Bus Access
County Public Transit, Tivoli, New York
Quality transit involves both coverage (can I get to a bus?) and frequency (does it come when I need it to?). Research shows that frequent and reliable bus service has higher ridership – but in areas like ours, doing so can pose challenges. If we focus too much on coverage, we won’t have the resources to provide the frequency most people need for transit to be truly useful. However, if we focus on frequency, we need to find alternative solutions for people outside of the coverage area. These competing needs require bus operators to find a balance in the services they provide, given available resources.
View areas with frequent, somewhat frequent, and infrequent service on our Barriers to Reliable Access Map. Our Methodology document (.pdf) describes the details of the analysis.
How many people in Dutchess County have access to a bus? How many have access to a bus that comes frequently?
40 percent of county residents have access to a bus, which we define as living within half a mile of a bus route. But this access varies depending on where you live, as most service is concentrated in the southwest portion of the county. The other 60 percent of residents without access to a bus live in suburban and rural areas where the lack of population density makes fixed route service less practical.
Of the residents with access to a bus route, more than half have access to frequent weekday service, while about 30 percent have access to somewhat frequent service and 15 percent have access to infrequent service. Saturday service is similar in most cases. On Sundays, a quarter of residents have some level of service, but less than two percent have access to frequent service.
In addition to the frequency of service, the number of bus routes a person can access is another measure of reliability. The more places someone can go without needing to transfer makes transit more useful and convenient. Fifteen percent of residents, mostly concentrated between Poughkeepsie and Beacon, have access to at least three bus routes within a half mile. Seven percent have access to two routes, and 18 percent have access to one route.
BUS SERVICE OPTIONS
Although our analysis looked at fixed-route bus service (bus routes with a regular schedule), County Public Transit also provides other services. Dial-a-Ride is available in select municipalities, and FLEX operates throughout the county. Both services require passenger registration and advance reservations.
How walkable are our bus stops?
More than 65 percent of bus stops have an adjacent sidewalk. And since the adjacent sidewalks are often only short segments, we looked at the amount of sidewalk coverage within a half mile. The transit hub on Market Street in Poughkeepsie has over 80 percent sidewalk coverage within a half mile, but this stop is an outlier: about a quarter of stops have 50 percent or more sidewalk coverage within a half mile, while about half have less than 20 percent sidewalk coverage.
How comfortable are our bus stops?
Even when you can walk to a bus stop, you might not use it if there isn’t a comfortable place to wait. Almost 60 of the county’s bus stops have a shelter, and about 80 percent of these are accessible via sidewalks and curb ramps. County Public Transit continues to add and improve shelters at its bus stops as funding allows.
Our Role
- Work with County Public Transit to maximize the number of residents with frequent service.
- Work with County Public Transit to provide as much service coverage as possible without sacrificing service quality in high-demand areas.
- Encourage better transit service to key destinations (see our Barriers to Basic Needs section).
- Encourage public and private partners to collaborate in developing alternatives to fixed-route transit service in low-density areas.