Amy Biegelsen with Style Weekly has written a solid piece about the challenges facing John Lewis as he seeks to modernize the GRTC, the Richmond regional bus system. Lewis, who took on the CEO post two years ago, has big ambitions. Writes Biegelsen:
Lewis dreams of turning GRTC into a bus rapid transit system such as those available in Cleveland or Los Angeles. Such systems basically try to offer riders the speed and psychological comforts of a rail system. … The buses come with electronic devices that prompt traffic lights to remain green as the bus approaches, greatly reducing commute times. “We can make a great-looking vehicle almost look like a rail line,” Lewis says, “but it’s still a bus so that you have a lot of flexibility.” By designing the buses to look more trainlike, he says, “you get away from the stigma of regular buses.” …
Lewis is in the process of adding global positioning system (GPS) capacity to all city buses, giving GRTC the ability to tell its customers exactly where the buses are at all times. … Buses with GPS onboard can broadcast stops out loud for blind riders and flash them on display boards for the deaf. … With the full fleet beaming back information about their exact whereabouts to GRTC headquarters, it’s only a short jump for Lewis to be able to provide updated information to riders on their cell phones and BlackBerries. By next year, he expects the system to be capable of texting riders directly. For example, the system could alert a specific rider when the bus is five minutes from a stop close to his office, allowing him to orchestrate his schedule without having to block out waiting time.
But the challenges are formidable. Despite its reputation as one of the best-run ransit systems in the country, GRTC takes in only 25 percent of its revenue through passenger fares. GRTC’s public ownership is a huge problem. Decision-making is hobbled by joint ownership by the City of Richmond and the counties of Henrico and Chesterfield, which often have conflicting agendas. Also, as a government entity, GRTC is strapped for cash and has limited latitude to experiment with new ideas to attract riders.
The route structure is archaic. Says Lewis: “Our route system right now pretty much exactly follows the route systems of our old trolleys that were here 50 years ago. Basically, all we did was rip out the rails and put a bus on there. Well, traveling habits have changed. People’s living and commuting patterns have changed. We’ve got to change along with it.”
Lewis would like to provide new kinds of services for affluent, Internet-savvy, Blackberry-carrying riders living in low-density suburbs. In one innovation, GRTC has launched a service ferrying Richmonders to Fredericksburg where they can connect with the Virginia Railway Express. It’s a sad commentary that connecting Richmonders with Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., is easier to accomplish than to connect them with suburban malls in Henrico and Chesterfield.