2/Berlin/Barre exchanges.
Thanks for listening and if you think this is worthwhile, please forward it to anyone who may consider it!
Good afternoon Paula
Thank you for taking the time to write. Currently there is a bus that goes all the way down to Montpelier, the #84. RCT Rural Community Transportation runs a commuter morning and afternoon, to Montpelier from St Johnsbury. You can get the schedules on their site, RCT.com
Best,
Please consider bringing a bus through the Lake Champlain Islands.
Good afternoon Kathy,
Thank you for taking the time to write us.
To have a bus going from the island all the way to Burlington, morning and afternoon is one option that the NextGen consultants have thought of. The other one is to change the schedule of the St. Albans LINK Express (#96), which would permitted the Alburgh / Georgia Commuter (#115) riders to make a connection with the LINK. I’m confident that the residents of the islands will be able to travel to Burlington with GMT, soon.
Thank you for your involvement .
I am hearing that the 1V route may be dropped. I live in Brennan Woods and ride the 1V to work. I work downtown. Walking to the nearest bus stop would be 40 minutes. I’d have to resort back to commuting by car. Please keep the 1V or figure out how to extend route 1 to effectively incorporate the 1V route. Additionally, I know that folks from the seniors home depend on this bus and there is a lot of housing development in this area that the 1V could pick up. The 1V is an excellent choice for people working downtown as it is quicker than route 1. I would like to see the 1V expanded to offer more times so it can be used at other times of the day as well.
Good afternoon
Thank you for taking the time to write. This is understandably a delicate subject for those who rely on the bus #15 to get to downtown Burlington. Based on current ridership and demographics and travel patterns, as well as budget restrictions, the NextGen Plan is identifying areas for improvement, which may call for the contraction of some service(s). GMT is aware that any change(s) will be hard on some people, and unfortunately in our current scenariosthe elimination of the Williston Village is suggested due to a low ridership. The operation of public transit requires difficult trade-off decisions be made, such as more frequency to areas with demonstrated demand coupled with less service to areas with lower demand, as is the case here.
Please stay involved, public input helps drive policy decisions, making public transit more tenable.
via e-mail from Gail
Thank you for your quick reply to my suggestion on the routing from College Hill to the state buildings in downtown Montpelier.
I have a couple of ideas on how to make the route more efficient:
1) Make it part of the Capital Shuttle, and expand the route into “The Meadows” and up to College Hill. A lot of people from these neighborhoods commute into downtown or up to National Life.
2) Instead of the Montpelier Circulator going from College Hill to the Co-op and Shaws, reverse the route and have it go downtown to the offices and state buildings directly. Riders usually do not have time pressures to get to the Co-op or Shaws by 8am, but commuters have set start times in downtown offices. (As a Montpelier resident and small business owner, I know I would be more likely to use the shuttle to get downtown if the trip wasn’t so circuitous – at all hours that the Circulator operates.)
Thanks for your consideration.
Gail
The Route Shout app is an incredible terrible user experience. Not only is the design incredibly dated, the app is slow and un-inuitive to use. When countless great transit-tracking solutions and apps exist (such as Transit and Google) Route Shout doesn’t come close to the offerings of well-run transit systems. The real-time location data should be open sourced at the very least to allow integrations with 3rd party transit apps that are actually usable.
via e-mail from Gail:
Hello,
I live near VCFA and just started working at the Statehouse. I like to walk to work, but it’s not always feasible with the weather, packages, icy conditions, the amount of time it takes to walk, etc.
When I do walk, I see at least two dozen cars heading downtown from people who live in my neighborhood and work downtown. And park downtown. I do the same when I can’t walk. Lots of carbon is emitted and lots of parking spaces are used by commuters between 7am and 9am.
The GMTA options from College Hill to downtown Montpelier are circuitous and the timetable is not geared for workers. I know. I checked. I was planning to take the bus to my job, but there is no bus that goes to the Statehouse when it opens at 7:45. There are at least 8 people within my two block radius that have this same commute. Another 10 a few blocks away.
I saw your proposed new routes and tried to get to the meeting in Montpelier to bring this suggestion, but I couldn’t make it. As you are revising your routes, please think about adding direct lines to downtown.
Thank you! Gail
Good Morning Gail,
Thank you for taking the time to write us, and being considerate of the environment. That’s true there is not actually a direct bus from VFCA to the State House. But you could take the Montpelier Circulator that goes by Green College at 7:10 AM and be at the State House for 7:45 AM. At Shaw’s you will have to stay on the same bus and do the 2nd Montpelier loop. It’s not a direct route but it brings you where you need to be on time.
Best,
Alain Hirsch
GMT Transit Planner
I use the Montpelier Circulator to take my children to Child’s Garden preschool on Northfield St. It sounds like this important access would be lost in the Montpelier Circulator (Rt 92) proposals. Please keep this access, arriving no later than it does now which is already a little late for children to arrive (drop off is 8:15-8:30). Thank you.
Good afternoon Zoe
Thank you for taking the time to write. Based on current ridership and demographics and travel patterns, as well as budget restrictions, the NextGen Plan is identifying areas for improvement, which may call for the contraction of some service(s). GMT is aware that any change(s) will be hard on some people, and unfortunately in our current scenarios it’s suggested the elimination of the Freedom Dr. loop for the Montpelier Circulator, due to lack of ridership. As we’ve pointed out in meetings and documents, the operation of public transit requires difficult trade-off decisions be made, such as more frequency to areas with demonstrated demand coupled with less service to areas with lower demand, as is the case here.
If / when the GMT Board adopts the Plan, and IF the Plan includes elimination of the Freedom Dr loop, GMT will hold further public hearings prior to that event. In all likelihood, such a change could be June 2018 at the earliest, more likely February 2019.
Hi, thanks so much for the opportunity to provide input. I missed the meeting in North Hero on a recent snowy evening but am making a plea for a commuter link from the Islands. With racks for bikes.
I would love an alternative to the sitting in my car waiting to get on the interstate on a regular basis!
Thanks
Hi Laura, thank you for the note.
I understand your suggestion that there may be the potential for some ridership for a commuter link from the islands. However, we are faced with making decisions based on a fixed (or modestly increased) budget. The reality is we have not identified an appropriate demand to warrant spending finite dollars on a link service from the islands.
But one of the scenarios for Franklin and Grand Isle Counties is to change the Alburgh Commuter and make it more direct to St. Albans (by discontinuing service to Highgate and traveling on I-89 between Swanton and St. Albans).
Please stay involved, public input helps drive policy decisions, making public transit more tenable.
Hello,
I just heard about the updates GMTA is making to its bus schedules and the public meetings that will allow riders to submit feedback. I am a Montpelier resident and am unable to attend the meeting on 1/11/18. I would like to make a plea for service from Montpelier to and from the Burlington airport. It is incredible to me that there is no public transportation between the capitol city and it’s closest major airport. When either my spouse or I need to get to the airport, we must either take a taxi (expensive!), ask for a friend to drive there and back twice ( a total of 3 hours of their time), park a car there for the duration of our time away (also expensive), or take the LINK express to the UVM campus and catch a taxi from there to the airport (time consuming). I’m sure there are many Montpelier residents who would appreciate being able to ride a bus straight to the airport – I see many requests for rides on Front Porch Forum. Thanks for reading!
We are indeed considering expanding service to the airport, (in particular via a direct route between downtown Burlington and the Airport, versus the current transfer at the UMall). We know it’s not a perfect solution for Montpelier riders, but from downtown Burlington to the airport, it would take 20 minutes (versus 35 minutes now).
Requesting an additional route for patients.
address is 1050 Hinesburg Road
South Burlington
Thank you for taking the time to write Julie.
At this time GMT does not have the financial resources to operate additional service on Hineneburg Road. Additionally, our research does not suggest there is enough demand: Of course there will always be people who would use services if they were available, however GMT has to match services and expenses with proven (or anticipated) demand to continue operating a sustainable program.
via email from Dennis:
I greatly appreciate having access to the bus when going to the Burlington Airport. I understand that bus service is limited on Sundays for legitimate reasons, but it would be great if there was more services specifically to/from the airport on Sundays. Especially since so many people are usually returning back to the area on that day (me included).
We are indeed considering expanding service to the airport, in particular via a one-seat ride between it and downtown Burlington (versus the current transfer at the UMall). While the specifics have yet to be ironed out, our hope is that the NextGen Transit Plan will identify ways to improve this service, and we receive the public and official support from the effected communities in order to implement the recommendation.
Excited to see that you are exploring expanding #7 service to Colchester. I’m a bus rider but my childcare provider lives in Colchester. As long as the route ran frequently enough (I’d need to get there and home again) in the morning/ the evening, I could see myself using it for pickups or drop offs.
Erin, thank you for taking the time to write
Yes , we thought of extending the bus #7 to Colchester. But nothing is in stone yet. We are hoping to be able to do it, but GMT is not the only decider. Money could be a problem too. Anyway stay tune on the NextGen site for updates.
Wondering how to promote the Jeffersonville Commuter. It is a valuable service that I use regularly, and depend upon. Would under the bus storage for skis and snowboards be a possibility?
Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, unfortunately the buses that typically operate on the Jeff Commuter don’t have room underneath to allow for storage boxes, unlike the larger “over-the-road” coaches that operate Montpelier to Burlington. As far as promoting the bus route, word of mouth is a great catalyst of public support. We have a limited marketing budget and try to do our best but sadly, we haven’t yet reached everyone.
Thank you for your ridership, and thank you for spreading the good word!!
David – Planning Manager
Wouldn’t it be great if gmt could offer weekend services for lamoille county for the Morrisville loop? Even for just a few hours would be nice during the winter months
Thank you for taking the time to write Lisa. At this time GMT does not have the financial resources to operate additional service on weekends in Lamoille County. Additionally, our research does not suggest there is enough demand: Of course there will always be folks who would use services if they were available, however GMT has to match services and expenses with proven (or anticipated) demand to continue operating a sustainable program. I hope the existing services in the county and in Morrisville make travel easier for you, and hope you continue to stay involved: The more voices advocating for expanded service(s) the better the chances of implementation become.
David – Planning Manager
Taft Farm Senior Living wrote:
Please do not eliminate the 1V extension of the 1 Williston. Some of us are not SSTA eligible, and walking to CVS (the closest 1 stop) can be difficult in inclement weather.
Hi,
Has GMT considered raising bus fares to help fill out funding gaps or enhance service? $1.25 is a great value for the service GMT provides. I see that fares haven’t been raised in about 12 years.
Yes Rick, GMT is considering raising fares, and you’re right, we haven’t raised fares in Chittenden County in a long time. Our services in Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, and Washington Counties have different fares which have been tinkered with more recently, but these fares are being examined as well… Thank you for bringing up the issue; fare revenue does play a role of varying importance in our system.
David
Good evening,
It is with sad news we hear of the planned Route 6 destination closure – this route takes an ever growing passenger list to VT Day School alone – not to mention Waldorf School and Vermont Teddy Bear. Over the last 2 years I have seen an increase in ridership during the morning commute, not only by students but by citizens. My daughter rides the bus every morning and of late has had to stand (which has not happened in past). We not only appreciate, but count on your diligence in resolving this by a recount of your ridership, identifying hours of peak and non peak ridership and their destination, the impact on tax paying citizens and that of the schools and businesses future.
Stay Warm…..
Wolfgang and Seth, GMT is taking another look at ridership to/from VT Teddy Bear and Waldorf and VT Day Schools. This is understandably a delicate subject for those who rely on the #6 to get to these destinations; on the flip side, GMT is tasked with serving many different travel demands and markets with a fixed (and potentially decreasing) budget. Trade-offs are an integral component of the NextGen Plan, though that said, further public input will be solicited prior to ANY route change(s) anywhere in our system.
Hello GMT,
Shelburne Road Bus #6.
I, along with several other Vermont Day School parents have learned GMT is going to discontinue bus service to Vermont Teddy Bear stop. This is the bus service that 12 of the Vermont Day School, several Waldorf School students, and Vermont Teddy Bear employee’s use every day. When we drop off our children at the Price Chopper stop we often notice the bus is full of passengers – Why are you discontinuing this bus service? I encourage a ridership recount review. Again, the Vermont Day School has at least 12 children per day from the greater Burlington area that use this bus service.
