LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In an effort to provide more reliable service to its four most popular bus routes, the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) launched a new initiative on Monday.
According to a news release, TARC staff will monitor and adjust bus positioning on those routes in real-time. It's called the Operational Schedule Adherence Program.
A 2023 survey showed the number one element for fixed route passengers: on time performance. The new program hopes to improve TARC's performance by adjusting the TARC buses' positions when needed.
Now, if one bus is running behind and there is another bus shortly after, the leading bus will be switched to "Drop Off Only." Passengers will be able to get off at the next stop, but no customers will be able to get on the bus. Instead, they'll be instructed to wait for the second bus that will be less than five minutes behind according to the release.
"If they could drop a couple more it probably could help a lot of people; it's made me late to work a couple of times," customer Jonathon Kidwell said.
Kidwell has been riding TARC buses for more than 20 years. He rides the 4th Street bus frequently, and he's learning to be patient with the new system.
"Fourth Street is getting a lot better; it kind of threw me off in the beginning, because they changed up the routes so that you have two different 4th Street buses instead of one," he said.
TARC's most popular routes seeing this change will be:
- #4 4th Street
- #10 Dixie Rapid
- #23 Broadway
- #28 Preston Highway
The program started as a pilot initiative on #23 Broadway in fall 2023. Officials saw a 4% improvement on time performance between August and December 2023 according to the release.
"If we can make these buses more reliable that's going to have an effect up and down the system," Alex Posorske, director of Marketing & Communications at TARC, said. "Looking at what we were able to do in the fall, we have high hopes that we're going to see a big step forward."
The buses will be monitored in real time at the control center, and TARC hopes there will be 15 minutes or less between boarding buses with this new system.
"That 15 minutes could save somebody, you know, getting home in time enough to actually get their kids off the bus," said Kidwell.
Overall Kidwell looks forward to the improve rider experience through the Operational Schedule Adherence Program.
"They're trying to do what they can so I definitely appreciate that 15 minutes it definitely makes a big difference," he said.
And Kidwell remained hopeful he will arrive at his destinations sooner.
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