Since the split of the 12 Sandy/Barbur Blvd line, there have been major issues I suspected that the timing of the 12 and 21 were off and in need of a fix.After crunching some numbers, I was right.
The numbers don’t lie. This is a major problem. The transfer to the 21 from the 12 (Blue, Red, and Yellow) is twice as long as the transfers to the 12 from the 21 (Green, Purple, Brown). It’s time to get this fixed.
Excellent research here!
I did a similar analysis of the 12/94 connection at Tigard TC and it’s likewise pretty bad. If you’re lucky you can have a “convenient” transfer (within 5 minutes). If you’re not…you will pull in as your connecting bus pulls out. Northbound (94 -> 12) it’s a 20 minute wait – ON WEEKDAYS. On Sundays, I have personally seen a 57 minute wait (good thing I was riding my bike!)
Riding a bus is supposed to be easy – so easy, you just know the headways; you’re not required to consult a timetable and plan a convoluted trip. This isn’t an airline trip or a long distance railroad trip. But TriMet has made the bus inconvenient by forcing one to plan a trip well in advance not to maximize convenience or speed – but by avoiding long transfers at poorly located transit centers with few amentities, and fewer nearby attractions. (Parkrose TC in particular is in an “island” with nothing nearby…it’s there solely for TriMet’s convenience, not that of its riders.)