MISSOULA — In an effort to reduce costs and boost ridership, Mountain Line has proposed a number of route changes that could benefit some parts of Missoula and leave others without service.
The agency has prepared a number of scenarios and options it plans to include in its new strategic plan — a process that's playing out alongside the city's Long Range Transportation Plan update.
Spencer Starke, transit planner for Mountain Line, said ridership on the free bus service plummeted in 2019 and hasn't fully recovered. It currently stands at roughly 70% of its pre-pandemic figures.
Mountain Line also introduced a 30% increase in revenue hours after voters passed a $3 million annual levy in 2020. That came with greater bus frequency, longer service hours and weekend service, among other things.
“We're operating at a higher capacity than we ever have before,” Starke said. “It has increased staffing and generally we have more service on the road.”
But Stark said not all service is equal where ridership is concerned. While ridership has made gains, most of it has occurred in the city's urban core, areas north of the Clark Fork River and in East Missoula, Starke said.
“We've seen less recovery in the Target Range area and South Hills,” Starke said. “These (details) pose opportunities for us to adjust our service and respond to the ridership we've seen, and perhaps change service in areas where we're seeing less ridership.”
Proposals
While several scenarios are on the table, one option could see changes to Route 8, which serves the 5th and 6th street corridors. It could also eliminate Route 9 service in Target Range and Route 12 service in the South Hills.
Cutting service in some areas would enable Mountain Line to apply more service to other areas of the city without raising costs, Starke said. With growth unfolding in the Swxtpqyen area, the density will soon be enough to support transit and a new Route 15.
“We're doing this in a cost-constrained environment,” Starke said. “We're running up against our ability to provide new service. This is looking at a way to optimize existing service within our existing capacity to drive ridership recovery.”
Under one scenario, if service is cut in some areas, it could be replaced by on-demand service, which could take place under a contract with Uber or Lyft, or in partnership with another transit agency.
Starke said the scenario would also see the busses that once served Target Range and the South Hills reallocated to bolster Routes 3 and 4 while also enabling Mountain Line to restructure Route 8.
Starke said the South Hills has been a difficult area to serve regardless of ridership.
“We already have difficulty getting large vehicles up into the street networks, especially in the winter,” he said. “We're not seeing as much ridership, especially when we factor in the cost. The further we move away from the transit center, the costs go up exponentially each mile traveled.”
He added, “Without strong supportive ridership, the gains and benefits of providing fixed-route transit in these less developed areas at the expense of providing more robust transit in our central areas poses a challenge.”
Pay the levy regardless
While the South Hills continues to grow in population, Starke said the Northside is seeing a boost in affordable housing. Equity played into the agency's proposals and the Northside has a greater need when based on income levels.
Boosting ridership remains one of the agency's top goals. The proposals under consideration could reach a greater percentage of people with high-frequency service,” Starke said.
“If we're driving after ridership, frequency is at the top of that discussion,” Starke said. “As you see frequency increase, you get more than a doubling of ridership in response. The big thing is the percentage of people served by high-frequency service. We see pretty notable gains in that area.”
Voters in 2020 approved a $3 million levy to help Mountain Line add Sunday service, expand weekend service and increase frequency on popular routes. If service is lost in some areas, residents who live there would continue to pay the tax, even if they don't get the service.
Some members of Missoula's Transportation Technical Advisory Committee expressed support for Mountain Line's service proposals.
Ben Weiss, who also heads the city's bicycle and pedestrian program, said that under the city's growth policy and the current work toward code reform, a focus inward philosophy is needed – transit included.
“If we're going to be able to do that while mitigating the challenges of vehicle ownership with increased density and minimal parking, then we need a robust transit network that's frequent enough to serve people's needs,” Weiss said. “Sacrificing coverage with frequency is a trade-off that's covered by the growth policy and one we need to be pursuing.”
Mountain Line is planning an open house on the proposals this Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Goodworks Ventures.
