The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority is tapping the pulse of local bus riders through an ongoing survey to ask a crucial question: Shorter walking distances or shorter wait times?
The 10-question survey kicks off the first phase of CARTA's yearlong redesign study, which aims to analyze and address issues with the area's existing bus service.
The study, undertaken along with the city of Chattanooga, the regional planning agency and other community partners, comes after a Transit Choices Report in December 2017 laid out concerns with Chattanooga's existing fixed bus routes as identified by the mass transit provider, as well as future opportunities to best meet commuters' needs.
The report states that bus service can be designed in two ways - to spread service to minimize the walk to the bus stop, which could increase wait times, or to concentrate service to high-ridership areas to minimize wait times.
"With a fixed amount of resources, you can't necessarily do both," said Philip Pugliese, CARTA transportation system planner. "The crux of this process is almost to start with a clean slate and say, 'If we were to start totally fresh, would it perhaps look different than what we have right now?'"
Pugliese said input from residents in the eastern pocket of Hamilton County will be important because of all the new development coming to the fast-growing area.
Traditionally, CARTA has evolved its system to implement routes that connect various neighborhoods throughout the county to downtown Chattanooga, providing easy transportation to the business and commercial center there.
As new retail, dining and office spaces pop up throughout the Ooltewah-East Brainerd area in preparation for the 1,735 new homes expected over the next decade, however, Pugliese said that radial network may not be the best way to serve everyone.
"Not everybody, especially those in east Hamilton County, necessarily needs to come downtown. [Many] need to go in and around places in and around east Hamilton County, and we want to be able to address those needs directly as well," said Pugliese, alluding to CARTA's recent efforts toward enhancing neighborhood-centric microtransit shuttle services, which would provide on-demand transportation in certain areas when and if implemented.
CARTA will engage the public in April and May of next year to ask new questions and provide more information about what transit choices are possible. At that time, multiple alternatives will be available, offering residents the chance to review them and provide feedback.
Officials with the transportation agency and the city said they plan to present a set of draft recommendations to the public by fall 2019.
The survey will be available online at tinyurl.com/CARTARedesignSurvey until early December.
Staff writer Allison Shirk Collins contributed to this story.
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com.