June 27, 2006

PASADENA’S TRANSPORTATION REPORT CARD IS ONLINE

How long it takes to drive on major streets in Pasadena during peak traffic hours and how many people are riding Pasadena ARTS buses are just two of the many traffic questions answered through the city’s Transportation Report Card, which can be found online at www.cityofpasadena.net/trans.

Developed as part of the 2004 General Plan Mobility Element Implementation Program, the report card measures traffic volume, travel time along 15 corridors and ridership on the Pasadena ARTS Bus system’s various routes.

Commuters who use the web site can read data that may be useful in choosing routes to work, leisure and other activities. The data will be used as a benchmark for future report cards measuring the effectiveness of the city’s traffic mitigation efforts.

“New technology has made it possible to capture information and present it in a more graphical presentation for the average viewer,” said Eric Shen, transportation planning and development manager for the Pasadena Department of Transportation. “Those interested in statistics, on the other hand, can have a field day scanning through more than 1,000 records gathered since 1996.”

The data also shows that Pasadena’s seven ARTS buses carried approximately 1.34 million passengers, operated for more than 56,000 hours and drove 655,000 miles in Fiscal Year 2005 (July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005).

The measuring of morning, mid-day and evening peak travel periods involved staff and members of the Transportation Advisory Commission. Armed with a Global Positioning Unit that included a receiver, antennae and data storage unit, drivers were assigned routes three times during each time period. They were instructed to maintain a consistent driving style and not to weave in and out of lanes. The gathering of data took place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for about two weeks in February 2006.
For more information call (626) 744-7208.