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Regional transportation arrangement in Phoenix, AZ

Valley Metro

Overview
Locale	Phoenix metropolitan area
Transit blazon	Calorie-free rails, jitney, BRT, Vanpool
Number of lines	Low-cal rail: 1 Express/RAPID bus: 6 Double-decker: 102
Number of stations	32 (light rail)
Daily ridership	219,406 (March 2017; avg. weekday boardings)^[1]
Annual ridership	65,958,074^[two]
Chief executive	Scott Smith^[three]
Headquarters	101 North 1st Artery Phoenix, Arizona 85003 33°26′59″N 112°04′29″W / 33.4497°N 112.0748°W / 33.4497; -112.0748
Website	valleymetro.org
Functioning
Began operation	1993^[4]
Operator(s)	Valley Metro Omnibus (motorbus) Valley Metro Rail (light rails)
Technical
System length	26.three miles (42.three km) (low-cal rail)
Track judge	iv ft8+ i⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Dominance, more than popularly known equally Valley Metro, is the unified public brand of the regional transit system in and around the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area, responsible for public transit. Inside the organisation, it is divided betwixt Valley Metro Charabanc, which runs all bus operations, and Valley Metro Rail, which is responsible for low-cal rail operations in the Valley.

Valley Metro is a membership organisation. Nearly services are separately funded and operated past individual cities and suburbs in the greater Phoenix region. These cities take agreed to participate in Valley Metro equally a unifying brand name to streamline service and reduce confusion among riders. Each city appoints a representative to the RPTA lath of directors, and a chairman, vice chairman, and treasurer are voted on amidst the board members for a i-yr term.

The ii largest operators of bus service are the city of Phoenix and the Regional Public Transportation Dominance (operating multi-city routes and services primarily in Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe). Circulator service in Glendale is operated by the city of Glendale directly, the Scottsdale Trolley circulators are contracted by the city of Scottsdale, and intra-city paratransit service in the cities of Glendale and Peoria are operated by the respective cities direct.

The RPTA operates a customer service, marketing and long-range transit planning operation from headquarters in downtown Phoenix which is shared among all Valley Metro member cities. A few routes which operate within several fellow member cities take their funding and operations shared between those cities. Some RPTA funding is used to broaden service provided by the member cities (this is expected to increase over the next several years due to a 2004 voter approving of an extension to the original 1985 sales taxation for transit funding). The city of Phoenix alone operates 73 percent of all Valley Metro routes (several of which as well serve suburban cities).^[5]

History [edit]

The RPTA was formed in 1985 equally the upshot of Phoenix-area voters blessing a one-half percent sales taxation increment for expansion of the local pike system, and for expansion of mass transit. The RPTA was then chartered under the laws of the state of Arizona. At the time, almost all transit service in the Phoenix area was operated by Phoenix Transit System, with a few other bus services such as in Mesa (Mesa Sunrunner) and Scottsdale (Scottsdale Connection) having started effectually 1990. Valley Metro, as an integrated regional transit service, did not begin operations nether its own make identity until 1993, when the RPTA lath of directors chose that proper noun, the logo, and color scheme as described below. At this time, Phoenix Transit System and Mesa Sunrunner were rebranded every bit Valley Metro, and several new routes operating under the RPTA were started.

Prior to the formation of the RPTA, the bus road structure of Phoenix Transit System was quite different, both in terms of numbering and routes. Previously, the motorcoach system was based on a "hub-and-spoke" structure with well-nigh routes starting from downtown Phoenix. These routes were split in one-half past Central Artery, which most routes used to admission downtown Phoenix. For example, the western half of Van Buren Street was served by route 3W, and the eastern half of Van Buren Street was served by route 3E. Most bus routes inherited a seemingly arbitrary, simply chronologically assigned, organisation from their Phoenix Street Railway heritage (for example, route 0-Primal was originally numbered route 5). Express routes were numbered in the 80s and 90s (for example: road 510 serving Scottsdale was originally numbered road xc, which is today assigned to route 90-Dunlap/Cavern Creek).

