Capital Metro's bus service is going under the microscope. Capital Metro: ServicePlan2020 is a comprehensive operational analysis of every aspect of Capital Metro's bus service. The resulting recommendations will become our roadmap for growth over the next 10 years. Most big transit agencies do some kind of major analysis of their services and routes periodically. It's a beneficial process, as routes tend to morph over time into a spaghetti bowl. A relevant example is the 'Dillo routes before they were streamlined last year. Likewise, it's an opportunity to thoroughly examine procedures and generally improve the system.
Capital Metro is way overdue for this type of mid-range planning. Some of the legwork for ServicePlan2020 has already been completed. Last year, Capital Metro completed a market segmentation study that yielded a considerable amount of information about rider demographics, barriers to riding, and what people like and don't like about us. That info is one dimension of the analysis. Other factors to be included are: existing system conditions (what works and what doesn't) and community participation and feedback.
ServicePlan2020 makes progress this week when two stakeholder committees convene and begin their work, analyzing various service aspects and identifying unmet needs. A Technical Advisory Committee (made up of planner types from allied transportation entities) and a Community Advisory Committee (representative of riders and community groups who have a key stake in public transportation) will meet periodically over the course of the year to refine ServicePlan2020. We want your involvement, too, and we'll post updates and open house meeting information here as things go along.