Kind regards,
Seth
Joshua, via email:
Regarding Stowe and Lamoille County, no weekend service?? Especially given the anticipated uptick in visitors with Vail purchase, could we not connect Waterbury Stowe and Morrisville a little more?
I know the foreign workers at resorts would certainly keep public transportation busy. I also know that my kids would take a bus from Morrisville to the mountain each weekend day, as would plenty of others, I presume. Christmas shopping in the village, or easy public transportation for out of town guests to their Airbnb lodging outside of Stowe would be helpful.
Just a thought, but would love to get some public feedback and maybe find a way for buses to run more often as well as on weekends up and down route 100.
Hi Joshua, thank you for the note. I understand your suggestion that there may be the potential for some ridership along the 100 corridor on weekends. However, we are faced with making decisions based on a fixed (or modestly increased) budget. The reality is we have not identified an appropriate demand to warrant spending finite dollars on weekend service in Lamoille County (outside of Mtn Rd Shuttle). The Mtn Rd Shuttle is heavily subsidized by Stowe Mtn Resort and the Town of Stowe. Increasing/adding Rt 100 weekend service would increase their subsidy, as well as Morrisville’s and Waterbury’s.
I should add that GMT used to operate a 100 Commuter on weekends, though it was cancelled due to lack of ridership. Part of the reason was likely due to the fact that it didn’t connect to any other routes (no way to get past Morrisville or Waterbury), but the funding discussion expands much further when trying to increase weekend service elsewhere as well…
Please stay involved, public input helps drive policy decisions, making public transit more tenable.
Kayla, via email:
Hey! I had heard something about the Williston Village bus being taken away. Is this true? My husband and I only have one car and I depend on that bus in the morning Monday thru Friday to get to work and to get my infant son to daycare because my husband needs the car to get to work. The bus already only comes two times in the morning. Please don’t take it away!!! There are several people that depend on that all week to get to work! Taking it away during the winter months is especially cruel. It takes 50+ minutes to walk from my house to a bus stop for the regular Williston (1) bus. We can’t afford a second car until this coming March and other people can’t afford a car at all. I don’t know what I would do for the couple months between the bus stopping and getting that second vehicle. I’m sure other people would have to stop working altogether!!
Based on current ridership AND demographics and travel patterns, as well as budget restrictions, the NextGen Plan is identifying areas for improvement, which may call for the contraction of some service(s). GMT is aware that any change(s) will be hard on some people, and unfortunately one suggestion in our current scenarios suggests elimination of the 1V due to lack of ridership. As we’ve pointed out in meetings and documents, the operation of public transit requires difficult trade-off decisions be made, such as more frequency to areas with demonstrated demand coupled with less service to areas with lower demand, as is the case here.
If /when the GMT Board adopts the Plan, and IF the Plan includes elimination of the 1V, GMT will hold further public hearings prior to that event. In all likelihood, such a change could be June 2018 at the earliest, more likely February 2019.
Is there a way to provide bus service between Barre and Montpelier on a weekday holiday so that the people who count on Montpelier’s Community Lunches and get here? Every day during the week, all of the churches in town take turns preparing and serving free lunches and the folks who live in Barre (where they can get free breakfasts) can’t get to Montpelier when the weekday is a holiday and they go without a lunch.
Lee:
I do not know how GMT would provide such a service. Honestly, the only way that this may occur (My Opinion) is to run a bus every day, 7 days a week. The problem with this is, that in Burlington, for example, you have certain busses (UMALL #1) that will run on Sunday, as well as busses to public housing complexes so they can go to church in the morning – Other than that, there is no other service offered to my knowledge, unless there are busses that take people to BAART or whatever they do in Chittenden County.
In Washington and Lamoille Counties, there are NO BUSSES (other then maybe a BAART Bus at like 5AM) that run on Sundays. I have seen such a bus roll through my apartment complex. The idea to allow for people to get lunch on a weekday holiday is a GREAT one, because there are people who need to eat, regardless of what day it is, and this would meet a need, however, if we cannot even get SUNDAY service, I doubt we will be able to get such a bus on a holiday, even a weekday holiday.
David/Gene/Jamie:
I have been HAMMERING GMT hard to tell them that they need to take into account that there are people who want to be able to get where they need to go EARLIER in the morning – I don’t know if Mr. Armstrong has seen my email that suggests that making HUGE changes to the services in the Capital District such as combining Hospital Hill (#81/#82) to ONE Route, Combining City Route (#80/#89) to one route, and putting a route on where you have to go to Montpelier to catch a new Hospital Hill (#82) route, because they want EVERY route to apparently terminate in Montpelier.
Looking at this makes NO SENSE – You HAVE to have an 81 – BHH and an 82 – MHH – Having ONE hospital bus was tried when Wheels left and when GMTA found that it was harder to get people there ontime, they stayed with a Montpelier and a Barre Hospital Route – Combining 89 and 80 to one route also does not make any sense, because you basically have to wait an HOUR between pickups: The ONLY way to get people to work would be to have the commuter routes in the morning, and the mid day in the afternoon, and the commuter in the evening – why does everything have to either start and or terminate in Montpelier? What about BARRE? If we are lucky, we see 4 busses (79) (90) (80) (81) run through the city, and maybe a demand response bus (91) – If I want to go to work, in the winter, and be picked up at home, I have to be picked up at 9:55AM, and it cant be any earlier than that, and must return at 2:25PM from Montpelier to go Door to Door – This is because they cant run me home later than that, and I have asked about this – If you can run busses at 5AM for BAART, this should not be much of a problem – we need to take GMT’s Services in the county up a notch – we cannot continue to think that “it Cant be done” and I with all due respect, am asking that it IS done – Or VERY HIGHLY placed on your list of improvements – I should NOT have to live in BURLINGTON to get the services I KNOW are provided there, that should be able to be done HERE – I don’t pretend to know how, but we need to be thinking away from what is done now, to what CAN or should have been done – IF GMT is the merged CCTA and GMTA, we have the resources, but how we USE them is as important as ever.
I don’t see ANY mention of improvements to DOOR TO DOOR services – They want to mess around with services that work, and I *do not see* how doing this and devastation of the current setup down in Washington and Lamoille Counties makes it better: If we want to see improvements, have these busses run DAILY from 5:50 to 8PM for the city routes, and allow for a CALL IN REQUEST to be a DOOR TO DOOR ride so that you can get from home to work, and back HOME – 10am Pickups do not allow me to gat anything done at work: because I have to either have a Door to Door at 2:25PM, or wait til after 5 to get home – where is the logic in not starting earlier in the day (07:30 Pickup request) and I want to safely get home when weather is bad!
What improvements can be made so this can work?/where does it talk about these improvements?
Respectfully,
Brian
Brian, I think the biggest issue I can address for you and any readers of this blog is the door to door service you’ve mentioned. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 mandates that supplementary paratransit services be provided for those individuals with disabilities who cannot use fixed-route bus service, OR that fixed route buses deviate to serve those same individuals. The City Midday, and Barre/Montpelier Hospital Hill routes deviate, door to door, via a trip scheduled 24 hours in advance. In Chittenden County, supplemental paratransit is provided by SSTA. The NetGen documents do discuss the expansion of supplementary paratransit in Washington, Lamoille, and Franklin Counties: In short, we are examining the feasibility of operating comprehensive supplemental paratransit in these regions.
Without knowing your specifics, I can’t comment or help figure out a solution to your transportation needs. The reality is that we can not afford to operate all routes in all regions to all communities to cover all potential trips… We have to make difficult decisions regarding where/when/how we utilize our finite resources. GMT strives to give the public every opportunity to weigh in on these decisions, and welcome this input.
David:
I will shoot you an email with my Paratransit concerns
Thank You!!
Brian
David:
I ask that I be allowed to schedule a deviation EVERY day to get me from Barre to Montpelier in the winter, and from Montpelier to Barre – Problem is that your times do NOT and WILL not align with my needs – Need a pickup at 07:30-ish am and return by 5:00PM.
Brian
Regarding the Milton Commuter (Route 56): Please keep the mid-day bus. One of the disadvantages of taking the bus on a bad weather day is the possibility that the buses will be cancelled. This happened last December where all bus service was cancelled after mid-afternoon. Luckily this was communicated mid-morning so Milton Commuters could make plans and take the mid-day bus back to Milton. Prior to this (a few years ago), I had a bad experience where I was stranded in middle of a snow storm standing alone at the top of Mountain View Drive in Colchester waiting for the bus to arrive at 4:50. The bus service had been cancelled a little after 4:00. This was before Route Shout and there was no communication on your website about the shut down. I finally found out a half hour after the bus should have arrived that the buses were cancelled by calling people. So…please…. especially with commuter routes…. communicate as well in advance as possible when you are cancelling bus routes. Please plan your routes so that people depending on the commuter routes are not stranded in the Burlington area. Please keep the mid-day bus so we have an option for bad weather days.
Darcy:
This a GREAT Idea for ALL Busses: The only thing is, that in order for us to KNOW routes are running late/cancelled is to come to the website: If they could extend Route Shout to Washington and Lamoille Counties, we could see what is going on when it is running correctly, and what would be cool is if GMT would send a MESSAGE to us (text or cellular call) to let us know of any changes, so that we could then make appropriate plans in case of a shutdown. Usually, if I think the weather is bad, it will say anything like delays or cancellations, we can see them on the GMT facebook page or the website.
Lets hope that they can implement something like this to AVOID having to find out too late of a shutdown!
Brian
Darcey and Brian,
Midday trips can be useful for sure. However this study is focused on improving the services we currently operate, not expanding services (routes or trips) elsewhere. Consequently, some unproductive trips may be reduced to better direct resources towards more productive times or routes.
We are working hard to get RouteShout up and running across the state. We’ve certainly had some difficulties, but it is a step in the right direction.
It would be great if there were a bus that came into Fairfax and went to St. Albans. There are a few apartment complexes located here, and many residents that I know would be so happy to use the bus service. Even if it didn’t run on a daily basis, one day a week would be a huge improvement as right now there is not a single option. I know we are 15 miles from St. Albans, but Burlington is at least 30! We desperately need a bus coming here. If there is a way to do this, PLEASE DO! We in Fairfax would be Grateful!
Holly, we have heard Fairfax’s interest in public transit and have attempted to address that interest in our long-range planning document(s), available for perusal here, https://ridegmt.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/GMTATDP_FINAL22.pdf , and we will consider its inclusion in an updated TDP as well.
Condensed comments received at CATMA ETC event, 11/30/17:
1) Consider fare free services, with lost revenues made up with increased vehicle registration fee.
2) Combining City Loop and College St Shuttle is a good idea. Maintain library access and fare-free nature of Coll St Shutt.
3) Shifting UVMMC staff downtown (future City Place) will require frequent bus service between the two “campuses”. Consider expanding Tilley Dr service to match future hospital growth there.
4) How does (or might) this Plan encourage an overall reduction in personal vehicle ownership and emphasize transit use, carsharing, etc.
5) Improved marketing of transit services
6) Maintain existing levels of service to UVMMC to minimize transfers and maximize commuting options
7) Consider recreation transportation options/access to Stowe/Mad River Valley
8) Increased Essex (#2) frequency to reduce congestion
9) Assess Airport and UMall service on Williston (#1) route, (not all trips may be necessary to both locations)?
10) More passenger shelters
11) Expand City Loop (#8) to include Old North End
I agree with most of your plan. I use the bus daily and agree that city loop and college street should be combined. But will it still be every 15 minutes? I feel like it should be considering the overall bus ride would be longer. Also Essex bus is always late and I agree that it is some what full every time. Especially around 4pm-5pm because everyone at the hospital is getting out of work. Essex is notoriously known to be the late bus.
Also the south Burlington airport bus is such a close call transfer from the Williston bus and would save everyone the headache if the Williston bus went to the airport or maybe space out the airport bus time literally 3-5 minutes so people can transfer.
