Transit service in the U.S. faces a double-whammy at present: increased demand but falling revenues. The right kind of hubs, which have the potential to induce greater regional transit use, typically can't be built on the cheap. This means that new public revenue sources must be pursued, along with public-private partnerships involving developers of adjacent office, commercial and high-density residential structures.
In addition to the services offered at a hub, the placement of a hub within the regional surface transportation system is another of their defining characteristics. Their location should typically be at a natural confluence of transit routes and highway corridors. In major metro regions, highway corridors on Interstates and major state routes, should be tolled electronically using time-variable rates. This in turn will boost use of hubs and the transit and ride-sharing services they offer. Tolling revenues collected with a corridor should be used in part to fund expanded high-capacity transit in the corridor, including development of key multi-modal hubs.
A realistic understanding of potential hub users is key to their growth and the success of regional surface transportation systems, including the transit component. In many instances, one crucial aspect of hubs must be encouragement of the "hybrid trip" model, in which commuters may have to use private vehicles on the first and last legs of daily round trips, with transit or ride-share service in the middle. That means ample parking is needed at transit hubs, and that hub and transit proponents alike must seek to develop transit mind-share while eschewing demonization of the motor vehicle.
Vancouver, British Columbia
One notable transit hub is at Waterfront Station in Vancouver, B.C. A company named Coast Mountain Bus operates, for the regional transit agency TransLink, the SeaBus passenger-only ferry service. Two double-ended 400-passenger catamarans run across scenic Burrard Inlet from Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. Trip time is 12 minutes. A variety of direct transit connections are available at both ends - a bus network in North Vancouver, including routes to Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension Bridge; and at Waterfront Station, direct connections from the SeaBus to light rail, commuter rail and buses.
Central Puget Sound
The growing Eastside communities across Lake Washington from Seattle are prime territory for modern surface transportation hubs. The dead zones we call park-and-ride lots are transformable into high-tech hubs with joint housing, retail services, plug-in electric vehicle stations, technology-office clusters and many transportation choices, including commuter rail, express buses and para-transit. One new idea is called flexible carpooling. Prescreened drivers and commuters pair up in designated park-and-ride areas for trips to different employment clusters, under a market-based credit and debit system. Missed your car pool? Catch the next one!
The abandoned BNSF rail corridor from Snohomish to Redmond and Renton offers a potential 42-mile rail and trail combo that, with track rehabilitation, could feature quiet, high-tech, double-decked, biodiesel-burning, bike-carrying, north-south trains to connect to east-west express bus lines on Highways 522 and 520, and Interstate 90. Private sector cost-sharing is distinctly possible. One example: At the nexus of the rail line, Highway 520 and Interstate 405, where an old Safeway distribution center stands, Wright Runstad is proposing a 36-acre office and housing development (the Spring District). The company could share costs for the trail and a commuter rail station complex that incorporates aspects of a multi-modal hub.
