Program 1: Greater Keene Transit Service
The Greater Keene Transit Service involves changes to the current services offered in Keene. Proposed changes include expanded hours, an expanded service area that includes the most populated areas of Swanzey and Marlborough, the use of smaller vehicles, smart phone technology, and a call center to manage on-demand ride requests. The envisioned service would include a fixed route service in Keene to transport people to and from the most popular stops in the City, however, it would be supplemented with microtransit, which is a fleet of roaming vehicles that would transport people within a defined zone. The planned fixed route bus would work much like the current City Express. No reservations for rides would be needed, there would be dedicated stops for riders to get on and off, and drivers could pick up people flagging the bus along the route where it is safe to do so. To use the microtransit service, a rider would need to register with the service and then request rides through a smart phone app or through a call center.
What is microtransit?
Microtransit offers highly flexible routing and/or scheduling, generally with smaller vehicles, whereby trips are shared with other passengers going in a similar direction. Microtransit providers build dynamic routes ad-hoc so as to match existing ride demand with available vehicles with the aim of extending the efficiency and accessibility of the transit service.
Microtransit, by it’s definition, is an on-demand ride service, often enabled by technology. Think Uber or Lyft, except rides would be shared like a public transit bus!
The Service
In July 2027, the NextGen Project plan proposes transitioning from the City Express and Friendly Bus to this new hybrid system. Based on transit models applied to the Greater Keene area, the new service is expected to result in:
Better coverage: expanded transit access geographically to 70% more people and 46% more jobs,
Better cost efficiency: Increase in daily ridership between 65% and 85% at a cost increase of 19% to 31% more per ride, a net benefit proposition,
More convenient ride booking (applicable to the microtransit service only): 10 – 30 minutes before travel, and;
More direct and faster rides between origin and destination.
The Zone
The figure below shows a proposed microtransit zone which was developed by examining existing transit ride trends and the locations of important origins and destinations in the Greater Keene area. Riders can request a ride to and from any location within this zone. The zone will overlap with the planned fixed route service.
