Return of the 11 & 31 Bus

[andrethebusman]

31st is what could be best compared to a small-town bus route. Basically the same people ride it most days, and considering the service hours (no AM rush), and the area's demographics and character, most are probably elderly doing their daily errands. Given the alternative is walking, it is bound to do reasonably well. Time to make this "permanent". 

 

[Tcmetro]

There is a fair amount of student traffic to IIT. I use the Bridgeport end of the line, and it seems to pick up students in the neighborhood as well as from the Orange Line. 

 

I would imagine it gets a few students from the towers on the east end of the line too. 

[Busjack]

15 minutes ago, Tcmetro said:

There is a fair amount of student traffic to IIT. I use the Bridgeport end of the line, and it seems to pick up students in the neighborhood as well as from the Orange Line. 

 

I would imagine it gets a few students from the towers on the east end of the line too. 

That really is the question on whether the marketing is properly directed. Office workers don't seem to be the market, which is where most traditional transit was focused.

The 31st flyer implied that there was a market for IIT, under 8, Study hard. The rest seems a bit unfocused, except perhaps for Mariano's on either end.

By comparison, the Lincoln marketing materials indicated that CTA thought the marginal rider (where they were going to get the 1000 riders per day they didn't get) were going to the spa, Trader Joes, the bike shop etc., essentially whatever the current term is for yuppies. Didn't work.

But this was the distinction I was trying to make in reply to @stormgasherc. Promotion isn't generating more costs; demand has to be identified through market research. Errands may be one market, IIT students appear to be another. They aren't relying on people going to Sox Park in this weather.

[stormgasherc]

2 hours ago, Tcmetro said:

There is a fair amount of student traffic to IIT. I use the Bridgeport end of the line, and it seems to pick up students in the neighborhood as well as from the Orange Line. 

 

I would imagine it gets a few students from the towers on the east end of the line too. 

I took the 31 bus on the east end of the line and there are plenty of IIT students and Dunbar High School students too. There are also seniors who take this line too.  

[Tcmetro]

The 1/10/2018 board meeting video states (~10-11 minute mark) :

Target - 830 rides per day

Avg. 526 daily rides from Oct 2016 to Nov 2017

Avg. 674 rides in Nov 2017

Avg. daily ridership is 284 during IIT breaks.

Pilot extension cost is $125,000, half of which is from a federal grant.

[Busjack]

13 hours ago, Tcmetro said:

Avg. 674 rides in Nov 2017

Avg. daily ridership is 284 during IIT breaks.

Statistic demonstrates that you and @stormgasherc were correct that the major passenger traffic generator is IIT, not "the elderly doing their errands," the latter being similar to those who said that the sheltered workshop would sustain 11.

To get back to @stormgasherc's point on promotion, the next consumer research that should be done by CTA is whether the service hours conform to demand at IIT, such as whether there are students in Bridgeport who have to get to 8 a.m. class, or is it mostly a dorm population that is going for lunch.

13 hours ago, Tcmetro said:

Pilot extension cost is $125,000, half of which is from a federal grant.

Shows that CTA was able to come up with the match for JARC-NF on this route.

[jajuan]

On 1/16/2018 at 10:45 AM, Busjack said:

Statistic demonstrates that you and @stormgasherc were correct that the major passenger traffic generator is IIT, not "the elderly doing their errands," the latter being similar to those who said that the sheltered workshop would sustain 11.

To get back to @stormgasherc's point on promotion, the next consumer research that should be done by CTA is whether the service hours conform to demand at IIT, such as whether there are students in Bridgeport who have to get to 8 a.m. class, or is it mostly a dorm population that is going for lunch.

Shows that CTA was able to come up with the match for JARC-NF on this route.

Yes I agree. It shows that IIT is indeed the traffic generator. It also confirms that even though it's coming slowly the route has been showing credible potential to make its stated goal versus the 11 consistently remaining flat at each extension of the trial there. So yeah a credible next step for CTA would be looking toward whether the route is tailored enough toward demand on the IIT side of things now that it's confirmed that the primary traffic generator is IIT.

[Busjack]

Another extension of the experimental period for the 31 bus is on the agenda.

[Tcmetro]

Streetsblog has an article about the 31. The pilot is up next month so some community members went to today's board meeting to advocate for a service expansion. Alderman is against the 31 bus.

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2018/08/15/near-south-siders-urge-the-cta-to-expand-not-cancel-31st-street-bus-service/

I created a line graph to show the ridership trends of the route. The ridership is highly correlated with the IIT class schedule.

 

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, Tcmetro said:

Streetsblog has an article about the 31. The pilot is up next month so some community members went to today's board meeting to advocate for a service expansion. Alderman is against the 31 bus.

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2018/08/15/near-south-siders-urge-the-cta-to-expand-not-cancel-31st-street-bus-service/

I created a line graph to show the ridership trends of the route. The ridership is highly correlated with the IIT class schedule.

 

The usual from the activists, but  notable was that  the alderman who wrote the letter against was Pat Dowell of the 3rd, while nothing was heard from Patrick Daley Thompson of the 11th, who pushed for it.

