Notice of Public Hearings: Adjustment in Weekday Peak Service
The Rapid hereby gives notice that two public meetings will be held to present the proposed shift of afternoon peak service forward one-half hour, starting at 3:15 p.m. and ending at 5:45 p.m.
Background
The Rapid runs peak service during the morning and afternoon commutes when 11 routes shift from service every half-hour to service every fifteen minutes. This provides a high level of service during these high-ridership time periods that make The Rapid’s system much easier to travel. Currently, the peak times are 6:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. in the morning and 3:45 PM to 6:15 PM in the afternoon. 
When comparing these peak times against actual ridership, the morning ridership peak lines up quite well with peak service. However, it is quickly evident that in the afternoon, the highest ridership hour (3:00-4:00 p.m.) is being largely missed by peak service. At the same time, the tail end of peak afternoon service, around 6 p.m., has the lowest ridership of any peak service.
Action Requested
As a result, staff recommends shifting the afternoon peak service earlier by one-half hour. This better meets the actual ridership patterns of our patrons and would be cost neutral as service is being shifted, not added. The change would be accomplished by eliminating the last run of weekday peak service (the 6:00 p.m.line up) and adding one run at the beginning of peak afternoon service (the 3:30 PM line up). The resulting afternoon peak service would run 3:15 PM until 5:45 PM, with service every 15 minutes during those times on the 11 peak service routes. If approved by the Board at the June meeting, these changes would be implemented on August 29, 2016.
Public Hearings
There will be two public hearings to gather feedback regarding the proposed service adjustment. They will be held at Rapid Central Station, Conference Room – 2nd floor:
- Wednesday, June 8, 2016, 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
- Thursday, June 9, 2016, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
The Rapid staff will be available for questions and/or comments. Written comments may be submitted for the record no later than Thursday, June 9, 2016. Please send comments to The Rapid Planning Department, 300 Ellsworth St. SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, or via email to gro.diparehtedir@ofni.
