Quickline Achieves High On-time Performance
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 10:20 AM
METRO promised a Signature bus service that would be quick-as-a-bunny, and so far, in its first 16 days of operation, it's delivering.
The 402 Quickline Bellaire has an average of 97 percent on-time performance.
"It's doing really well," said Pat Porzillo, associate vice president of commuter rail at METRO, and the go-to guy for Quickline operations. "Our on-time performance has been really great."
The 402 Quickline has 53 scheduled trips a day - and only one or two buses a day have been late. "The single biggest cause is the freight track," explained Porzillo. "There's a UP freight train that comes and blocks the crossing."
If you're at any of the Quickline transit stations, you can see next-bus arrival times for northbound and southbound buses. You can also check it out from your smart phone by accessing http://www.ridemetro.org/.
Click on "services, then "bus," then "402 Quickline Bellaire." Then go down to the lower two-thirds of the page to "Click here for next bus service." Both Airport Direct and the 402 Quickline offer next-bus arrival information.
Our ridership goal is 1,000 riders a day after one year of service - and in the first two weeks, we've passed the halfway mark, averaging 600 commuters a day. We expect those numbers to increase once summer break is over and students return to school.
Porzillo says he's heard positive reaction from our riders. They like saving 20 minutes of travel time, enjoy sleeping later in the mornings, and appreciate the fact that the local $1.25 fare remains the same on the Quickline.
"If they miss the bus, they can jump on a Quickline at the medical center, jump off at any station and switch to the local bus they missed - and it counts as a free transfer with a Q card," said Porzillo.
The Quickline makes eight stops, but METRO is planning to add a ninth stop - the Stella Link station - by late December, said Porzillo.
"We're coordinating it with road construction at Southside Place. Right now, the road is split and we can't access the site," said Porzillo.
If you haven't ridden one of the distinctive blue, bunny buses, hop on for a quick ride down Bellaire.
"One of the things we've always thought was that this was the type of service that will prove itself. If we operate it reliably, if we run on time, people would move over to this service," said Porzillo. "We're pleased, and we're excited about moving the program forward with an integrated Quickline system."