In the mid-1980s, the road structure was changed to form the basis for the arrangement operating today. Most routes were restructured so that they would stay on a single street rather than be based out of the downtown concluding. Routes that operated on multiple streets were also split up (for example, road 22-Camelback Crosstown covers parts of today's road 50 and road 72). The route numbering system was simplified so that motorcoach routes were numbered according to the block number of the street that they operated on. For case, route 50-Camelback is numbered because information technology runs mostly on Camelback Road, which is in the 5000 block. Because of the establishment of road numbers in the 80s and 90s, the express routes were renumbered to the 500-serial, where they remain today. The second digit of the 500-series express routes denotes the region of the metropolitan surface area where the bus is traveling to (for case, the 510 series go to Scottsdale, the 530 series become to Mesa, and the 570 series become to the Northwest Valley). The evolution to a full "supergrid" structure continues today every bit route branches are either replaced with circulators or separated into new routes.

Colour schemes [edit]

The Valley Metro color scheme used from 1993 until 2006, still seen on many buses

Originally, the buses of one of Valley Metro's predecessors, Phoenix Transit System, were painted with an orange and pink stripe, and a logo on the sides, rear and front, featuring a graphic symbol known as "Tico", which was a dominicus wearing sunglasses, and a sombrero. In the late 1980s, this logo disappeared and buses were simply labeled "Metropolis of Phoenix Transit System". In 1993–1994, the RPTA inverse the colors to a green and imperial color scheme (which many vehicles nevertheless take), with a green stripe and a big imperial "5" on the passenger'southward side, and the reverse on the driver's side.

In 2006, a simplified color scheme was introduced with the delivery of the C40LFR buses. This scheme is similar to the previous scheme except that the "V" has been removed (it obscured visibility from within the buses in many cases), at that place is only a green stripe around the coach, the Valley Metro logo is displayed on the forepart, rear, and rear sides of the omnibus, and the sides are lettered "Valley" in majestic and "Metro" in white. All new buses delivered to the RPTA from 2006 onwards feature a new interior very similar to that of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) simply with darker tinted windows, no Transit Television (since all Valley Metro divisions except for the City of Phoenix divisions and Valley Metro Rail prohibit advertisement), and blue seat cloth (as opposed to the "rainbow" seat fabric used on LACMTA buses). Buses delivered to the urban center of Phoenix from 2006 to 2008 feature a similar interior to those delivered from 1993 to 2006 but with the aforementioned seat material used on the RAPID coach rapid transit buses.

On December 27, 2008, Valley Metro introduced a new logo, replacing the "V" logo that had been in identify since 1993. The light-green and purple colors were retained, but the light-green was made lighter and the regal was fabricated darker. The new logo also as the new shades of green and purple were introduced on the Valley Metro LINK arterial bus rapid transit service, every bit well every bit a new interior color scheme.

On October xxx, 2009, Valley Metro introduced a concept pigment scheme on two New Flyer C40LFR's which are serving as demonstration units for the new scheme. The scheme consists of a silver trunk with a green and royal swoosh going from forward of the front wheel to the rear of the CNG tanks. Riders were provided surveys which were collected and information reviewed. This scheme became official on all RPTA-owned buses (non including the LINK buses) congenital since 2010. The LINK buses used a variant of this scheme, with a purple front instead of silver.

In 2010, the City of Tempe introduced a variant of the new Valley Metro scheme with a dark-green front instead of argent on i New Flyer L40LFR. This became the official scheme for all Tempe-owned buses starting with the 2011 New Flyer C40LFRs.

In 2013, the Urban center of Phoenix introduced a new scheme for its fleet. They differ from the RPTA- and Tempe-owned armada in that the trunk is more often than not painted white and the light-green and majestic swoosh wraps effectually the forepart and rear of the motorbus. This modification in design was likely made to suit advertisements below the windows, since the Metropolis of Phoenix is the simply operator (other than Valley Metro Rails) that allows advertisements on its fleet.

Service improvements under RPTA [edit]

In the early years of Valley Metro and throughout the 1990s, the Phoenix metropolitan surface area was the largest in the The states with transit service operating only Monday through Saturday, with no Sunday service or Sabbatum dark service (later on 8 p.m.) at all. Even on weekdays, some bus service ended equally early every bit 7 or viii p.m. This schedule was a huge hardship for a large portion of the Phoenix labor forcefulness (some of whom had to walk or bicycle long distances to and from work when motorbus service did not operate) and may have deterred some who wanted to relocate to the Phoenix area.

That began to change in 2001, when Valley Metro expanded to Dominicus service in Phoenix, Glendale, and Scottsdale, with Tempe having Sunday service since 1999 (this resulted in large role from the approving of the Transit 2000 Regional Transportation Program (RTP), which involved a new 0.4 percent sales revenue enhancement in the city of Phoenix, with the other cities approving similar measures around the same time).

