06-01-2015, 09:32 AM
(06-01-2015, 09:10 AM)Spokes Wrote: They had the right idea with the original one, and then it's gotten worse and worse. People here don't like having to walk to bus stops
Apples to oranges, though. The 200 was overlaid on the 7's route, and for most of the route they overlap. Riders have the choice between a high frequency local and a high frequency limited-stop express.
As soon as the 201 came in, GRT made it clear that stop spacing would be a compromise between travel speed and the lack of overlapping local service along the same corridor. The problem isn't so much that the spacing should be wider, the problem is branding. "iXpress" all but spells out "express", and it's causing these routes to have an identity crisis.
Express is not the need, though. The need is for reasonably quick buses that don't stop at every single cross street, but will serve the major intersections and nodes, with direct routing and with good frequency.
That's not express. That's just good service, and it's what you need to make the grid work.