Ice Cream and Energy

Mary Sit — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:45:00 GMT

Snicker bars, fudge bombs and ice cream sandwiches were the lure to draw workers out of their cubicles today and into the lobby of Ashford Place 7, to learn about the 75 Energy Corridor Connector.

Today was one of three socials this week planned to let the people who work in the Energy Corridor District learn that the new Connector can get them places that include eateries, banks, drug stores and office buildings.

"All the events are at buildings and work sites that are on the 75 Connector route," said John Nunez, transportation manager at the Energy Corridor Management District. "The whole purpose of the event is to inform the tenants in the different buildings that the route is available."

Joe Garcia, METRO community outreach rep, staffed a table stacked with brochures and other information about METRO - along with giveaways such as key chains and pencils.

"The feedback has been positive," said Garcia. "This community of residents and businesses has been very receptive to the new route."

Nunez said he touts the benefits of leaving one's car in the garage - keeping one's coveted parking space and avoiding traffic jams - and hopping on the bus during lunch to run errands or eat out.

It's also a convenient way to get downtown for meetings.

"It connects to the Addicks Park & Ride," explained Nunez. "Take the Connector, it drops you off at the platform of the Addicks Park & Ride - and then to downtown in 20 minutes."

The average monthly total ridership in February was 3,388. March ridership was:

* March 1-5 917 riders

* March 8-12 893 riders

* March 15-19 783 riders

Nunez said he doesn't expect ice cream socials to immediately hike ridership - but the socials are a way to make folks aware of the Connector - and he hopes news will spread.

"Over a period of time, it's a gradual increase," said Nunez, adding that the Connector compliments the other "green" commuting options the Energy Corridor Management District is promoting.

Besides taking METRO and reducing one's carbon footprint, people who live, work and visit the district can vanpool, hike and bike in the area, he added.

The photos posted here were taken by Ernest Chou, METRO senior community rep, of an outreach event yesterday in the Energy Corridor. Joe Garcia is staffing the table in the top photo. John Nunez is in second photo on the left, talking to an office worker.

75 Energy Corridor Connector, ridership has doubled.

The Connector is a local bus service along Eldridge Parkway, between I-10 and Richmond Avenue, with connections to Addicks Park & Ride. It was launched in partnership with the Energy Corridor District.

METRO recorded 426 boardings the first week of operation Jan 25. By week four, ridership had climbed to 862 boardings.

Rider Pardeep Kumar Lingamallu e-mailed this comment to the Energy Corridor District and gave his permission to post on this blog: "Let me congratulate (you) for introducing the route 75 Energy Corridor. It really is an excellent one to introduce in this route.

"I (have been) using this service from the day it was introduced. Prior to this route, I was commuting to my office, BP from the Amli Apartments at Eldridge @ Briar Forest by car pooling and now all my car pool members have started utilizing this excellent service.

"I have no doubt about this route getting popular in coming days.

"I request you to continue this service on weekends, at least on Saturday so that this offers transfer to Westheimer Road for those residents living on the Eldridge Parkway and Memorial Drive for shopping during weekends."

We hope more riders will join Lingamallu and board the Connector.

Kendall Neighborhood Library and Community Center in west Houston to celebrate the launch of METRO's new 75 Energy Corridor Connector service.

TV reporter Jennifer Reyna of KPRC-TV, Channel 2 emceed the event where vendors in the Energy Corridor District and community members heard remarks from METRO Chairman of the Board David S. Wolff, who pointed out that this area was a fast-growing section of Houston.

"You have 75,000 people working in the Energy Corridor today...It's important to make this area accessible," said Wolff, adding that he hopes our newest bus service will be successful.

Vendors were also excited that the Connector would bring more business to their shops. The Connector is a local bus service along Eldridge Parkway, between I-10 and Richmond Avenue, with connections to Addicks Park & Ride. Click here to read more about it.

Chris Felefle, general manager of Petit Café, said he hopes bus riders will notice his restaurant on Eldridge Parkway and try it out.

James Tagawa, general manager of Kim Son Cafe, welcomed the new route, not only for customers but for his employees. Right now, about 10 of his 95 employees walk to their job there.

"I know this will help," he said.

David Hightower, president of the Energy Corridor District Board of Directors, says the Connector provides a valuable option.

"It means that our residents and employees out here will have a transit service that provides them with an alternative to getting into their cars and going to lunch and running errands," said Hightower. "And for those who have the ability to access it from other points, they have an option of using it instead of sitting in their car."

Meredith Gaber, senior marketing analyst at Parsons Brinckerhoff, is looking forward to riding the Connector.

"You get so isolated in your building. And there are so many places to go during lunchtime, but it takes so long sitting at traffic lights. Hopefully, this will help decrease traffic at lunch and open up the corridor," said Gaber. ‘It's a great way to showcase the different businesses that are here."

Some attendees at today's event live no where near the new route, but joined simply for the excitement of trying a new route.

Janis Scott, self-proclaimed "METRO Bus Lady Queen," said she left her home at 7:30 a.m. and took two buses to arrive at 10 a.m.

"I have come to this library before, and I intend to come even more," she said. "It's an adventure. I love to go on bus adventures."

The photo above on the left is David Hightower. The photo on the right is left to right: Alan Clark, director of Houston-Galveston Area Council's Metropolitan Planning Organization; Clark Martinson, Energy Corridor district general manager; Jennifer Reyna, David Wolff and Frank J. Wilson, METRO's president & CEO.

Energy Corridor District to launch today new bus service: the 75 Energy Corridor Connector.

The service will run along Eldridge Parkway between Interstate 10 and Richmond, providing employees and residents in the Energy Corridor District (ECD) a quick, convenient ride to shops and restaurants along the route.

The Energy Corridor District is made up of 1,500 acres that extend along both sides of Interstate 10 from Tully to east of Park 10 Boulevard and along North Eldridge Parkway from I-10 to south of Briar Forest.

Companies in the district employ some 73,000 workers. Of those, about 40,000 employees and 15,000 residents in the corridor are directly served by the Connector, meaning they are within walking distance of a Connector route stop.

Major energy companies located there include ExxonMobil Chemical, Shell Exploration and Production, ConocoPhillips, CITGO and BP America.

"What we're doing for the people who live and work in the Energy Corridor is providing them with a commuting option," said John Nunez, transportation manager at the EDC. "The option for those who work out here will be to use a Park & Ride bus or local bus service that intersects with the Connector route to extend their trip to reach their final destination in the Energy Corridor."

Nunez said the 75 Energy Corridor Connector is part of an on-going effort to make the corridor "a more walkable, bikeable, green and transit-friendly place" and make it less auto-dependent.

This new service is being partially funded through the federal Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program.

"The Connector does provide individuals who live in the inner city an opportunity to commute to the ECD suburban work sites, and many of these individuals may not have had the ability to reach some of these job sites before the route was established," said Nunez. "It does connect people. It's the main thing we're trying to do - keep people connected - not just for work, but for other things, as well."

ECD employees who live in the downtown and midtown areas can connect to the 75 Energy Corridor Connector by riding the 228 Addicks and 229 Kingsland/Addicts from the Central Business District to the Addicks Park & Ride. The Connector also links with the 82 Westheimer and the 131 Memorial.

Fare is the same as local bus service - $1.25 with a two-hour window for transfers. Three or four of the major ECD companies are providing a transit benefit to their employees, said Nunez.

Service runs every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., it runs every 10 minutes.

Click here to see a map of the route.

Write On METRO : 75 Energy Corridor Connector

Ice Cream and Energy