Reimagining Houston’s Transit System

After a two-year process, Houston’s existing bus system will be restructured to give better coverage and boost frequency to key areas without cost. Could other systems be similarly optimized?

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After a two-year process, Houston’s existing bus system will be restructured to give better coverage and boost frequency to key areas without increased cost. Ann Taylor, the executive director of ULI Houston, was on the community stakeholder committee that worked with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County on the reimagining process.

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Jarret Walker, a transit consultant who has presented at ULI events in the past, spoke with Here & Now, a radio show out of WBUR in Boston, about his firm’s work on the project.

According to Walker, who blogs at Human Transit, cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia, are two of the better-known examples of cities where existing bus networks have been dramatically revised to better serve shifting demands. This is one of the advantages of bus-based systems versus rail or subways in fast-growing cities.

In addition to the bus system, Houston has a bike-sharing system, with 28 B-Cycle stations, and a bike trail network in the downtown area.

Brett Widness is the managing editor of Urban Land. Previously, he worked in online editorial at the Washington Post, AARP, and AOL, now part of Yahoo!
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