I haven’t noticed that more passenger shelters are needed. To be honest, some are too dirty and filled with spiders to sit in. What’s the point of more space, time, and money wasted getting new ones. It’s the bus stop signs that need more visibility or more reflective stickers. Do bus drivers still have lights to hand out to riders so they can be seen at a bus stop at night?
Overall if we think about working professionals in mind then we can reduce individual car usage: early buses so they have a way of getting to work, marketing posters that are placed in the hospital or other businesses on bus route. (because it seems the posters of route/schedule changes are on the bus, this website, and at the transit center not anywhere else.)
Bring awareness of this new accommodating route system to people who are NOT taking the bus. That’s one way that this could possibly help.
One important thing I have noticed, the bus tracking app is genius. Why don’t more people use this. I swear in New York and Boston every passenger is using their regionals route tracking app. Why is Burlington not the same. Why do little people know about this. Put it on the bus. People need to know. More confidence for everyone and no one has to guess where the bus is. I use it and am able the tell the elderly person waiting for the bus that it will be at our stop in exactly X amount of minutes. Absolutely perfect for college kids, young professions and tech savvy people to have a modern bus experience. BUT some how the radius of how close the bus is to your stops is now too wide! Don’t know how that happened. Some bus drivers don’t use it. Essex should use it all the time. It’s not as accurate as it was before it’s now about 10 minutes offer unavailable.
Free fares is great but a few bus passes to local employees would help them try out the bus system.
One more thang, can disinfectant wipes be available on buses? Or can it be sprayed with disenchant every other bus ride. It’s flu season.
Thank you for your thoughts Jane! I’ll address a few of them here,
1) We are working on ideas to maintain the City Loop service while hopefully improving it. Whether those ideas include the College Street Shuttle or not remains to be seen.
2) GMT understands the Essex route is nearing its capacity. Again, we are hopeful that we can address this demand with better spaced trips, perhaps more frequency, etc.
3) Ah, the UMall/Airport and Williston debate… GMT is keeping a one-seat connection between downtown Burlington and the Airport in mind when working on future system improvements. One option we’re considering is having the #12 Umall/Airport route travel between downtown, the UMall and the Airport, and perhaps have the #1 Williston skip the Airport altogether… Just ideas at this point!
4) Shelters are great but are somewhat expensive, and as you point out, are difficult to maintain adequately with our small staff. Additional shelters are not a priority in the near-future.
5) We agree that the RouteShout app is great!! Without a doubt we’ve had some bumps in the road, but we are confident that it will help all riders with their trip planning. Help us spread the word!
If there was service between Montpelier Park and Ride to the center shopping district of Williston, I would use this commute twice daily on week days.
Hi Evan. The Montpelier Link service currently connects Montpelier parking at Dept of Labor, next to the high school, with downtown Burlington with nine round trips. Yes, getting to Williston requires a transfer to another bus from/to Burlington, but given our financial abilities, and likely lower passenger demand, that is a trade off that seems to be working okay. Future development of a P&R at Ext 12 will raise the question of Link service directly to Williston, but that would also necessitate connecting service(s) between the shopping and the P&R. This will certainly be addressed in our longer-range planning document, to be updated in the near future.
from Tom via email:
I am a frequent bus rider and live in the Lakeside neighborhood. The #3 bus only comes through the neighborhood early in the weekday mornings (between 6-7am) which seems very early. I would like to inquire about the possibility of having a later pickup (between 8-9am) which would work better for people commuting to work in downtown, Burlington (including myself).
Jesse, via email:
Our midday city route service needs improvement. The service between Montpelier and Barre during the midday runs way too infrequent. My understanding of public transportation is if service happens every 10-15 minutes, it is considered really good public transportation. a bus every 20-30 minutes is considered fair service. A bus that comes by every hour is considered pretty poor service. If a bus goes by and we wont see another for more than an hour, it’s like; what kind of service are we running here?
Our midday service between Barre and Montpelier (two pretty important/populated places in our district) runs every hour and fifteen minutes. Our busses are small. They are packed during the midday because riders are building up at bus stops along the route. Sometimes there are people who have to stand while riding because there are no seats available. Also, it seems the elderly tend to travel the busses more during that time of day. With that comes a lot more walkers and wheelchairs which taxes the limited space a bunch. So the service every hour and fifteen is not only inefficient but its also a pretty bad experience, probably even unsafe. If we could do one thing to improve service in our district, it would be city route schedule all day long. If it needs to slow down to give drivers lunch breaks or whatever, slow it down from every 30 minutes to every 45 minutes and make that work.
Hi! I live in Plainfield and WOULD use the US2 Commuter more frequently if it ran more frequently. Here’s what I think might get more riders:
1. Add a more frequent run between Marshfield and Montpelier. Right now it is only 1x per hour morning and afternoon and one has to be really COMMITTED to riding the bus to arrive at work 45 minutes early… If it ran every 1/2 hour and if you add another 2 runs in the morning you’d have a lot more people covered.
2. Add an evening run. I loved the idea of getting Montpelier businesses to sponsor it — like the Savoy and the Capital Theater, Charlie O’s, 3 Penny, etc. I used to take the early bus into town with friends, go out for a drink, and then take the last bus home. It was so much fun. Was really sad that that last bus had to go, but I know it didn’t get much ridership. But what if it only ran on Thursday and Friday?
3. A Saturday bus would be really cool, too. Not too early, not too late, and not too long in town.
Thank you Paula. Additional trips on any route are hard to finance, so one option is to make cuts elsewhere in order to fund a new trip/route. Another option is to coordinate full-funding from one or more towns/cities, which is easier said than done. NextGen is attempting to design “fixes” for our current system, while our next planning effort (transit development plan) will look at longer term expansion ideas. We will include expanded US2 service in that document.
David – Planning Manager
Add a Rt 2 evening service to at least Marshfield at 8:30
This rt could be added as a weekend service (Thursday Friday Saturday) to get people to town at night for dinner and a movie. It could also run opposite the ski season added as a summer route
from May thru October. This rt could be subsidized by Montpelier businesses – movie theater, restaurants, bars, and could be either free or riders could be given a coupon to use at the sponsoring businesses. I know this could be a win win win for all. Please consider next spring.
Hi Steve. Changes to the US2 Commuter are certainly on the table with this Plan. Adding trips is most likely not an option due to funding constraints, but altering trip times to better suit need is certainly something that we can do in the short-term. Our long-term Transit Development Plan will identify new routes and trips for future expansion, while the NextGen Plan is more focused on fixing what we’re currently operating within our existing budget restrictions. Transit funding models are a hot-topic; local towns are strapped for resources and getting a statewide funding framework has proven difficult. Please stay involved.
David – Planning Manager
I believe additional service on Rt 2 from Mont-Marshfield should be explored
1- midday service change option 1 change times so commuter can arrive in Montpelier by noon
reason many meeting such as AA, and community lunches occur at noon currently service does not get people to town until almost 1 when this services are over.
2- option 2 to achieve the above add an early time then have bus return to Marshfield again at 12
so schedule would be leave Mont 11 return by 12, leave again at 12 return 1
I like your suggestions to improve capital service with
combining capital shuttle and circulator and having it circulate
to downtown area and back, I often find myself using capital shuttle and having to
walk downtown because it stops at state house. Eliminating the off rt option by call is also good idea, driving around Montpelier neighborhoods when you are expecting to get downtown is not helpful.
So many people on “the other side” of Plainfield (6 miles from the Rte 2 Commuter), and in Orange, East Barre and Washington struggle with no public transportation. Lots of people here bike, walk and hitch. I would LOVE to see a bus come at least halfway up the Reservoir/Brook Rd., cover part of 302, pick up at the Park and Ride near Roland’s, & head into Barre. Twice a day at least. I know its rural, but there are lots of people up all these little side roads. And near Roland’s there are several apartments. I think its more populated than it looks. Roland’s and Dollar General are certainly always very busy. I think its also a growing area.
Allison, GMT did do some research with Orange a few years back. It was determined at the time that the costs were too restrictive relative to potential ridership: Unfortunately this is the type of calculus we have to run when considering new routes and/or trips on existing routes.
A major theme of the NextGen study is trade-offs: With a limited budget, more service on one route likely means less service elsewhere. More geography on one route likely means fewer trips on that route, or more trips most likely means less geography… We have to rely on census data for a town’s population and its residents’ travel patterns, as well as using approximate estimates for ridership capture. When looking at smaller populations and applying a “typical” 1-3% mode share (1-3% of people might ride the bus), coupled with inflexible operating costs, the math simply does not support expansion to all towns.
As I’ve suggested in previous posts, GMT’s long-range Transit Development Plan will most likely include expansion to some markets not currently served, while the NextGen Plan is more of a near-term planning document aimed at fixing our existing services. I don’t write any of this to discourage participation and interest, so hope you do stay interested and continue to reach out to GMT and your local officials.
David – Planning Manager
Why do we that live in the Berlin/Barre/Montpelier service area have to call GMT and schedule with people who are working in a “Call Center” which is based in Burlington – This has caused troubles for me, and I have asked and asked to keep scheduling ALL trips in berlin where they belong? Berlin knows routes, times, schedules and such for what they have scheduled, while BURLINGTON has made mistakes that caused trouble!
Brian
Good afternoon Brian. I’m sorry you have had a less than perfect experience with our trip planners. Consolidating our Planners into one call center afforded us some cost savings. Our staff does their best to understand the needs of the residents in our service areas, but we do cover a large portion of the state. It would be nice if we could have locals staffing call centers around the state but that is not fiscally possible.
If you have any specific issues come up in the future please contact GMT or myself directly.
David – Planning Manager
David:
I appreciate the fact that you want to consolidate the call center to save money, however, what happened to me this year since the change makes any cost saving efforts meaningless if the call center does NOT know what busses serve the Washington and Lamoille Area, and what times busses arrive at stops, and what stop locations would be in this area.
Yes, Gene and Jamie from GMT Berlin are aware of this issue, and assure me that this will be dealt with swift action. I would like to talk to you also – Please feel free to reply and leave appropriate contact info 😉
Thank You David 😉
Brian
Hi,
I live in the Old North End of Burlington and often take the bus with my kids. I have a few suggestions- it is very difficult to travel north-south in the city (without transferring and in that case, it’s quicker to walk). There is no route from the NNE or ONE to the South End. Also, I see the City Loop is under-performing, we do use this bus but why does it only run one direction? It’s difficult to get from UVM to the Old North End. If you do end up eliminating that route, please consider that. Also, I imagine it’s by design that all buses leave the DTC at the same time- but I wonder if you staggered them it would be easier to make connections and allow for some redundancy that could almost mimic 15 minute service during off-peak times. For instance, when traveling to the ONE in the middle of the day the number 8 and 7 both leave at 12:15 (for example). If you miss one, you miss them both. Why not have one leave at 12:00 and one at 12:15?
Great comments/questions Burt. We are looking at interlining routes, such as the #7 and #6 to provide a one seat ride North to South. We are also considering changes to the City Loop, though reversing direction several times a day could be problematic, and additional bus(es) on the City Loop would be hard to justify given our limited resources. Staggering trip times is also being considered.
I appreciate you taking the time to write, please stay tuned!
David – Planning Manager
at National Life, 11-1-17
Consider using Montpelier as a testbed for demand responsive service(s) akin to Chariot in San Fran, Austin, Seattle: Small vans “map out service areas determined by demand” (Vahabzadeh, Founder of Chariot). Keeping empty buses on the road is inefficient, and Montpelier might have the perfect blend of size, demand, and political will, to make something like this work.
at National Life, -11-1-17
Sunday and more midday service between Montpelier and Barre.
David says:
Increased midday service is one improvement we will be pushing strongly for. Sundays will be one suggestion as well, but may be more difficult to achieve due to the additional costs involved. Stay tuned!
