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Free downtown transit shuttles are popular across America. Denver has its electric mall bus, Seattle provided a fare free zone on its regular bus transit and DC runs a five line "
Circulator" for which they now charge a buck. Free downtown shuttles are also run in Oakland, Nashville,
Columbus,
Raleigh and even lower Manhattan, mushrooming across the nation far beyond the 40 systems counted in 2013. More are aspiring to them, such as Baltimore's suburban center
Towson which likes to model itself after
Bethesda, Maryland.
Do these systems make sense? Do they serve a purpose or are they gimmicks?
Providing public transit on a fare-free basis for all passengers has tantalized public policymakers for decades. Proponents claim that if other public services such as schools, libraries, and parks (as well as most roads) are considered important enough to provide at no charge to the user, then providing everyone in the community with at least a basic means of mobility should also be a public good.(TRB paper)
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| Original Baltimore Capstone "microturbine" bus |
Baltimore's winning circulator formula Baltimore, too, had a nearly free (fare: a quarter) downtown trolley in the eighties and then later a free "DASH" bus. Both attempts folded after a short time and a lackadaisical response from the public. But then Baltimore struck gold with a formula that seemed to be destined for success: A free circulator bus as part of a system that is fueled by a special surcharge on the parking tax.
The thinking was this: Charge a bit more for parking but give people who park their car in cheaper, outlying and usually underutilized facilities a free bus ride to cover the distance to their final destination (solving "the last mile problem"). Plus encourage folks to not bring their car altogether by providing a easy to use bus that connects to traditional transit. Either way, a win-win in which valuable downtown space could be saved for better purposes than ever more parking. (See my article:
Parking the Bane of Cities). Some six years ago the Charm City Circulator was born with its first line and turned into an instant hit. The system has been expanded several times, last in 2012 with a "Banner Route" going to Fort McHenry, funded by a $1.6 million grant from the federal Department of Transportation on occasion of the bicentennial celebrations of the War of 1812. Even though this route had a one time funding source it was not introduced as an only temporary line. This is the system description from a 2011 press release on the occasion of it's first birthday:
The Circulator buses operate on several routes. The Orange Route travels along Lombard and Pratt Streets between Hollins Market and Harbor East. The Purple Route, which began operations in June, 2010 links Federal Hill to Penn Station via Charles and St. Paul Streets. The Green Route will provide free service to fringe parking areas along Fallsway and Guilford, through Harbor East and Fells Point to the Johns Hopkins Hospital and should be deployed later this year. A fourth route, which will extend from the Baltimore Visitor's Center to Fort McHenry, is planned for deployment to coincide with the bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812.
The Charm City Circulator provides citizens with the opportunity to connect between other forms of ...Read full article
Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
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