In 2002, the cities of Tempe and Scottsdale merged BOLT (Better Options for Local Transit) and Scottsdale Connectedness into the Valley Metro system in order to unify the Valley Metro brand and to reduce confusion (especially along the Blood-red Line, which was operated by both Phoenix and Tempe and used Valley Metro and Commodities branded vehicles). All of the Commodities buses were repainted into standard Valley Metro colors (they notwithstanding have a different interior from other Valley Metro buses) and the Scottsdale Connection buses were replaced. All the same, earlier the merger, the systems were featured in the Valley Metro Bus Book and had the same fare structure as the balance of the arrangement, i.due east. basically a different brand.

In add-on, in 2004, Proposition 400 was passed, which extended a half-cent sales tax originally earmarked entirely for freeways. The tax was revised to provide funding for non only freeways, but "supergrid" bus service, (concentrated along Phoenix grid streets), bus rapid transit, and light rail extensions.

The residuum of the service area notwithstanding had no Sunday service as of the fall of 2008, with the exception of the portion of road 72 (see below) that runs into Chandler, the department of road 156 that runs across Chandler, and routes 61 and 96, which established regular Sunday service in selected portions of the city of Mesa in July 2008. As of 2018, Sunday service is provided in the Eastward Valley on all local routes except the 104-Alma School Route, 120-Mesa Bulldoze, 128-Stapley Drive, 136-Gilbert Route, and 140-Ray Route. Every bit of 2018, Routes 45-Broadway and 77-Baseline practice not serve Mesa on Sundays, and Route 96-Dobson does not serve Chandler on Sundays.

1989 ValTrans proposal [edit]

In 1989, a referendum took place in the RPTA constituent cities on expanded bus services (the fleet size would nearly have been tripled) and the implementation of elevated rail as office of a programme called "ValTrans".^[6]

The locations of 3 of Valley Metro'south nearly heavily traveled bus routes (earlier the December 2008 commencement of light track service) would take been the elevated rail lines' paths, and referred to past these color designations:

Red Line, traveling from east Mesa to Metrocenter Mall in northwest cardinal Phoenix, including stops at Arizona State University's main campus in Tempe, Phoenix Heaven Harbor International Airport, and the downtown Phoenix business, sports, and entertainment corridor (the resulting charabanc line was the 2d well-nigh heavily used in the Valley Metro system).^[7]
Blue Line, traveling from S Phoenix, through downtown and the Central Avenue corridor, along Camelback Road and the upscale Biltmore expanse, forth 24th Street (passing the historic Arizona Biltmore resort), Lincoln Drive, a cursory express portion on the Country Route 51 freeway, 32nd Street, Shea Boulevard, Tatum Road, and eventually serving Paradise Valley Mall and Mayo Dispensary Phoenix.
Green Line, traveling along Thomas Road betwixt Desert Heaven Mall in Westward Phoenix, to the intersection of Thomas and 81st Street in the city of Scottsdale (the resulting bus line is now the most heavily used in the Valley Metro arrangement). The color lines are no longer in service and were renamed as routes. The Green Line was renamed to Road 29 – Thomas Rd.
Yellow Line, traveling from 83rd Avenue/Peoria, down Grand Avenue, a major arterial street which runs diagonally from the northwest into downtown Phoenix and is a major section of US lx) to the Washington/Jefferson couplet, and down Washington Street to Sun Devil Stadium and the ASU campus in Tempe. This route was discontinued in 2003, as a result of a road improvement project for Grand Artery/US 60 led by the Arizona Department of Transportation; the projection made Grand Avenue more than expressway-similar past eliminating seven major at-course intersections on Grand in the cities of Phoenix and Glendale (the new overpasses/underpasses did not take motorbus stops, making transfers impossible). The office of the route that traveled on Washington was renamed Route 1-Washington, and the Grand Avenue segment was converted to the "Grand Avenue Limited" commuter bus route that operates during rush hours and makes just limited stops.
Other routes, such as a commuter line to Chandler and an inter-urban center route serving Tucson.

Funding for would have come up from a sales tax plan with a set expiration and reapproval appointment by 2019, a thirty-year authorization period. The ValTrans proposal was soundly defeated at the polls. Concerns about racket, price, and overall effectiveness were prominent, besides every bit voter frustration over the lack of progress on existing road and freeway construction.

Similar referendums were later voted down in 1993 and 1997, although Tempe voters passed a half-percent sales taxation defended for transit (which partly allowed officials to study light rails) in 1996.