I agree Sunday service is needed and later on Saturday. My husband has walked up to 12 miles on Sundays getting to work.
at National Life, 11-1-17
Mad River Valley commuter service to Montpelier
GMT has heard this suggestion before, and included it in our last long-range planning document, or TDP. While we may include it in our soon-to-be updated TDP, our analysis has suggested that the work-based travel patterns to/from the Valley would not support a commuter bus service. All our routes must meet VTrans metrics for ridership and costs; limited ridership/demand would prevent a route from meeting VTrans’ metrics.
at National Life, 11-1-17
Extend US 2 (#84) all the way to St J. Better driver education, as some drivers don’t know routes as well as others.
at National Life, 11-1-17:
Potential to serve National Life on the Wbury Commuter (#83) prior to downtown Montpelier? Along the same lines, schedule AM drop-offs at National Life a little earlier?
Strong support for maintaining #83 service along US Rt. 2 (vs. potential to switch to I89). I ride #83 frequently, boarding at Red Hen Bakery, and know others utilizing that stop as well.
at National Life, 11-1-17:
Rechargeable fare media, akin to Charlie Card (Boston), to replace existing throw away passes.
David says:
Great point! GMT is working on replacing its current fare collection system in order to accept rechargeable passes. This is a long term procurement process, but we are working on it!
David:
This is a GREAT Idea: Is there a way to make it so that:
1> I get a computerized pass, similar to that which Montpelier Housing Authority Residents get, which would have a Name and a Picture, and the ability to recharge and add pass options like: a Link 10 Ride, a City Route Monthly. (31 Day Disabled) Chittenden County Local Route Pass, or the ability to add passes to the card? I carry 3 GMT Passes for riding the bus now, which all expire, but Berlin is not equipped to handle this like Burlington is. If we get a pass like this, then we could recharge it as necessary, rather then having to buy one every 31 days – I have a LINK 10 Ride, the Chittenden County LOCAL Pass and my 31 Day Disabled Pass – Combine these please 🙂
2> This eliminates the need for a bus driver to ask you for your pass, and instead, you show them the pass when you board – I cant access the card reader anyway, so showing the pass to the driver, and having him do something in the computer to say that I am using it would be more effective then having to carry 3 passes onboard.
Brian
BUS Types:
David:
Is it possible to run larger busses in Barre and Montpelier so that we do not have standing passengers on board the Ford or Chevy Cut away busses? I have been riding these busses for a while, and sometimes it is easier (in my opinion) to have a larger bus that can accommodate passengers BEHIND the wheelchair users. Can we use a bus like a Gillig (sp) and have these things running more often – They are bigger, and that way I and other passengers are not relegated to the BACK of a bus because of the wheelchair lockdown locations.
a bus like #350 or #470 is a good size to use because you can put 57 people on board – the Fords and Chevys are all (Chevy: Front Loaders) (Ford: Rear Loaders) smaller and fill up quickly sometimes, and people are standing, holding onto the rail or strap, and sometimes my chair – I see #954. 955, 956, etc in Burlington, but is there something that makes it impossible to run these things more often, other then the fact that they are Stowe Busses?
Please Consider this – Bigger Busses mean more capacity 🙂
Brian
at National Life, 11-1-17:
Better timed transfers between Morrisville and Montpelier, Rt 100 to Wbury Commuter.
At National Life, 11-1-17:
Better Link connection to North Ave, (#7), in the PM. Particularly, a 6:30pm #7 departure from DTC for connection to 5:20pm Link from Nat Life (5pm punchout).
The NextGen Transit Plan does include a scenario which includes 20 minute service on the North Ave (#7). However, regardless of whether or not the NextGen Plan changes are implemented, we could consider shifting trip times to better meet transfers from Links and other Commuter services.
via email:
I think that a commuter line linking Lamoille County and St. Johnsbury may be well-used. Not sure how potential ridership or feasibility is determined, or if this has already been explored. Either way, this is my request.
Thank you, Maxfield English- Wolcott
Thank you Maxfield. New routes are somewhat out of the scope of this project, as the NextGen Plan is more focused on improving our existing services with little to no cost increase(s). However, we will soon be updating our long range planning document, which will include potential new routes.
David
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE add a route from Essex Junction to the Richmond Park & Ride. This would be a huge help to a LOT of people! I would ride the bus every day if this route existed, because I work in Montpelier and live in the village. I know that many people would use this service.
-Elaine Sopchak
Vice President, Essex Junction Board of Trustees
Thank you for the input Ms. Sopchak. We are working hard to identify existing needs and how best to serve them within our existing budget. While new routes aren’t entirely out of the scope of this project, the NextGen Plan is focusing more on improvements via realignments and/or schedule alterations system wide; a “fix-it-first” approach, if you will. With this in mind, our aim is to dial in our existing services, providing a much stronger foundation upon which to build future services, which our Transit Development Plan, (long-term planning document), will address in detail. This document is scheduled to be written in the next year or so, and will address these type expansions.
That said, we are very aware that the Richmond P&R is routinely overburdened, and hope we can work with the State to be part of a solution to that problem.
David – Planning Mgr
via email:
I am a non-driver with a disability (legal blindness) who lives in Underhill. I use the Jeffersonville commuter frequently to get to and from my place of employment in Essex. In addition to environmental reasons for supporting public transportation and less cars, as someone who doesn’t have the privilege of a personal vehicle, I rely on others—including the Jeffersonville commuter—to navigate ordinary and essential activities like work and appointments. Elimination of the Jeffersonville commuter would have a huge impact on my ability to get to work independently.
Also, I briefly reviewed the report from the consultant provided in the e-mail I received announcing the 10/18 stakeholder meeting. It noted that Rout 36 ranked 8 out of 15 in terms of usage for the commuter services offered. 8 out of 15 seems to be a mid-point in terms of usage so it is curious to me that it would be up for elimination if it is fairly average for usage. This seems particularly true for the rural nature of Vermont where the number of riders may not be an adequate measure of a services value. Living in larger cities where public transportation is more readily available is also more expensive in terms of the cost of living.
Heidi
via email:
I am an Underhill resident and regularly take the commuter bus to
Fanny Allen Hospital on two of the three days per week that I work.
What about consolidating the bus to one trip inbound and outbound per
day?
What about using a smaller bus?
I haven’t seen any additional marketing for this service over the past
six months; is there any value in having a special like in the
beginning when you could have a few free tickets in order for people
to see how convenient it is to ride it?
I enjoy taking the bus and find it easy and convenient. I understand
that the ridership really needs to be higher for it to sustain itself.
I would like to see and hear about additional possibilities that could
be presented to all of the towns.
Sue Cromwell
via email:
I am in favor of keeping this route as is or increasing to a mid day run if there were enough riders. Currently I have a family member without other transportation whom uses this bus for appointments in Burlington weekly.
We are grateful for the addition of the commuter service to Jeffersonville. Hoping it will remain.
With respect,
Nancy
via email:
Extend (Jeffersonville Commuter) to Morrisville & improve times for commuters (Copley) then test for a 12-month trial. Right?
Copley should offer incentives to employees to use the bus during the trial!
Ron
Ronald Rodjenski
Town Administrator – Hyde Park
via email:
…what’s needed in my opinion is a mid-day option to get to Burlington and return to Jericho/Underhill/Jeff around mid-day from Burlington. I think that’s more important than the two early/late buses that run today.
Thanks,
Barry
via email:
Please keep bus route 36 going. Its current schedule makes it useful for only a limited number of riders. If we had more bus service instead of less, I’d be glad to use it! My personal need would be to go to, say, Hannaford’s in Essex from the bus stop at the Jericho Post office. It is not convenient for me to plan on spending a whole day grocery shopping in order to take the bus! I am very glad to see and hear of a few riders who are able to take advantage of the current route. I’m all for getting more single-occupancy vehicles off the road.
Chris Sims
Jericho Corners
via email:
Please keep the Route 36 bus. Next year when my youngest is in kindergarten I’m hoping to be able to take the bus from JES to work at UVM!
Thanks!
Renée Bourassa
via email:
I readily admit that as a freelancer who works from home, I do not ride the Route 36 bus but as a member of the Jericho Energy Task Force I feel very strongly that it’s important that we continue this community service. It’s crucial to have an option other than the single occupancy automobile. Please provide a bit more publicity for this route and give it another shot. Perhaps a change in the timing of the schedule might help including the addition of a mid-day bus. Thank you for your consideration.
-Phyl Newbeck
Jericho, VT
via email:
I just have to say, working for almost 20 years at the Harvest Market on Mountain Road, the Green Mountain Transit &/or Mountain Shuttle have been indispensable for the working poor of Stowe. The labor force is getting slimmer and slimmer as people cannot afford rents or working vehicles to get to work. I can only hope that good reliable and affordable transportation for people who are really trying will continue! The service industry in Stowe is at a tipping point. People are not applying for jobs, the businesses cannot afford to pay over $12-$15/hour, and the seasonality leaves people stumped. The small business community needs all the help they can get! We cannot house J9 employees, leaving a sparse amount of qualified candidates to choose from. The shuttle is a perk for those who really want to work in this beautiful community. Please continue!
Madeleine Bertrand-Gerndt
General Manager
Harvest Market
via email:
Leah forwarded the e mail you had sent her on the changes to GMT. As I will not be able to attend the Stowe meeting I wanted to voice my concerns. This bus service is the only way some of the residents at Copley Terrace are able to go grocery shopping. After looking over the proposed changes the only service that would work for Copley Terrace is having a condensed service. If the Terrace only had certain days every week and the residents could count on that, this would be fine. What is being proposed appears to give residents longer times to shop; the present schedule makes for quick shopping trips to not miss the returning bus. The proposal to have residents walk to a main route will not work at all; as some have walkers, canes and can not walk that distance esp. in the winter. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on these changes. This bus service is very important in keeping the residents independent.
Connie
via email:
I have heard of the meeting about the Jeff Commuter that took place today at 1. Unfortunate timing to seek the feedback from those that use the bus, as most are using the bus to commute in to the Burlington area to work….
Anyway, I have been riding the bus since it began 4 years ago, and usually ride it 5 days/week. As such, I obviously have a bias, and am strongly against its elimination. However, as I had stated at a meeting of the Cambridge Conservation Commission, and at town meeting in Cambridge this year, I feel that this service is a strong public asset to our areas. From what I understand from GMT, this bus will NEVER pay for its costs, as no other bus does either, and ridership is down across all GMT routes due to lower gas prices. It needs to be looked at as a public service to the towns–aiding people to continue to commute to jobs, etc when they are unable to drive, either due to income/car issues, or physical and mental disabilities that do not allow them to drive, and as those who would choose not to drive for the environmental issues and preference for public transportation (time, relaxation, etc.).
In addition, I do not feel that GMT has done enough to promote this bus. There is very little awareness of the route in our communities, there has been very little marketing since the initial start-up of the route. Also, the infrastructure needs help to allow the route to grow. There are no shelters for people to stay in while waiting for the bus during inclement weather, especially the cold, in Jeff on Main Street, in Cambridge, or in Jericho. As such, the highest numbers of people get on in Jeff at the Northwoods Joinery and in Underhill Flats because there is adequate parking and people can wait in their cars. There is no parking in Cambridge Village (except for the park and ride which is down the road, and people need to walk on Route 15 to get there), and none in Jericho. If GMT wants to grow this route (a question?), more work needs to be done to promote people’s use of the route.
Please let me know if you have further questions for me, and please keep in touch to let me know of other discussions.
Thank you,
Jennifer Smithers
via email:
Hello there,
I just wanted to make a request that you consider adding a commuter bus through Warren, Waitsfield and Moretown down 100 and 100b into Montpelier. Many of us in the valley commute to Montpelier for work and would love to make use of public transit if it were available.
Thank you,
Emma
via email:
Thank you for taking the time to come out to Jeffersonville and present the status of the Commuter bus. I have some thoughts that I believe could increase ridership and promote the bus in an effort to sustain future growth for GMTA and Lamoille County.
initially, I think the issue of advertising should be put on the table, as a place to invest dollars. while a good first step has been to place banner ads on the busses them selves. The reality is that advertising on the bus gives people who see the ads the information, but is really only catering to that market. In my view, the markets we miss are the tourist markets at the airports, and train stations.