If your conclusion that ridership is correlated to the IIT year, the article is correct that IIT (like U of C on  171, 172, 192) should subsidize it, but it won't. While CTA has the gps boarding statistics and we don't, it doesn't look like Bridgeport is generating the ridership the activists promised.

[Tcmetro]

The 31 will no longer run after Friday. 

 

https://www.transitchicago.com/travel-information/alert-detail/?AlertId=51539

[BusHunter]

Didn't know it was still experimental. Sort of a surprise. I still say it might have done better branching to 35th street and do the west 31st street routing. Maybe run every other bus to 24th Cicero and that every other bus just runs 31st. 35th runs with kedzie 36th routing.

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, BusHunter said:

Didn't know it was still experimental. Sort of a surprise. I still say it might have done better branching to 35th street and do the west 31st street routing. Maybe run every other bus to 24th Cicero and that every other bus just runs 31st. 35th runs with kedzie 36th routing.

Well we know you don't  live or work on that side of town. During  peak periods, the 35 runs every 12 minutes and off peak every 20 minutes.   Forty minute intervals along  west 31st is insane. Bottom line is 31st street service west of the Dan Ryan  was nonexistent.  

[artthouwill]

On 1/13/2018 at 8:10 PM, stormgasherc said:

I took the 31 bus on the east end of the line and there are plenty of IIT students and Dunbar High School students too. There are also seniors who take this line too.  

Ironically the  route is being cut right before school starts ( in Dunbar's case).

[Busjack]

7 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Ironically the  route is being cut right before school starts ( in Dunbar's case).

But do students from Bridgeport ride to Dunbar? Apparently not, and certainly not at 10 a.m.

[artthouwill]

8 hours ago, Busjack said:

But do students from Bridgeport ride to Dunbar? Apparently not, and certainly not at 10 a.m.

Dunbar to Green and Red Lines.  We now Bridgeporers would NEVER  go to Dunbar!!!

I was surprised  how long the 31 lasted. I had it pegged for failure from the word go.  The fact it outlasted the 11 was astounding (the midday extension of the 11 to Fullerton),

[stormgasherc]

4 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Dunbar to Green and Red Lines.  We now Bridgeporers would NEVER  go to Dunbar!!!

I was surprised  how long the 31 lasted. I had it pegged for failure from the word go.  The fact it outlasted the 11 was astounding (the midday extension of the 11 to Fullerton),

Here's the thing I noticed about 31st ridership:
From 33rd Pl/King Dr -> Ashland Org Ln :
Most people boarding on the west side of the dan ryan are mostly IIT student ( + Dunbar Students during dismissal) and they would got off at IIT and Red Line
On the east side riding the 31st bus are mostly seniors. 

so, yea I have to agree with @artthouwill, Ridership are just so...one-sided.

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, stormgasherc said:

Most people boarding on the west side of the dan ryan are mostly IIT student ( + Dunbar Students during dismissal) and they would got off at IIT and Red Line

So much for the claim that the demand was from south Chinatown.

[stormgasherc]

This is what I think about the ridership for the 31st bus
The two ends of the destinations (Orange Line + King Drive) Lacks in businesses (besides the shopping centers). Yes, I know there is Dunbar High School and Park and the 31st St Beach, there aren't many wanted to travel to the west end of 31st streets... (besides the weekend cuz of 31st St Beach). On the East side of Bridgeport...sure there are a few businesses but majority are houses/apartment when you past the Bridgeport Cafe. In the middle of Bridgeport (from Red Line- Halsted) have the most riders because schools, parks, restaurants and shops. There are more activities around that part of Bridgeport than on the ends of the destination.   

[stormgasherc]

Also, I want to bring the fact that CTA hasn't promote the route successfully. Of course, they have promotional poster going around in the beginning of the pilot, but they haven't done anything ever since. There was only 1 post about the route on their facebook sites and their website. There haven't done anything until the #snap31 campaign..which i don't believe it go so well as in the article that was posted on Facebook ..many seniors doesn't have access to smartphones and some IIT student doesn't live in Bridgeport area. 

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, stormgasherc said:

Lacks in businesses (besides the shopping centers)

The argument was made that riders wanted to go to the Bridgeport Mariano's, even though there is a better Mariano's closer to IIT in Bronzeville. Again, apparently not.

On your social media point, Ald. Thompson made all sorts of representations that the elderly in south Chinatown and Bridgeport were going to ride the bus. From the miserable summer ridership numbers, they weren't. If CTA has to rely on rectumbook to support a line, instead of, in this case, actual passengers being interested, especially when there were blue bus stop signs every quarter mile, good luck with that.

[NewFlyerMCI]

Well, only thing to do now is launch a pilot for the old 110 Marquette, not that that will go anywhere...

[XE NewFlyer]

they should try a route on clybourn

[stormgasherc]

Just out of curiosity, are there any digital scans of the 31st bus stops? 

[Sam92]

2 hours ago, stormgasherc said:

Just out of curiosity, are there any digital scans of the 31st bus stops? 

You mean pics?  I have one somewhere in the forum I can snap another before they take them down ? i think somewhere is a copy of the bus stop from the pre-97 service