With the start of light rail service in December 2008, these color-coded designations were retired. The Scarlet Line was eliminated altogether every bit nearly of the route is at present covered by the light track line (with several portions, including Metrocenter Mall, now likewise covered by Road 15-15th Artery); the Blue Line was renamed to Route 39 – 40th Street and now terminates at the intersection of Camelback Road and Central Artery; the Dark-green Line was renamed Route 29 – Thomas (its original pre-ValTrans name); its routing remains unchanged.

Transit 2000 light rails proposal [edit]

In 2000, the Transit 2000 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), which involved a 0.iv percent sales taxation, was approved by voters in Phoenix. Information technology sought to improve the local charabanc service and create bus rapid transit and lite rail, amidst other things. Valley Metro Rail has a goal of a one-third farebox ratio,^[8] and the RTP anticipates this to rise to 45% by 2025. The plan implemented studies for further rail service, though for some time in the time to come. It besides used the route placing and colour designations from the 1989 plan.

Proposition 104 [edit]

In August 2015, Phoenix voters passed Proposition 104, increasing the sales tax allocated to transit from 0.4 to 0.7%. Information technology is expected to partially pay for a $31 billion transit programme over 35 years. Under the plan, about half of the new acquirement will go to bus service, a third to lite rail, 7% to street improvements, and 10% to debt service.^[9] 42 miles (68 km) of light track are planned to be congenital.^[ten]

Services offered [edit]

A bus waiting in Scottsdale, wearing the Valley Metro color scheme used from 2006 to 2008

Motorcoach service [edit]

Valley Metro operates bus routes around the Phoenix surface area through individual companies in Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Glendale, and other parts of Maricopa County. These include fixed routes on city streets, suburban Express buses, RAPID buses, and circulators in parts of Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe, Mesa, Avondale, and Scottsdale.

Light rails [edit]

Valley Metro Rail operates a 26.3-mile (42.iii km) route betwixt the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. The organisation was near recently expanded in March 2016, with 4 additional extensions in the design or pre-construction phases, with expected opening dates ranging from 2018 to 2030. Future extensions include service to Metrocenter Mall, the Arizona Country Capitol building, and Baseline Road, all in Phoenix.

Paratransit [edit]

Valley Metro offers paratransit for elderly and disabled residents via its Paratransit service. Paratransit providers include:

Valley Metro Paratransit (Contracted by the RPTA and operated by Transdev)
Phoenix Dial-A-Ride (Contracted by the Urban center of Phoenix and operated past MV Transportation)
Glendale Dial-A-Ride (Operated by the City of Glendale)
Peoria Dial-A-Ride (Operated by the Metropolis of Peoria)

Valley Metro Paratransit operates all trips outside the cities of Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Glendale, and Peoria, equally well as regional trips (defined every bit trips that begin or cease outside the boundaries of Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Glendale, or Peoria, with the other end of the trip within the boundaries of those cities/towns). Phoenix Dial-A-Ride operates trips within the Phoenix urban center limits and the town of Paradise Valley. Glendale Dial-A-Ride and Peoria Dial-A-Ride operate trips within the boundaries of their respective cities. Service area boundaries vary by city, with some cities (specifically Avondale, El Mirage, Goodyear, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Tolleson, also every bit unincorporated areas of Maricopa County) only offering service inside .75 miles (1.21 km) of a fixed coach road while other cities offer service in a larger area (Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, and Surprise offering city/town-wide service, and Phoenix offering urban center-wide service due south of Jomax Road). To handle overflow demand, some trips on Valley Metro Paratransit and Phoenix Dial-A-Ride are outsourced to local taxi companies or to non-emergency medical transportation providers.

Rideshare [edit]

Other commuting options are coordinated by Valley Metro'southward Rideshare department, funded by contracts with Maricopa Canton and the Maricopa Association of Governments.^[eleven] The primary outreach effort of the Rideshare team is the Maricopa County Trip Reduction Program, which seeks to reduce traffic impacts on air pollution and emissions throughout the Valley. Any employer with 50 or more full-time employees is required to participate in the programme, which seeks to convince employees to utilize transit alternatives. The 25,000 employees of State of Arizona government agencies who piece of work and live in the Valley accept their own Rideshare department, called Capitol Rideshare.^[12]

Public funding [edit]

Fares [edit]

The table at right shows the electric current fare structure for the Valley Metro system, since August 28, 2017.