My thought is that, if we advertise to tourists staying in hotels, as well as those landing at major airports, and arriving in Vermont via train, that there is a bus, dedicated to taking visitors to the states to the two major ski resorts in Lamoille County, we will, over time, increase ridership and boost the numbers. This step comes with a caveat, It is most beneficial to have to more runs of the Jeffersonville Commuter one mid morning and one mid afternoon, to allow for the skiers to get to and from their hotels in Burlington. Additionally, Someone should reach out to Smuggs to find out if they would be willing to work out a combination deal, such as if one were to purchase a round trip ticket to Jeffersonville, there would be a small ski discount for the day.
Moreover, getting some special shuttle in place for the colleges in Burlington to come out to Smuggs, and one to Stowe once or twice a day. Again, working with the colleges to offer a special rate on the fare and the tickets for students who utilize this system. It presents more money for GMT and promotes business in the area.
And in conclusion, for the moment, a bus that connects students at Johnson State College to both the Morrisville buses, and to the Jeffersonville commuter.
All of this is very ambitious, but I think can be done. I am willing to work on any or all of the pieces to help move the project along, I would like to hear you thoughts. As well as what I can do to be active in making these thoughts a reality
Timothy R. Burgess
Adding information to your comment about shuttles from Burlington colleges to ski areas, there is a bus to each ski area from UVM for UVM Ski & Snowboard Club members which run Saturday and Sunday throughout the ski season, I don’t know if there is a bus service from Champlain College but I believe there is some form, possibly not as extensive, from St. Michael’s. As a college student I don’t think that there should be a bus encouraging students to go skiing on weekdays when they likely should be in class.
Kestrel Owens
Via email re: Jeffersonville Commuter
I dont know exact rider count but i pass those buses in the AM on my way to work and i dont see anyone on them…waste of fuel, waste of tax dollars that can go to more useful things…drop the routes.
Keith
Via email:
This is Tony Julianelle. I live in Underhill and take the route 36 bus about 3 days, roundtrip from Underhill to the UVM medical center per week. Obviously, I am biased but I think that the bus should continue. In order to make it more cost effective, I would suggest consider the following
1) Don’t run the bus when UVM is not in session. I heard that over the Christmas break, ridership was very low.
2) Run just one bus in the mornings and one in the afternoons.
3) Don’t run the bus beyond the Underhill stop. This would hurt several people. This would also make the route about 18 miles
Any of these ideas will cause some trouble for some people, including me. But not as much as if the route is cancelled.
It seems to me that recently the popularity of the bus has increased; specifically for the late morning bus.
I cannot make the meeting on Wednesday as I am working. I would suspect that most, if not all, of the ridership of the bus is in the same position that I am in. Why couldn’t this meeting be held in the evening, when the people who use the bus might be able to attend?
Sincerely,
Tony Julianelle
A bench/enclosure at Main and Winooski would be really nice, as would a 10:30 am departure for the 1 to Williston.
Having an Early Bird would be very helpful for those who start early shifts. Especially going into Burlington, and being able to make the first bus leaving. Many commuters simply use cherry street as a Hub. But need to get there first to head to work or home. They can’t make the first buses leaving because there is NO bus picking them up to make it.
Thank you for your comment Drew. We understand that our existing (and future) services don’t/can’t work for everyone, which is simply a matter of budget versus demand. Hopefully our current and future services can work for as many people as possible!
David – GMT Planning Manager
via email:
Hello,
Thanks so much for providing great public transportation.
I’m just writing to suggest that you add a LINK bus between Montpelier and Burlington on the weekend. I travel back and forth frequently, and even just one trip a day would make a huge difference to me. I have also heard this sentiment from several other people who split their time between the two towns.
Thanks!
Ari
Hi Ari. We often hear people asking for weekend Link service, which is something we are currently unable to afford given our level of service. Without additional funding, additional Link trips are not possible without reducing service elsewhere. However, as part of this study we have included Saturday Montpelier Link service in the potential service options, so this is something we’re considering. Thanks for the input!
David – GMT Planning Manager
I work at Vermont Teddy Bear as the VP Finance. I do not ride the bus myself, but my window overlooks the bus stop. At the end of the day (especially during our peak season), I often see 5 to 10 people or more lined up at the bus stop. Our employees can buy bus passes through the company and many people take advantage of that program. I’m assuming that the data used for this analysis/recommendation was not collected during our winter months or it would have shown a much higher utilization of the Vermont Teddy Bear stop.
As CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear, I know that a lot of my employees use the bus system to get to and from their jobs. Part of the data that is missing from your analysis is the number of employees that make the trek from Shelburne Museum to Vermont Teddy Bear, especially during the winter months. I would think that seeing the number of people walking through the snow on Route 7 with traffic whizzing by would motivate MTA to increase the service to VTB, rather than decrease. I want to do everything I can to protect the valued members of my team and keep them safe as they help us address our seasonal needs.
Thank you Bill, Katie and Vicki. We appreciate what Vermont Teddy Bear brings to the local and State economies, and further appreciate its interest in providing a public transit option to its employees. The Town of Shelburne is also interested in increasing #6 Shelburne Rd bus service past Marsett Rd, so you’re not alone in this request. While such an expansion seems simple on paper, it is a little more complex, involving pedestrian access along VT Rt 7 (state maintained), potential assessment increases, ADA service expansion, bus accessibility, potential demand, and travel times… These issues are not unique to the #6 or VTB/Shelburne Green, in fact some of them get to the heart of this study, namely when/where/which trade-offs to make (longer trip times for more geography vs shorter trips to less geography): From our perspective, there is often no “right” answer.
You and others continue to provide quality feedback for the NextGen study, please keep it up! While Study recommendations may or may not include reduced or expanded service along Rt 7, this does NOT necessarily suggest they will, or will not, be implemented. Also, GMT will put together a longer-term planning document in the near future, which would also include a discussion on route #6 expansion. Please stay involved!
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/09/amazons-hq2-hunt-is-a-transit-reckoning/541296/
I just read this article today, and while Vermont would likely never attract an Amazon, nor could our transit system(s) be compared to those like Seattle’s, there are some important takeaways: I think the biggest being understanding trade-offs when designing and implementing transit systems, such as “frequent well-connected service” outperforming services with an “emphasis on wide geographic coverage”. Thoughts??
David
Via email:
I called to inquire why the hospital hill route does not leave Montpelier until 7:30 in the a.m. when people have to be at work
at 7:00 a.m. were the bus routes not put into play for people to get to work. I was recently offered a job at Woodridge Nursing
Home but could not accept because there’s no bus & that’s what I rely on for transportation. I think the scheduling should be looked into not all of us work 8-4 or 9-5 jobs. Also I ride the us 2 commuter & I live in Woodbury Vermont I have to go to Marshfield
to catch CTA as we’ve tried for years to get a commuter on route 14 to no avail. We went from town to town got 150 signatures
townspeople supporting this. Tanya Kristen has all the information. Even the representatives supported this maybe this should
looked into also. Thank You for your time.
Jill
Hi Jill, thanks for the note. Your comment on the MHH route is exactly the type of input we’re seeking from passengers and non-passengers alike. I will add these comments to our NextGen blog, https://ridegmt.wpengine.com/study-feedback/
We are aware of public interest in a commuter route along Rt 14. Your efforts at generating public interest should be commended! While this is outside the scope of the NextGen plan, it will be included in our longer range planning document (Transit Development Plan) which we plan on updating in 2018/2019. (FYI, Rt 14 Hardwick to Montpelier is in our current TDP, https://ridegmt.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/GMTATDP_FINAL22.pdf ) While this inclusion helps keep it on our radar, factors preventing a route’s development include total cost, grant availability, willingness/ability for towns to pay local match, total population and likely transit demand, etc. Consequently, many ideas in our TDP(s) won’t see the light of day, though that should not be interpreted as a “no” for Rt 14 somewhere in the future.
We appreciate your interest and input! Please stay involved in the NextGen project!
Via email:
Hello,
I’m wondering if there has ever been consideration of moving back the afternoon departure times for the #83 bus by ~30 minutes, making the departure times from People’s United Bank be 3:35, 4:35, and 5:35pm. I would like to propose this change, and believe there is a strong case to be made for it. This is of personal interest to me as I use the LINK express to Montpelier on a daily basis and will soon be relocating to Waterbury and would like to continue using public transportation to commute to Montpelier.
In reviewing the schedule for the 83 bus, it does not line up very well with someone who works a typical 8.5 hour day. In order to be at work at 8am, an individual would need to get on the bus that leaves the Waterbury Senior Center at 7:17 and arrives at People’s United Bank at 7:42. That part works out fine. The problem is getting home! There is a bus that leaves People’s United at 4:05pm, but most people (myself included) are required to take a 30-minute unpaid lunch and if they arrive at 8am, cannot leave work until 4:30pm. The only bus after this is at 5:05pm. So people getting done work at 4:30pm have to wait 35 minutes for the bus to Waterbury. Not only that, but this is the last bus of the day! Now, one could show up for work at 8:30am and then leave at 5:00pm and only have to wait 5 minutes for the bus. However, the morning bus schedule isn’t conducive to arriving at work at 8:30am. The arrivals to People’s United Bank are at 7:42, 8:42, and 9:42am. Someone showing up to work at 8:45am is probably going to have to stay until 5:15-5:30pm.
This is why I am proposing that the afternoon departure from People’s United Bank to be moved back by ~30 minutes. This will allow workers who are starting their day at ~8am to take an ~4:35pm departure, and for workers arriving closer to 9am to be able to take a bus home at ~5:35pm.
Derek
Thank you for your note Derek. As part of this study, we are looking at issues exactly like you mention. Altered trip times as well as the potential to use I89 rather than Rt 2 for the Wbury Commuter will also be examined.
In my position as the VP of Operations at Vermont Teddy Bear, I know that many of my employees use the bus to get back and forth to work. I’m surprised that the survey results only showed 2 riders. I am aware of more than that and the number only increases when we get into our seasonal peak. Giving our employees a safe, cost-effective option to get to work is critical to our business.
I am the Director of HR at Vermont Teddy Bear. We offer seasonal employment to many residents of the Burlington area. Bus route 6 gives many of these employees a travel option that is both convenient and economic. It is an important connection to get these employees from their homes to their source of income. Being on the bus route has proven to be a strong value proposition when we talk to potential employees about their interest in working here.
Hi David… a follow-up to the meeting you had with the McAuley Square crew on Friday. Just to clarify, my understanding is you are seriously thinking of reducing the City Loop runs from every 30 minutes to every hour.. Concomitantly, you would be reducing the stops to McCauley and Fern Hill to once every 2 hours? I’ve been running this by residents here, and they agree that making the runs so infrequent will effectively squelch motivation to take the buses.. The end result would be a very significant drop in ridership, especially given a potential 1 and 30 min (or more) wait for a return trip. Please let me know if my assumption is correct.. Thank-you.
Lynn, Mira, and Mararet, (and other residents): Thank you for your time and interest in our service analysis. Your opinions and input will help us better understand your needs and how the service currently helps (or doesn’t help) you. As I mentioned during our meeting, our consultant has made some service suggestions, based on public transit “best practices”, with the goal of maximizing the efficiencies of our routes/system. Trade-offs will need to be made, such as more trips along a smaller geography versus fewer trips along a larger geography.
That said, please understand that these suggestions are only initial impressions of specific routes. We will continue to gather input from residents, riders, and non-riders in order to come up with appropriate service recommendations for our Board. Even if a service recommendation is approved, that still doesn’t necessarily mean it will be implemented, as we would continue to follow our public hearing policy, which can sometimes prove a concept wrong or make it unreasonable to implement.
Stay involved and tell your friends. The more people from the City/County/State weighing in the better this project will turn out!
Hi David Armstrong at GMT, and thanks for meeting with me and two friends yesterday at the GMT office. After our meeting, on our ride home, we reflected on what we had learned about some of the possible changes that may be made to Route #8, the “City Loop” in Burlington, which is the bus line that we depend on.
