Chapter 2: Proposed Bus Modifications - Metro Gold Line Foothill ...

Foothill Transit Route 187
This is Foothill Transit’s most heavily utilized route, carrying over 6,000 passengers per average weekday, 3,100 per
Saturday, and 2,900 per Sunday. Structurally similar to the Gold Line, Route 187 operates between downtown Pasadena
and the Montclair Transit Center primarily on Huntington Drive and Foothill Boulevard, and often in close proximity to the
rail corridor. A one-way trip end-to-end
takes up to two hours and 15 minutes,
which is substantially longer than most
one-way bus transit trips taken in the
region, and nearly three times longer
than the Gold Line is expected to take
once the line is extended to Montclair.
Ridership data compiled from Foothill
Transit APC information and shown in
Figure 2-5 indicate a pattern of steadily
rising weekday passenger volumes
aboard westbound trips to a maximum
load point of 985 passengers per day
on Huntington Drive approaching 2nd
Street near the Arcadia Station site.
Passenger volumes fl uctuate within
a relatively narrow range through
Pasadena, with 890 passengers per day
on board at the Sierra Madre Villa Gold
Line Station and 937 passengers per day
on Colorado Boulevard at Sierra Madre
Villa Boulevard. Passenger volumes
fall sharply from that point west to
the end of the line at Colorado and
Raymond as passengers alight in large
numbers in the downtown Pasadena
area. A similar pattern is exhibited on
eastbound trips shown in Figure 2-6,
with heavy boardings in downtown
Pasadena resulting in a maximum load
of 991 passengers per day on board at
Huntington Drive and 1st Street near
the Arcadia Station site. The passenger
volume drops to 570 passengers per
day on board at Foothill Boulevard and
Citrus Avenue near the Azusa-Citrus
Station.
The results of the bus rider survey
conducted for this study reported
Foothill Extension Bus Interface Plan
Passengers
Passengers
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Foothill Route 187
Weekday Westbound Ridership
Ons
Offs
Left on Board
Foothill Route 187
Weekday Eastbound Ridership
Figure 2-5
Station Vicinty
SMV
Arcadia
Citrus
Figure 2-6
Station Vicinty
SMV
Arcadia
Citrus
Passengers on Board
Passengers on Board
Boardings
Alightings
Left on Board
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
CHAPTER 2 | PROPOSED BUS ROUTE MODIFICATIONS
that 88 percent of existing Route 187 riders are likely to use the Gold Line Extension, the highest of any route surveyed.
Arcadia is not necessarily the preferred point of access for existing bus riders, however, with the Azusa-Citrus (21
percent), Monrovia (15 percent), Duarte (14 percent), Sierra Madre Villa (10 percent) and Azusa-Alameda (9 percent)
Stations potentially attracting more transferring passengers than Arcadia (7 percent). These ridership patterns support
reconfi guration of Route 187 to better complement the Gold Line when the Pasadena to Azusa extension is completed.
It is recommended that Route 187 be divided into three shorter routes to shift longer passenger trips to the Gold Line and
refocus bus service on providing feeder trips into multiple stations along the Pasadena to Azusa segment. Two of the
three new routes would terminate at the Arcadia Station:
• Route 186 Pasadena/Arcadia would operate between downtown Pasadena and Arcadia Station on an alignment
similar to the current Route 187, which includes Sierra Madre Villa Station. The route should operate within a
90-minute schedule cycle requiring six peak buses to provide peak period 15-minute headways designed to meet
every other peak direction Gold Line train at Sierra Madre Villa Station. Route 186 would approach the Arcadia Station
from the west via Huntington Drive eastbound, turn north on 1st Street and west on Santa Clara Street to a terminal
stop located on the street adjacent to the station entrance. Westbound departures would turn south on Santa Anita
Avenue and west on Huntington Drive returning to Pasadena.
• Route 187 Arcadia/Azusa would operate between the Arcadia Station and the Azusa-Citrus Station on its current
alignment, with minor changes to serve the Azusa-Alameda Station better. The route should operate within a
90-minute schedule cycle, requiring six peak buses to provide peak period 15-minute headways designed to meet
every other peak direction Gold Line train at the Arcadia Station. Route 187 would approach the Arcadia Station
proceeding west on Huntington Drive, north on 1st Street and west on Santa Clara Street to the bus turnout adjacent
to the station entrance. Eastbound departures would turn south on Santa Anita Avenue and east on Huntington
Drive returning to Azusa. Although Monrovia and Duarte Stations reportedly are attractive to survey respondents,
diversion of Route 187 to serve these stations directly is not recommended.
The major benefi t anticipated from splitting the existing route into three routes is the opportunity to coordinate bus
and train arrivals and departures at the Sierra Madre Villa, Arcadia and Azusa-Citrus Stations better. With Route 187
terminating at the Arcadia Station, transfer dwell times needed to align bus and train arrivals would coincide with layover
time required for operational purposes. This should result in an increased number of “line-of-sight” transfers available to
customers. Operationally, the shorter routes scheduled with recovery time equivalent to 15 percent of round trip running
time presumably would reduce pressure on Foothill Transit dispatchers and service supervisors attempting to maintain
schedule reliability on the existing cross-valley bus line and localize the impacts of any service disruptions.
Foothill Transit is currently working with several San Gabriel Valley cities to install a traffi c signal priority system for Route
187. It is anticipated that the route modifi cations in this report would not preclude use of this system as the current route
alignments and frequency is proposed to be maintained, all be it with three separate routes instead of a single route.
Station Interface
The proposed layover location on Santa Clara Street should minimize the distance that customers need to walk when
transferring between modes. The bus stop location also helps to emphasize the pedestrian plaza proposed for the station
area by the City of Arcadia. This plaza would serve as the primary pedestrian route between the bus stops and the light
rail station platform. Proposed bus route modifi cations are shown in Figure 2-7.
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