One-third of Mesa is east of Power Road, yet the area is served by zero percent of the city’s bus system.
After years of requests from unserved residents, the city is looking to experiment with a seasonal bus route that begins at Superstition Springs Mall and runs on a loop east of Power.
The city’s eastern flank has become more densely populated in the last decade with housing developments that feature small lots, said Mike James, Mesa’s transit services director. Many senior housing communities and manufactured housing parks add to the density, he said.
More and more, those residents have been asking for transit service.
“It’s summertime or it’s holiday time and they want to go in to the mall or they want to go other places on the bus, and they just don’t have that connection,” James said.
The route would run clockwise and begin at the mall, which is at the northwest corner of U.S. 60 and Power. It would go north on Power to Broadway Road, then go east to Crismon Road. It would jump east to Signal Butte Road at Southern Avenue, and head back west on Southern until it reached Power.
The route would serve several shopping centers, several senior communities and the Mesa Express Library. It would also connect to other routes and a transit center at the mall.
“We think there’s not only a quality of life benefit, but also an economic benefit as well,” James said.
Mesa expects the bus would run every 30 minutes. The city will spend the next few months identifying potential bus stops, studying ridership projections and developing benchmarks to determine what it would consider successful. Preliminary cost estimates for the route are $350,000 per season.
Vice Mayor Scott Somers represents southeast Mesa and emphasized the service would be a pilot to determine its viability.
“It may have to be seasonal for a couple of years,” Somers said. “Funding is improving overall, but we’re taking a very cautious approach, which is why we’re looking to start with a seasonal trial.”
Mesa is also studying the fares as it looks for sponsors to offset costs, James said. The city looked into that in 2009 and 2010 for a similar circulator route by Fiesta Mall that never materialized. The city couldn’t get sponsorships at that point in the economy, but James said Mesa will try again for the east Mesa route.
Also, Mesa is looking into improving service on the Express Route 533. That line runs on Power Road and heads to downtown Phoenix, with five morning and five afternoon trips. The city is considering spending $50,000 to add another morning and another evening route because each trip is standing room-only. The route is the busiest express line in the Valley with 83 passengers on average, James said.
Mesa has heard some potential riders have avoided the express route because they don’t want to stand, James said.
Somers said east Mesa is an untapped area for transit service.
“With gas north of $4 and heading north fast, there’s a great opportunity for folks to get out of their cars and use mass transit options, which currently don’t exist east of Power Road,” he said.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
Bingo6 posted at 3:03 am on Thu, Apr 5, 2012.
Actually the RT 156 that begins at ASU Polytechnic across from the VA Clinic is a Veolia/RPTA Route.
I drive it on the weekends. I have heard from Scott Somers who said that he would study the feasibility of extending the RT 40.
Also, currently the RT 30 extends to Sossaman, also on a cost neutral extension from its original Rt that went to the Multi-generational vented and previous destination of Superstition Springs Center.
The same logic should also be extended to the RT 40.
Dale Whiting posted at 7:02 am on Tue, Apr 3, 2012.
Bingo6
Get down to Mesa's transportation department and make you self acquainted with the staff and known to the department head. Present them with your ideas in writing. Then go to each and ever City Council member doing the same thing. If and when they hold public hearings, be there with fiends and neighbors, the more the better. The city will study this problem. But expressed public interest will be studied most!
And just for accuracy, this is not the first bus service in Mesa going east of Power Road. But it may be the first which route is under Mesa control. Route 154 goes east on Chandler Blvd/WilliamsField through Chandler, Gilbert, Higley and into Mesa and Williams Field stopping there to meet with service also in Mesa but coming south on Power Road from the north. That route services ASU students needing to get back and forth between campuses.
Bingo6 posted at 4:12 am on Tue, Apr 3, 2012.
The RT 184 (Power RD) currently serves Gateway 7 days a week from Superstition Springs, every 30 minutes, and every 15 minutes M - F during 6AM - 9AM/3-6PM.
That is my point on RT 40, Power RD doesn't need another bus on it, by simply moving the RT 40 to Signal Butter, it would serve more passengers, at the same cost.
mvccd1000 posted at 10:26 pm on Mon, Apr 2, 2012.
Good suggestions, Bingo6; sounds like you're familiar with the routes. I agree with your suggestion to add Baseline / Signal Butte to the mix, and I'd throw in Gateway Airport, too. The ability to get from either of those places to the terminus of the light rail system would fill a huge gap in the local transit system.
Bingo6 posted at 5:20 pm on Mon, Apr 2, 2012.
This would really be a great start, but why not serve the mega shopping area at Baseline and Signal Butter, where their is s true need.
Also, it would make sense to extent the RT 40, East of Power to Signal Butter, South to Broadway to West to Crimson back to Main ST. Then let the 40 passengers transfer to the RT 40.
If you eliminate the RT 40 from Superstition Springs Transit Center., that would be cost neutral and serve more of the neglected Mesa residents.