We had initially been quite discouraged to read on-line that GMT’s consultant is suggesting eliminating bus service altogether to both Fern Hill and McAuley Square (the senior housing apartment buildings in which 2 of us live, with our 3rd friend residing at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, which is opposite Fern Hill on Prospect Street). The consultant’s rationale is that Fern Hill is only a 1-minute walk from the bus stop up on Prospect Street, and that McAuley Square is only a 4-minute walk from another bus stop on Prospect. The problems with this (forcing seniors and people with disabilities) to walk those 1 or 2 blocks) are:
1. The 1-minute walk from Fern Hill to the bus stop on Prospect is an uphill walk, and “uphill” is difficult for some folks who have disabilities. Which means they will most likely not take the bus, which means they will have no bus service.
2. In the winter especially, many of our residents, especially those using wheelchairs and walkers, cannot safely do that 1- or 4- minute walk in/on ice, snow, or rain. Which means they will most likely not take the bus, which means they will have no bus service.
With the above factors in mind, we believe that GMT would not wish to leave us totally without curb-side service. However, we are concerned that GMT may decide to take away service which would leave us with a (curb-side) bus only every two hours, stopping at both Fern Hill and McAuley Square, and also St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly on that once-every-two-hours trip. In our view, that would be pretty terrible — it would almost be like having no bus service at all. Unless one was absolutely desperate to get somewhere, I think it’s unlikely there would be many of us taking the bus. A-bus-every-2-hours would most likely involve very long waiting times, to get to where you’re going, and then also upon the return trip.
Thank you for taking our input and we’ll look forward to finding out the date in October or November when we understand GMT will call a meeting to get public opinion in person.
Sincerely,
Mira Fakirananda
McAuley Square
I work in Vermont’s largest town (Burlington) and live in the second-largest (Essex). I almost never commute by bus, in part because there is no direct service between the two, and in part because the closest the #2 bus reaches to my house is 3 miles. I’ve sent various proposals over the years on how to improve the connection. In short: speed is more important than frequency. Offer express runs that make no detours, especially the detour to the rear of the hospital. Service Essex Center via I-289 on its own route. Offer pick-up and drop off at or near the Route 2A and I-289 park-and-ride. When you design the service for those who can’t drive, you only get those riders. That does not prove there is no potential to cut into the car-commuting crowd. You need to offer service that is not much slower than driving.
Thank you Moshe, these are interesting ideas. This study and the resulting recommendations revolve around trade-offs: 15 minute service on the existing #2 Essex route is quite robust, yet it sounds as though the route doesn’t suit your needs precisely. While this is lamentable relative to your needs, we feel that it is doing a commendable job for the majority. The trade-off in reducing its number of trips along Rt 15 from the Jct to operate along 289 from the Ctr may justify itself, but it would likely be very close on a ridership basis. Also, and unfortunately, the P&R of which you speak is not city-bus accessible (no pull-through). For sure, lack of parking at Amtrak is an issue which impacts accessibility to our system, though this is out of the scope of our project. My comments aside, there can always be improvements to our routes and system. And I am by no means the absolute authority, nor do I get the final say in any of these matters. This is a great venue for your ideas, and they will be considered along with any other input we receive. Please stay involved with this project and in the future, as trade-off questions are always critical to what we do, and the more input we receive the more informed and sound our decisions will be.
I am writing to express my support for continuing the Route 6 extension to Waldorf School, Vermont Day School and Vermont Teddy Bear. As others have shared, Vermont Day School has 12 students that depend on this morning bus service (7:57 am arrival) to get to school each day. Our school is growing each year, and we expect that ridership on this route will increase as well. We would also love to see the timing of the afternoon bus (3:42 pm) be shifted 20 minutes earlier to align with our dismissal time. We would likely have 10-12 students who would use this afternoon bus service to return back to Burlington. The children love riding the bus and it is a vital service for working parents who need to get their children to/from school. Of course, the added benefits of reducing pollution and traffic congestion along Route 7 are hugely important as well. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Vermont Day School if we can provide additional input that would helpful. – Sage Bagnato, Head of School, Vermont Day School
This is to add another voice to the group of families who are served by the Waldorf School–and now the Vermont Day School–extension. It appears that this study was conducted before the arrival of Vermont Day School, which opened its doors in 2015. In two years enrollment at the school has tripled, with many students coming from the Burlington area. Between 10-12 children regularly ride each school morning. While this ridership may not meet the study’s recommended guidelines, it certainly meets GMT’s goals of “reducing congestion and pollution, encouraging transit oriented development and enhancing the quality of life for all.” In addition to being of tremendous convenience to many families, the route is helping to cultivate another generation of competent, confident bus riders. We hope that GMT will reconsider eliminating this route.
This comment is on behalf of the VT Day school community, served by Route 6, Shelburne Road. Our school stop is located just before Teddy Bear, and only can be accessed by virtue of the Teddy Bear extension. Currently 9 children depend on the 7:57am stop at VT Day school daily to get to school. The ridership has grown each year. In addition, a number of students (I do not know the total, but three get on with the VDS children each morning) ride the same bus to Waldorf school. It appears that the route profile suggests that these stops may be eliminated. Before taking such a dramatic measure, please consider the impact on schoolchildren and count them appropriately. This means you need to count how many schoolchildren ride the bus on days when their schools are in session. It is useless to count this ridership on days when schools are not running (e.g. summer, fall break). Please make sure to preserve the school routes on school days — especially in the morning (we have been begging for an afternoon trip too, but so far those requests have not moved forward at all). Thank you.
Correction: Apparently not 9, but 12 Vermont Day School students ages 5-11 now ride the morning bus to school!
Emily is correct there are 12 students using the bus, and the school is clearly growing enrollment therefore demand will increase further over time.
This is a fantastic resource to our children increasing their independence and sense of self.
It would be a shame to lose this route in the morning and I would plead that an afternoon route be added for the children to return home which gives the added benefit of reducing afternoon traffic on route 7.
1. UMall / Airport #12 Sunday service – the Mall closes at 6PM but the bus doesn’t arrive for nearly an hour after closing (6:55PM). Can there be an earlier time for shoppers and employees? It’s an unsafe feeling to be at the Mall bus stop that long after the Mall closes and the parking lot becomes deserted. It will feel more unsafe as daylight hours are shortened.
2. Lighting would be greatly appreciated at the shelters where it’s currently waiting for repair/replacement. Again, it’s a serious safety issue and more so now that the daylight hours are getting shorter. Some shelters have no nearby street lighting and it’s nearly impossible to see inside some of these bus shelters at night. Dark bus shelters don’t encourage bus ridership. Thanks!
Hi Renny, I’ll respond to each separately:
1) You are right that Sunday service is deficient in some cases, and we are working on addressing that. The NextGen Plan is identifying weaknesses such as this, and recommending methods to improve them. The end result ultimately comes down to trade-offs: We have a limited budget, limited number of buses, and a limited number of drivers with which to accomplish many competing goals. One example is yours, “Should we offer more robust weekend service at the expense of some weekday trips?” Hopefully we get plenty of public participation which will help the GMT Board of Commissioners make well-informed decisions.
2) Our previous solar-lighting contractor is no longer in business, so we’ve been doing our homework on a quality replacement. We now have some shelters scheduled for upgrade/replacement this Fall. As mentioned above, we do have to work within a budget, so this lighting project may take longer than you (or we) would like.
David
Please correct me if I’m wrong here. It’s my understanding that Route Shout is activated by the bus drivers for each route. There’s an ongoing issue of some drivers neglecting to activate it. Since it depends on the driver and there can be more than one driver on a route each day, the service is not always available. How about some sort of reminder on-board the bus for the drivers to activate the device so the availability of Route Shout is more consistent?
Also, it would be great to have Route Shout operating on weekends, too. Why is it only available Monday – Friday? Some riders work on weekends. For others, it would be great to be able to make timely connections to meet up with friends, attend weekend events, etc. It’s not a good feeling to rely upon the transit system when it’s impossible to know where the bus is…has it come yet…have I missed it…or needing to stand in the rain/cold/heat/wind for an extended time to increase the odds of catching the ride.
For instance, the CV Fair is here now and there’s no weekend Route Shout to help time the connections to get there and then home again. If the rider misses the ‘last bus out of Dodge’ – well, that’s not a great scenario as it would mean being stuck with no transportation home (other than an expensive cab ride). It would alleviate a lot of commuter anxiety to be able to ‘see’ that a bus is arriving early (don’t want to miss it!) or is going to be a little late (no, it hasn’t already come and gone).
We apologize for the hiccups with the RouteShout software Mel. We certainly have had our share of frustrations with the new product, and understand they carry through to you, the end-user. We are doing our best to get them ironed out, and are confident that once up to snuff, the software will have a huge positive impact.
David
I do not own a car and ride the Williston 1V almost ever week day to get to and from work at UVM. I am fortunate that my employer picks up the cost for me to take the bus.. I am disappointed in the 1V ridership and the empty buses that flow thru Williston. I am frustrated that people do not park their cars and take the bus.. Once you make it part of your routine, you will find taking the bus relaxing and money saving. I am fortunate that I live near the Tafts Corner corridor and are able to walk a little farther to catch other Williston 1 busses. I do not wish to get to work earlier or home later but I think the time has come to consolidate routes. Perhaps consolidate the 2 -1 V runs that come in the morning and consolidate the 2 runs in the late afternoon/early evening and eliminate the mid day runs or devise a new route that goes up to Walmart and then into Williston Village. Once ridership increases , re-establish routes to meet the needs of riders.
Hi Robin, thank you for the note, your comments are refreshingly astute. The cold reality is that not all our routes perform optimally. This study is intended to identify areas we can improve, be it via altering trip times or, as you suggest, merging times and/or services. I urge you to stay involved and continue to voice your concerns/ideas!
David
Thanks David
Here is an observations in riding the 4:35 outbound Williston 1V :
The 1V outbound constantly has to tell college students looking to take a bus from University Heights that the 1V does not go to UMall or Walmart. Since the busses going to UMall, Walmart and Williston Village are not full, it seems that one bus should be going to all 3 places versus separate busses.
After reading all the recent comments, my little suggestion for Lamoille County seems trivial. Our service here is limited to weekdays, but the farmers market at Hannaford’s is on Saturdays during the summer months. Perhaps you could add a seasonal route, like Stowe, for those times? A trip in the morning and another (or Two!) in the afternoon, so that riders could access the market and get some errands and shopping done as well.
Good morning Arrianna
Thank you, that is an interesting idea. Considering new/different scenarios and routes, is what this study is all about. Please stay engaged over the summer.
Alain
Undoubtedly, Park and Ride lots serve critical roles in improving rider convenience and increasing ridership. However, some Park and Ride lots are legacy locations poorly suited for bus service, thereby making trips longer and less competitive with driving, ultimately reducing ridership. It’s a difficult balance, and I appreciate GMT’s efforts to find compromises. For example, direct Montpelier – Burlington trips are 20 minutes shorter when stops in Richmond and Waterbury are excluded.
Will the NextGen Transit Plan address Park and Ride locations? For example, servicing the Waterbury Park and Ride on the 86 route adds between 8 and 16 minutes to each trip (I’ve timed it) because the lot is located two narrow streets off the heavily congested Route 100 and over a narrow bridge built in 1928. Often, the bus must wait for traffic to clear before crossing the bridge. How can Green Mountain Transit work with VTrans and the Town of Waterbury to locate and fund a new Park and Ride location? Thank you to GMT staff and the advisory committee for your work on the transit plan.
Good morning Philip
Thank you for your input and kind words. Park & Ride lots, as you said, are a key factor for the success of our commuter bus. So yes part of the CSA is to study them. VTrans is part of the NextGEn advisory committee, we are working with them already. But even if we changed the location (for example) of the Waterbury P&R, it will add minutes to the trip. Direct trips will be always faster. Maybe the solution would be to add more direct trips. That’s why the CSA is made.
Stay tune, and visit regularly our NextGen site “ridegmt.com/nextgen”
Alain
I agree with Philip’s comment on Park and Ride locations. Sure, direct trips with a car will always be faster than taking the bus, but GMT and VTrans should consider some long-term planning of park and ride lots. I sometimes take the #96 to work from Winooski to Georgia and the bus needs about 5 minutes to pull into the Colchester Park and Ride and return to the freeway. It’s about the same amount of time for the Georgia Park and Ride. In fact, it takes so much time that the 96 no longer includes a return trip from Georgia to Winooski/Burlington in the evening.
