What do you envision for the future of transit for The Rapid?

Would love light rail/tram network to allow better transport of people throughout the Grand Rapids area. Give them right of way at all intersections, and they will be way faster at transporting way more people, while also reducing traffic as they give drivers a viable alternative to get around.
A light rail system and better area coverage beyond what we have now would probably make me re think using my car. I’m a delivery driver on Northridge drive. A bus currently services the delivery station. The current schedule doesn’t fit my needs. It takes me 15 mins from eastern and wealthy to northridge. I would have to leave way early, probably would take 90 mins of travel one way. There are hundreds of drivers at this station and only a handful use the bus.
A light rail network would go a long way. It would get rid of congestion and be a general positive for the area. It would also bring down noise a big issue in the city considering the highway runs straight through it.
I'd love to see more options like light rail, trams, or even tram trains. Integrating dedicated, 15 minute frequency service to new developments, while integrating it into Grand Rapid's existing transit hub which is the bus station. Getting into and out of the core of the city from the west side is difficult, with limited more distant travel options out of the city. Build more rail!
I'd LOVE to see some light rail/street car and people mover options become a thing! With the fact that Grand Rapids is growing and continues to grow, if we were connected from Rockford/Big Rapids all the way South to Caledonia, going thru Grand Rapids. This would not only increase foot traffic, also tourism, job opportunities, connecting communities, less accidents, less parking structures, faster travel time, less ware & tear on our roads, etc. This would move GR forward and into the future!
Hello, I live in Hudsonville and I feel having a light rail system would be great! This we stimulate the economy for downtown and other suburbs. I have a family of four and we enjoy going downtown Grand Rapids.
Provide publically available video recordings of all Board of Director meetings.
Require all members of the Board of Directors to ride The Rapid at least twice per month in order to retain board membership.
Yes it would be great to have the Light rail and streetcar in Grand Rapids MI. This would connect our residents to airport and downtown. This will truly create jobs and truly be the future of mobility in Grand Rapids
Rebalance the Board of Directors to be proportional with city populations. (More than half of riders live in Grand Rapids, but only 1/3 of the board represents GR)
Give riders more than a few days notice next time you cut service. What's the point in coming up with the new schedules and then waiting so long to make them public? Are you trying to surprise people and get them stranded?
are you trying to make things better for riders, or worse? because cutting service (during the coldest part of the year no less) makes it worse, in case you couldn't figure it out...
Stop putting advertising wraps over the windows. Advertising makes up less than 1℅ of the Rapid's revenue, is it really worth ruining riders' view for that?
I would love to see light rail connecting residential areas to downtown and the airport. Branch out from there.
I can't get to meetings on a timely basis using bus during the day, and therefore won't use the system on a regular basis. People I know in similar roles in other cities use transit. Improve the current system and its reach before spending on things like light rail that you're not ready to run.
Better public transportation to the airport! Currently there are no Sunday options and the rest of the week it would take me an hour and a half and three buses, and I don’t live far from downtown. Our airport is great and we shouldn’t have to rely on rideshare/taxi to get there!
Rebalance the Board of Directors to be proportional with city populations. (More than half of riders live in Grand Rapids, but only 1/3 of the board represents GR)
Most routes should be running at least twice as often. "High-frequency" means every 3-5 minutes, not every 15-20.
I would love to see restored Sunday bus service to the airport and ideally a bus that runs from the downtown to the airport without transferring at the mall. I went on a multi-state East Coast trip via Detroit in March and every leg of the journey I did by bus, plane, and train, until returning to our airport on a Sunday and having to call a Lyft to get home.
When replacing buses, ITP should (sometimes) compare buses from different manufacturers, instead of just automatically choosing Gillig every time.
Service into Allendale Township would allow a lot of people access to downtown without driving, and would serve senior housing nearby
Expanded service to more areas of the city. Currently the Comstock Park area, Millenium Park, and most of East Paris Ave. Se/Cascade rd. SE area are completely inaccessible by bus.
We have 3 lightly-used rail corridors in the city: NW to Ada, 44th/Kalamazoo through downtown to Alpin Township, and Jenison through downtown past the airport. Couldn’t we use the CSX corridor for light rail from the airport to downtown? Or, extend the 44th/Kalamazoo spur down the 44th street corridor to the airport. What about using the rail corridor through Comstock Park for service to LMCU ballpark? Even if rails weren’t extended, shuttles from destinations to a station could be added.
The Rapid needs to provide some level of 24 hour service. (Especially weekends and holidays.) Even if some of the late night buses are almost empty, more people will ride in the day if they know they can rely on the bus for a ride home.
lite rail!!
End the practice of full wrap ads (dots on windows), giving passengers a clearer view.
Bus routes in GR take several times longer to go the same distance as transit systems in other cities. We don't need light rail to fix this - it would be nice and very fast but not necessarily practical (but I don't know - that's not my job) - we just need more busses. More busses, more routes, more stops. Every bus near me only comes once an hour, maybe every half hour. Getting to the airport from downtown via bus takes almost two hours with all of the waiting you do.
Please add more bus routes! My partner and I would love to be able to take the bus more often, but the closest stop is a 30 minute walk from our apartment. Increased public transportation options could help decrease traffic and accident rates.
Not running bus service on holidays is unacceptable in a city of this size. If anything, there should be extra service to accomodate the extra trips being made.
Use transit signal priority to give buses early/extended green light phases, and use these to tighten the schedule/reduce travel times on routes. (Not just for buses already running late, as is currently the case)
As someone who grew up there in the 80s and 90s but lives far away from Grand Rapids, it makes my heart sing that this conversation is FINALLY HAPPENING. You go, Grand Rapids! Get that light rail! And get trains going to WMU, MSU and U of M too! Like I said, my heart sings at this discussion.
Light rail!
Later service and weekend service are needed. I'm not going to take a bus somewhere if I can't get back.
Please add more routes north/south east/west instead of the current spoke/wheel system. It looks great on a map but adds SO MUCH time for riders who have to go downtown to the hub before transferring to another bus to go back out when its only a few miles north/south from beginning to end.
Besides extending regular service hours, special events downtown should warrant special added frequencies/late night service. People shouldn't have to go back home at 9PM on a Saturday night just because the bus stops running, especially during an event like ArtPrize.
Here it is! Get Lit Grand Rapids! Light up all the Bus Signs! Create Wave Card cases that light up and an APP that lights up as well. Why? Because the past month I've been discussing with bus drivers how hard it is to see people standing by bus signs. So a push button light would be great plus all the other ideas I mentioned. I have been working on these ideas all month now and it would make a big difference and be extremely cool and Metro! Let's Go!
Wondering if. The 11. Will extend. The. Ride to. Dollar tree and. Lowe’s
Anyone who has complaints about GR either complains about the traffic, lack of parking, and the noise. Focusing on light rail and street cars would alleviate all of this.
Every time I discuss the pro’s and con’s of living in GR with friends or family, the topic of public transportation always comes up. If we want the city to grow and flourish, we need better access to public transportation!!
Time to get light rail built. I know I'm the millionth comment to suggest it, but it's sorely needed.