My bus commute time doubled last week and I found out why

I take the 42 bus downtown every morning in Portland. Last week it took 52 minutes instead of my usual 26. Checked the city transit data online. Turns out they added 14 new traffic circles on Division Street since January. Nobody asked riders about this. Has anyone else seen commute times jump like this without warning?

3 comments

3 Comments

lunag3019d ago

Wait, are you telling me the city just quietly added 14 traffic circles without telling anyone who actually rides the bus? That feels like a pretty big deal to just sneak in. I get that crashes might be down, but 52 minutes is rough when you're just trying to get to work. Maybe they could have warned people first or at least tested it out before going all in.

the_aaron19d ago

52 minutes is not that bad when you think about it. I drive down Division every morning and those traffic circles have actually saved me time because people stop treating it like a race track. The city put out a report back in February showing that crash rates dropped 40% on that corridor after the circles went in. Your 26 extra minutes might be someone else's life saved.

taylor.hayden19d ago

Yeah it's kind of funny how we fight little changes like this but then six months later you can't imagine going back to the old way. Makes you wonder how many other things we're doing wrong just because we're used to them.