If the park and ride lots were located next to the freeway (like Georgia Park and Ride) and if the bus could simply pull into another lane next to the freeway (like under the freeway bridge, with a path and steps to the park and ride lot), then there would be no need for the bus to take the regular exit ramps. This is done in other parts of the country and could also be done here if we planned for it. It would save a good 5 minutes at each park and ride stop, and would greatly improve service on long distance routes with multiple park and ride stops.
I realize that NextGen is medium-range planning, but you should consider park and ride lot replacement and freeway ramp design in your long term planning.
A lot of other cities use the “Rider” or “TransLoc” mobile app to help riders locate buses. I suggest GMT work towards adding their buses to these apps too. Many a time, buses are late and riders are left wondering whether they missed it or it’s late. I’m sure it won’t take much time and money to get this done and it’ll be really really helpful for riders.
Hi Ruchira
Thank you for your input, we are currently working with RouteShout 2.0. This app will help you to know where and when your bus is.
Direction on how to download can be found here: https://ridegmt.wpengine.com/download-routeshout-here
Very interested in having a bus stop at First in Fitness at 652 Granger Road Barre, VT 05641. You currently have a bus or buses coming to our location at least once every day. And it is on the way to CVMC offices and Rehab center. I did collect a couple of hundred signatures (mainly Montpelier residents) last fall of people that would be interested in having us on your bus route. There are a number of Montpelier and Barre residents that would find the bus beneficial to allow them access to our facility to help maintain a healthy lifestyle, but we also have Choice Physical Therapy and Many Word Herbs (herbalist, acupuncture, massage and more).
Good morning Janice
Thank you for your inpu. We will include your comment in the ongoing study. If you have more comments or suggestions, I invite you to fill out the survey on the NextGen site.
Stay tune.
Alain
Via email:
Route 1V: Employees of IBM, Global Foundries, People’s United Bank and General Dynamics would appreciate a stop as close as safely possible at the intersection of Redmond Road/Mountain View. There is no shoulder on Mountain View and it is unsafe for walking. Please consider adding a stop.
We have gone back and forth on stop placements on Mtn View Rd for some time. As you point out, the lack of shoulder or sidewalk, coupled with the speed limit, makes stopping the bus in the roadway challenging at best, and potentially dangerous at worst. Cooperation with our member communities will be an essential part of the implementation of this Plan, so the more of these type comments we receive the better! (You’re not the only one asking for better access along Mtn View Rd.)
David
I commute daily from Johnson to St Albans. St Albans is a big federal town with lots of commuters in to the city. Any chance a Lamoille County to St Albans route would be considered. It could run from Morrisville to St Albans. I know of several people in the community that make that drive daily.
Good morning Philip
While it is difficult to align all services for all potential trips, (St Albans to Johnson for instance), we do our best with our given resources. We will be looking at making more connections feasible and convenient, though some may just be too impractical to incorporate.
Alain
Via Facebook:
Mel Casto Gordon: Mont-Williston1 link each way to Burlington on Sat. More trips from East Montpelier
Hi Mel
Thank you for the note. We are studying of the possibility to have a Montpelier LINK Express running on Saturday, it’s part of the all comprehensive system analyses.
Via Facebook:
Angel Steeze Ortiz: Some more times for Milton would be nice
Good morning Angel
The current schedule for the Milton commuter may not work for everyone, we are considering our options with this study. Stay connected.
Via Facebook:
Luke Jonathan: also getting your times and buses synced with Google maps would be useful. Bigger cities have that and it’s a huge help
Hi
Thank you for your input, we have already implemented RouteShout 2.0. Direction on how to download can be found here: https://ridegmt.wpengine.com/download-routeshout-here/
Hi Alain,
RouteShout 2.0 does not include any information for the 116 Commuter route. What’s the timetable for adding this route to the app?
Via Facebook:
How about a run from Jeffersonville to Johnson to Morrisville. Would need to be 2x/day so people could reach the bus to Waterbury or just jobs in morrisville, Stowe and south?
Thank you for taking the time to write us Kyle!
If we cover more geography there is a chance that we have to reduce services. It’s not easy to make choices. But comments like yours give us ideas. Stay tuned and certainly continue to participate!!
Via Facebook:
Aja Mae Tracy: Essex center isn’t serviced between 9:30am and 1:00pm, which means if I go into town for an early appointment, I can’t go home after. Maybe more buses to the center, less of a break during the day?
Thank you for the note Ms. Tracy. The #4 bus is being considered along with our other routes. You may read about it in the “route profile” section of the NextGen plan website. As I like to point out, this study is all about understanding and working with trade-offs, such as a reduced number of trips for longer span of service throughout the entire day, or shorter span with a higher number of trips. Gaps in service are less than ideal, so I understand your frustration with the existing #4 schedule. Please stay involved with this process!
David
I was thinking that maybe as a trade off for having more runs during the day, maybe the runs could be reduced to once an hour during the gap of time it doesn’t run as of now and maybe in the evening?
Via Facebook:
Bekka Rivers: More buses that go up indutral ave right now theres only one in the am and one in the pm!
Hi Bekka. The current trips on Industrial Ave (two AM, one midday, two PM) may not work for everyone’s schedule and we apologize for that. We are considering our options relative to Industrial Ave, stay tuned!
David
Industrial Ave Is part of my commute. If ever there was a need for more bus service, some nice shelters and safe access to them it’s on Industrial Ave! I see many people (mostly young people) standing waiting for the bus every evening. In the winter they are exposed to the elements, the area is poorly lit and is not pedestrian friendly. Two covered stops on each side of the road would do wonders and might incentivize the municipalities to build sidewalks. Probably also expand demand for your services. Many young people want to work in places with access to transit. This is an easy one, folks!
Via Facebook:
Stefanie Barron: The route shout app!! It has not been working properly at all for weeks. Half of the time buses are not showing up in the map which makes it hard to track it. There’s a lot of glitches and bugs that still need to be worked out I think. When it does work though it’s awesome and I never miss the bus. I’m glad that you offer a app that helps you not miss the bus.
Hi Stefanie. GMT realizes that the RouteShout app has some frustrating glitches. We are working on them as they crop up and hopefully it’s working better these days. One issue we’re trying to address is if/when an assigned bus can’t operate as scheduled and a backup bus does the work, this often doesn’t show in RouteShout… We’re certainly making headway, and are encouraged that many passengers are finding tremendous value in it.
David
David, I see in the 1/1V study that the 1V may be dropped. I’d like to encourage GMTA to consider finding a way to continue morning and evening service along Industrial Ave if deemed viable. There isn’t a crosswalk near the intersection of Industrial Ave and Williston Rd, and Industrial Ave doesn’t offer sidewalks to those committing from and to Whitecap.
Thank you for taking the time to look through these docs and offer feedback Rick! This study is all about trade-offs: More geography covered via fewer trips, or more trips and less geography, etc… None of this is easy, and feedback like yours helps qualify sterile ridership data. Stay tuned and certainly continue to participate!!
David
I gave up my car for environmental and financial reasons. Quickly learned we could. E doing a whole lot better with our public transportation.
The service between Burlington and Montpelier is missing out on serving a whole section of the population.
For us in the service industry it would sure help if the bus started an hour or two earlier each day and ended later in the evening.
Also why is there no weekend service between the two cities? At least an early morning bus and a couple evening, late night busses? That schedule would serve both people wanting to work weekends, enjoy the entertainment, service, dining and such in each city/town and also serve the airport. We are going to need to make these changes eventually, why not start now? Thanks
Hi Bettina. I’m glad the service has worked for you, even if it’s not perfect yet. Unfortunately we are severely constrained by a limited budget: We attempt to serve the most common trip needs, however these clearly don’t align with everyone’s needs, such as yours. Weekend service between Montpelier and Burlington is a common request, but this comes down to making a trade-off decision. With a limited budget, should we cut other service to pay for weekend Link service? These discussions are central to the NextGen Plan and will require potentially difficult decisions by our Board and our member communities, and comments like yours help inform those decisions.
David
I ride the bus almost every day from Richmond park and ride to UVM Med Center and am pretty pleased with it.
I would love to see a later departure from Burlington, say 8:30 – 9pm that would allow many of us to finish work and go out for a bite or adult beverage in town, and then catch that “last bus” back out to Richmond, Waterbury and perhaps Montpellier.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you for your patronage John! Yes, a later trip would be great. Thanks for taking the time to write.
David
There is so much talk about intermodal connectivity but very little real thought about connections. Why is it so hard to get to /from the airport from/to downtown Burlington? Why must it take 45 minutes to get to the train in Essex Junction? Why can’t GMT figure out how to carry more than two bicycles on a bus? All of these improvements seem basic to any real intermodal system. Also, improved real time information on bus arrivals would make an intermodal network function more smoothly.
Andrew, we have specific plans to restore direct service between Burlington and the Airport. We understand that a one bus trip is far superior than a transfer with luggage, tired, etc. The trip on the #2 between downtown Burlington and the Essex Amtrak station is scheduled to take just under 40 minutes. Google maps suggests 23 minutes via car on a similar route. Of course bus trips are longer, there are many intermediary stops: Could we run an express direct between the two “hubs”? Sure. However, to my knowledge yours is the first time we’ve heard of the need for a quicker connection to Amtrak. We are certainly including inter-modal connectivity in our NextGen study; specifically to other intrastate providers, (RCT, ACTR, Stagecoach, etc.), Amtrak, LCTC ferries, and the airport. Two bike racks are industry standard. We have experimented with three, but they are too large and impede turning radii on our larger buses. Similar to most other agencies, we do allow folding bikes aboard our buses. Lastly, our Routeshout software does continue to experience bugs, but we are working to smooth them out as they materialize.
The distinction between “stakeholders” and “public” is potentially misleading. Why does the Advisory Committee have only consultants and paid employees of transit agencies? If “public input” is truly desired, why are public meetings only scheduled for the end of the NextGen process? I think the “public” should have been involved from the start of this initiative and that they (we) are clearly “stakeholders” in the future of the transit system. The survey is not an adequate tool for public involvement/input.
Hi Andrew. Our Advisory Committee members are from our Board of Commissioners and various County Planning Commissions. The Committee hears input from GMT staff and our contracted consultant, and its primary function is to help guide the process to help ensure we don’t overlook something. The Advisory Committee meetings are open to the public: Our next meeting is scheduled for Aug 8, 2pm at GMT in Burlington. At this point in the study, the consultant team continues to analyze our existing systems and services (statewide). We have done some outreach to larger “stakeholder” groups as well, such as a very large group of healthcare providers in Franklin County. We have been receiving quality input via this website and Facebook, thank you for your comments as well. Aside from this study, we are constantly hearing from the public on suggested improvements, and the NextGen survey serves as a tool, albeit somewhat basic as you suggest. We know we have opportunities for improving our systems, and highly value the public’s input. We will most certainly be holding much more focused public outreach in the coming weeks, including farmer’s markets, for example.
The tiered system we’re trying to use is 1) Advisory Committee, responsible for end product recommendation to GMT Board, 2) Stakeholders, larger groups such as town planners, healthcare providers, etc., who can help highlight specific areas of need relative to their expertise, and 3) Public, both passengers and non-passengers alike, who are intimate with our system and/or have further ideas such as yours re: intermodal connections. ALL input is critical, so please feel free to attend any future meetings (NextGen or GMT Board), and to continue to use this blog personally or recommend it to friends/colleagues.
David
I know this sounds a little silly considering all the scheduling issues above, but additional simple bus shelters at the stops in the Montpelier area? When the weather is wet or stormy, having a little shelter, like one with a roof, makes a huge difference. I ride the Rte 2 commuter and often need to carry my electronics. Sometimes an umbrella isn’t enough to keep me and my bag dry.
