ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Asheville transit planners are warning that improving bus frequency will require difficult trade-offs in service coverage as the city considers a major redesign of its ART network aimed at boosting ridership and reliability.
A consultant with Jarrett Walker and Associates told Asheville City Council during a Thursday agenda briefing that the system cannot increase frequent service without reducing coverage elsewhere if the budget stays the same — a core principle of the city’s ongoing transit overhaul.
“Within the budget you have, if you do want to shift toward ridership, it’s really hard to choose the places where we would remove service,” consultant Ricky Angueira said, noting that some lower-ridership areas would lose routes under the draft plan…