Fare blazon	Local and Lite rail	Express / RAPID^one	Reduced fare²
1 ride	$two	$three.25	$one
24-hour pass	$four	$6.l	$2
vii-24-hour interval pass	$20	Non available	$10
fifteen-day pass	$33	Not bachelor	$xvi
31-day laissez passer	$64	$104	$32
Notes A local/lite runway 24-hour pass tin be used on an Limited or RAPID road for an additional $1.25 per boarding (or $2.25 per boarding for reduced fare) Reduced fare is bachelor to those with a disability, seniors aged 65 and older, and children ages 6 to xviii, and Medicare card holders

Currently, all of the above passes (excluding 1-Ride trips) are sold on magnetic stripe cards, which must be activated when boarding a bus, or activated by a Ticket Vending Auto prior to boarding lite track. Failure to pay or activate appropriate fare when boarding a transit vehicle may carry a fine of up to $500.^[xiii]

Arizona State University (ASU) students and employees are eligible to participate in the ASU U-Pass program, allowing them to access the system at a discounted rate. Students, faculty, and other eligible staff may buy their U-Laissez passer from any ASU parking office.^[14]

Upwardly to three children under the historic period of five riding with a fare-paying adult can ride free. Limited Stop service such every bit the Grand Artery Express are charged as local service.

As function of Proposition 104, a replacement organization using contactless cards is under development to supercede the current system, and is provisionally scheduled for deployment in fiscal year 2017.^{[ needs update ]} The system volition likely resemble the current Platinum Pass, which is only bachelor through selected Phoenix-area employers and also the TAP card system, currently in use by the LACMTA in Los Angeles, including features similar stored value, online account management, and mobile ticketing capabilities.^[fifteen] ^[16]

Valley Metro has used a contactless menu arrangement, the Platinum Laissez passer, since 2011 in a limited chapters; the Platinum Laissez passer is bachelor exclusively through selected public and individual-sector employers for distribution to their employees through their man resources (or defended ridesharing/transit) departments, with fares at least partially subsidized past the employer equally part of the above-mentioned Trip Reduction Program (developed to command the air pollution trouble long plaguing the Phoenix surface area). Whatever employee contribution to the fare is usually deducted from the employee paycheck. A similar ADA Platinum Pass is also available for qualifying people with disabilities.

See as well [edit]

Listing of rapid transit systems
Metropolitan Phoenix Freeways
METRO Calorie-free Rail
Phoenix Public Transportation

References [edit]

^ "Monthly Ridership Report, March 2017" (PDF). p. 9. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
^ "Valley Metro - Reports & Publications - Ridership Reports". Valley Metro. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
^ "Boards of Directors Name Acting CEO". Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
^ "Valley Metro - History and Local Funding". Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
^ "Phoenix Public Transit Section: Frequently Asked Questions". City of Phoenix. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved thirty May 2015.
^ "A Brief History Of Transportation Elections". Arizona Rail Passenger Association. 2000. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved xxx May 2015.
^ "City of Phoenix Public Transit Department: Quick Facts". Metropolis of Phoenix. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
^ http://world wide web.azcentral.com/news/manufactures/0227fares0227box.html^{[ dead link ]}
^ Goth, Brenna (August 26, 2015). "Phoenix voters pass Prop. 104 transit tax". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved August 26, 2015.
^ McClay, Bob (August 24, 2015). "Proposition 104 on Phoenix election ballot is hot topic for city leaders". KTAR News . Retrieved August 26, 2015.
^ "Commute Solutions". Valley Metro. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
^ "Capitol Rideshare". Retrieved xxx May 2015.
^ "Fare Options - Valley Metro". www.valleymetro.org . Retrieved 2016-02-22 .
^ "ASU PTS - Public Transit". Retrieved 4 September 2017.
^ "RPTA and VMR Board Coming together Bundle - January 2016" (PDF). 2016-01-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2016-02-22 .
^ "Track Management Committee Minutes from November iv, 2015 as published on January 6, 2016" (PDF). January vi, 2016. p. 68. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

External links [edit]

Valley Metro official site
Valley Metro Rail
City of Phoenix public transit section
Maricopa Canton Regional Transportation Plan official site containing the current Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and updated drafts
Arizona Rail Passenger Association "A volunteer grouping of concerned citizens working for improve rail passenger service in the Desert Southwest."
Arizona Transit Association (AzTA) "A non-profit statewide system defended to improving public transportation in all Arizona communities."
Friends of Transit "The mission of Friends of Transit is the instruction of the public on the benefits and importance to the Greater Phoenix community of a well-designed and accessible mass transit system which represents a major component of a balanced regional transportation plan."

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Metro