Thanks Laura. We understand shelters can be very attractive to generating ridership! We sometimes struggle with financing shelter purchases, but often the larger issue is right of way. There are very specific requirements based on size of the cement under/around the shelter and there is frequently not enough room and/or slope issues to contend with. Lastly, it is difficult to justify a shelter at a stop with limited ridership. Please let us know specifically where you’d like to see a shelter in Montpelier and we’ll check it out!
David – Planning Manager
I would love to see a bus that goes to Winooski School and Shaws! I feel that the community and children of Winooski need to be able to get to school safetly specially during winter months and to get groceries for their families. I see so many families struggle because of transportation.
Hi Ms. Toth. We have a long history of conversations with Winooski City, School District, and parent groups regarding potential student transportation. We have some ideas, but really need the community’s help in pushing the concept at the City level. Additionally, attending a GMT Board meeting would help raise awareness of this issue (fyi, Winooski does have representation on the GMT Board).
We also recognize the need for service to Shaw’s at Exit 16. Potentially extending the #9 Riverside bus has been considered, and I will be sure to include it in our NextGen discussions.
David – Planning Manager
I am very fortunate to have an employee bus pass, and I use it a lot! (Especially in the winter, when I’m not biking!) As such, my comments are coming from a rider who has alternative transportation (I own a car, and also bike a lot in the summer), but prefer to ride the bus to save on gas, for the exercise (I have to walk a bit to get to/from stops), and to be one less individual vehicle on the road.
I agree with a couple of the other comments I read here– that it would be really handy if there could be some “cross-cutting” routes that don’t require the rider to go into Burlington to transfer to another route. As Champlain Mill in Winooski is a popular stop (and services two routes and a couple commuter busses), my thought was to consider a route that starts/ends there. It would go out to Williston Rd (maybe via Limekiln Rd. in Colchester so could possibly drop off at or near the airport), have a stop at the Williston Rd./Airport Parkway intersection (where there may already be stops? and which could then service riders on/people transferring to the Williston routes) and potentially proceed to Shelburne Rd. via Kennedy Drive/I-89 (to allow transferring to the Shelburne Rd. route).
Of course, I have no idea of the logistics here! But as someone who frequently rides on many different routes, I often opt to use my car when a transfer is involved because I feel the overall trip time becomes excessive to have to wait to transfer in Burlington. I would be inclined to use the bus more often if it could more directly get me to where I want to go. Thanks for reading!
Thank you for riding Allison! Yes, the hub and spoke method works for many trips but not all, such as between Winooski and Shelburne Rd. Our Team is looking at travel-flow patterns and will make recommendations based on those, which may very well include the route you outlined above.
Keep riding when you can!
David – Planning Manager
Allison, I am in the same boat as you – and second everything you say!
Please consider expanding service into Colchester. Having a local commuter line running between Malletts Bay and the end of the North Ave line would be a welcome addition for those of us commuting to downtown every weekday.
Hi Ms. Coolidge, thanks for the comment. Colchester has long flirted with the idea of joining GMT as a full-fledged member community. The Town does receive some limited service, primarily on the #2 Essex route, and does contribute financially to that service. However, service to the Bay via North Ave has and is being considered as part of this NextGen Plan. Please do not misconstrue that as a guarantee for service, but GMT and the Town will continue those discussions.
David – Planning Manager
Via Facebook:
Ritalea Ochoa: Could it be possible for people living in St. Albans (and north), to reach Burlington and catch the first Local Commuters and Link Express routes? That would certainly help people to reach our jobs on time. Thanks
Thank you Ritalea. While it is difficult to align all services for all potential trips, (St Albans to Montpelier for instance), we do our best with our given resources. We will be looking at making more connections feasible and convenient, though some may just be too impractical to incorporate.
David – Planning Manager
Via Facebook:
Steven Richard Cubitt-McMahon: Midday Middlebury run to Middlebury to meet buses in Middlebury at 1230pm, or even a run all the way to Rutland would be great to see. Newer buses that are environmentally friendly.
Steven, expanded Middlebury Link service is being examined as part of this study, as is considering better connections to services to Rutland, and/or extending the Middlebury Link all the way to Rutland. Our Board is also keen to stay abreast of developing technologies: This Spring GMT ran a 100% electric bus throughout our urban system as a pilot project which will help inform future bus purchase decisions.
David – Planning Manager
Via Facebook:
Faith Corwell: How about an 8 pm north avenue instead of waiting for almost an hour after 715?
Jan Morse: I’m dreaming of a bus between Burl. and Essex Junction running later, for events at The Flynn and UVM.
Luke Jonathan: Maybe some routes down pine street later than 6pm.
Yes, Yes, and Yes! While we won’t know which recommendations can or will be implemented, these are in the draft route evaluations for each of these routes. Smoothing out the times between trips and running later service are issues that we feel would be quality improvements if they are affordable and/or don’t come at too high a cost to other services. Thanks for the input!
David – Planning Manager
Via Facebook:
Tim suggests a “good connection between Enosburg Falls and Burlington the same day”.
Mark suggests “fix the connection issue with the 12 and 1 buses would be a great start”.
Both are valid points!
Tim, we are aware that the connections from northern Vermont are less than ideal, particularly as they relate to service to Burlington. We will do our best to address these deficiencies.
Mark, GMT is taking a close look at these two routes, and will most likely come up with a solution that works well for both routes.
Please continue to keep the suggestions coming!
David – Planning Manager
1)can you adjust the time at the Mill at 8:20pm. your driver has to make it downtown in 10 minutes while going to UHC and the lights. I think 8:15pm would be better 2) can you adjust the Global Foundries route from 7:48pm to 7:24pm. I think more people would consider taking the Bus at that time.
Thank you for bringing these to our attention Bob. Timepoint and travel times are being considered too!
David – Planning Manager
Hey There!
Another big fan of the 286 Waterbury bus. Just wanted to say please keep 2 routes a day for waterbury! I work 8-4:30, in the Green Mtn Coffee roasters building. In order to catch the 435 bus, I’d have to leave work 10 min early every day. I definitely appreciate the 2nd bus at 450. Plus, it would be super stressful to only have one chance to get a ride back home!
Also: Very appreciative of the drivers. They are all courteous and it’s rare to have them be more than a few minutes late. ?
Hi Emily. We have no immediate plans to reduce the 286. In fact, I think it more likely that we would alter some of the trip times to make it more user friendly, though this study will help determine future actions. Continue to monitor the NextGen website, and keep the comments coming.
David – Planning Manager
I am hoping that South Burlington airport area could get service to the Winooski hub. Is that possible? Maybe an airport bus that travels down Patchen to Winooski? Commuting from this area of South Burlington by bus to Essex Jct (GlobalFoundries) is difficult unless you want to take the #1 all the way downtown and then out to Essex. Seems like it would be a popular route and cut down on all of the bus traffic heading to the DTC!
Agreed! Those who need to get to the airport and live on the #2 route would also be able to easily transfer at the Winooski circle.
Thank you Sara and Kevin. Our current system operates under a “hub and spoke” model, (picture a bike tire with spokes), in which passengers must ride down a “spoke” to the “hub”, in this case the Downtown Transit Center in Burlington, and then board a different bus to travel up a different “spoke”. While this model creates in some cases much longer trips than direct point to point service, it is generally easier for passengers to understand and less expensive to operate, (fewer routes). That said, we will take a look at all potential areas for improvement, including potential new connections like between Essex and S. Burlington.
David – Planning Manager
Thanks for your feedback, David. I understand the model. In my experience, it seems that the buses would want to bypass downtown at rush hour for commuters, since it is seems rare for buses to be able to stay on-time around the hours of 8am and 5pm, especially with all the construction around the new DTC projected for the next couple of years…. in my dreams, I would want a commuter bus (once or twice in the morning, once or twice in the evening M-F) that travels Airport Rd. in South Burlington to Lime Kiln. So that people wanting to catch the #2 to Essex Jct. could bypass downtown.
I just wanted to say that I recently started taking the 286 from Burlington to the Waterbury State Office Complex almost everyday for work. It has changed my life for the better! Driving my car 55 miles round trip everyday is NOT FUN. Now, I get to sit back and relax, knowing I’m saving money and the environment. The bus is punctual, dependable, quiet, spacious, and the drivers are pleasant, and all for a good price. Not to mention the Wifi.. Please know that I think this service is excellent and incredibly valuable.
Thank you for the kind words Julie!
David Armstrong – Planning Mgr
I would like to see one of the Middlebury link meet marble valley bus at 6:45am so passengers can hop on that bus to go to Rutland instead if waiting till 1115 when actr goes to Rutland. Also have a bus meet actr and marble valley at 530pm in Middlebury so passengers can get to Rutland instead of struggling to find a ride to Rutland. That would be great and having a midday run that arrives at Middlebury at 1230pm.
Hi Steven, improved connectivity to neighboring transit services and/or different modes is important and the NextGen Plan. We were actually just talking about improved connections to Middlebury and Rutland the other day! Hopefully we can make better service along VT’s “western corridor” a reality. Stay tuned and continue to make your voice heard.
David Armstrong – Planning Mgr
Add connection between Shelburne road and Williston routes via I89 and Dorset Street. This would cut ride times drastically for South Burlington to Williston commuters, lessen transfer times, and increase ridership.
This has been a hope of mine and others for years!
Thank you!
Thank you Dan, that is an interesting concept. Making connections without traveling to the Burlington DTC deviates from the current “hub and spoke” model we operate under, BUT considering new/different scenarios is what this study is all about. Please stay engaged over the summer!
David Armstrong – Planning Mgr
Thank you David, I think a connection between route 6 (Shelburne Road) & Route 1(Williston) will increase ridership and lessen travel time for commuters. I use the bus every day and now take an Uber from 189 to Dorset street, it is a 4 minute ride an having a bus connection would increase efficiency.
Thank you and please keep me informed.
-Dan
Please add bus service later in Winooski past 615 and add more service from global foundries during the day at 715 when people are getting out of work
Thank you Karen. Later service to Winooski and other towns/cities is likely to be a high priority, though it may come at an expense somewhere else… This study is all about identifying trade-offs, (like later service in the PM versus more frequency throughout the day), and gathering input on what our communities value higher. Your input is valuable; stay tuned!
David – Planning Mgr
Is there any consideration of adding more Middlebury link runs? An earlier afternoon trip would be useful. Also, shifting the morning times forward a little (6:30 and 7:30, maybe?) would align Burlington arrival times more closely with common working schedules.
Thanks Jason. We are definitely looking at Midd Link trip times as well as additional trips with potential connections to Rutland.
David – Planning Mgr
If you change the montepelier-Burlington there should be a bus at 4:50PM for National Life since hourly employees all get out at 4:45 if you have it at 4:40 or earlier then most hourly employees will just miss it. Think this could be helpful in deciding bus times
Thank you Brandon. According to the outreach we conducted during the month of April, we felt that 4:10, 4:45, 5:20 and 6:07 would best serve shift times at the National Life facility. I hope that you will be able to make the 4:45 departure. We will continue to monitor these trips for accessibility and will consider future adjustments if it becomes apparent that the new times aren’t successful.
David Armstrong – Planning Manager
Don’t make less Montpelier-Burlington trips, if the bus is halfway full. Combine that time period back with Waterbury before you eliminate that bus, please!!!!
Thanks
Thank you for the input Michael! As an important travel corridor, we will be taking a close look at ways to improve service between Burlington and Waterbury, and Waterbury and Montpelier.
David Armstrong – Planning Manager
I travel to MOntpelier for work from Waterbury. I would like to see service from Village of Waterbury to Montpelier from 7 AM to 3:30 PM., because I have flexible hours but cannot use with the current bus schedule. I currently work 8-4:30, which means I have to wait until 5:15 PM and don’t get back to the village until almost 6PM, long day. I am curious how they are getting an accurate count of ridership when I see the 7:10 bus to Montpelier’s money machine is constantly broken, it’s full most days. I can only imagine if there was a link bus leaving Montpelier to Burlington (with a stop in Waterbury) on Saturdays, the bus would be filled with shoppers, bikes to ride Burlington’s bike path, farmers markets Saturday morning, and shuttle to airport. Have businesses been approached to help sponsor this? Could they test drive the run?