BAT 15 Rockland Line

Route description
SMART's BAT15 is a route that operates between Brockton's BAT Station and the Park and Ride in Rockland. The route offers limited service (pick-up only toward Rockland, drop-off only toward Brockton) along the path of the BAT5, and converts to regular local service along the path of the Rockland Flex. The route continues past Rockland Center into the northern residential areas and Rockland's industrial park. The Park and Ride at the end of the line offers a connection to Plymouth and Brockton's Boston/Hyannis Line.

Brockton

 * The BAT Terminal averages 10,000 passengers weekday
 * Brockton Station on the Middleborough/Lakeville Line averages 650 passengers per weekday.
 * Trinity Village is a 164-unit affordable housing community on Grove Street.
 * Hillside Village is a 100-unit family housing community on Centre Street.



Abington

 * The Abington Wal-Mart has a traffic count averaging 15,000 vehicles per day.
 * The Abington Station on the Kingston/Plymouth Line averages 1,100 passengers per weekday.
 * The Abington Target draws 14,000 vehicles per day, much of it outside traffic.

Rockland

 * The Rockland Park and Ride is the Rockland Stop on the Boston/Hyannis Line (commuter bus). Commuter bus is cheaper than commuter rail and it is more flexible. (commuter rail goes to South Station; commuter bus alternates between Copley Square, South Station, and Logan Airport for its Boston destinations. Its Cape Cod destinations are even more numerous).

About
This report examines the suburban travel network —which overlaps with but is not entirely the same as what is popularly known rural transit—and the role that the Brockton Area Transit could play in planning for it as a segment of the region’s transportation market. A critical link exists between the Plymouth and Brockton service area and the latter part of its namesake. Without this link, clients who wish to access the Brockton area from the shore are forced to go into Boston, change trains, and leave Boston. Clients wishing to access the shore from the Brockton area are forced to ride into Boston, change trains, and leave Boston. This mind-wringling redundancy is enough to keep people away from transit, as evidenced by the crowded roads. While BAT services meet and support community needs, BAT can make rural transit become a viable and increasingly attractive option for more people by expanding the Rockland Line. The Rockland Line operates as a flex route between Rockland Center and Brockton Hospital. The route travels through low density residential areas not conducive to transit and its service hours are limited; as a result, the route suffers from low ridership. If the route expands to points that are conducive to transit and also expands its service hours, it will become useful to more people and see an increase in ridership.

First, rural transit can be a viable and increasingly attractive option for more people with the expansion of the Rockland Line because the route travels through low density residential areas, offering a limited number of destinations to a limited service area. Instead of running from the East Side of Brockton to the Lower End of Rockland's Historical District, what if the route were expanded in both directions to include the BAT terminal and the Rockland Park and Ride Lot as its endpoints? With Abington Station as a mid-point, a more commuter-friendly route boosts interoperability, which is key to making a multimodal system easy to use. It allows BAT to partner with Plymouth & Brockton Bus Lines to provide inter-city bus service to the BAT system. This new bus connection will enable customers to travel conveniently to locations along two commuter rail lines, the Middleborough/Lakeville and the Kingston/Plymouth, while also having access to Plymouth & Brockton's extensive network of more than 20 destinations across the South Shore and Cape Cod. Additionally, a cluster of commercial, industrial, and entertainment establishments surround the Park and Ride Lot. Adding the BAT Centre, Abington Station, and the Rockland Park and Ride Lot to the route will significantly increase ridership on the Rockland Line.

Secondly, the service hours are limited. An 8:45am to 4:15pm service span works for grade-school students who live and attend school close to the bus line, and those attending medical appointments. With some of the lowest vehicle ownership rates in Plymouth County, the seven-and-a-half hour service span presents a challenge to anyone who works a traditional 8 hour shift. In most cases, one can manage to catch a bus to work, but will have to find a ride home; being able to catch a bus home requires finding a ride to work - The route begins too late and ends too early. By expanding its service span to coordinate with departures and arrivals at Abington train Station (6:24am to 10:30pm), the route would make itself a more viable option for riders. The commuter bus service at Rockland's Park and Ride offers a relatively frequent schedule; customers will have access to seamless connectivity between local bus service and inter-city bus service in one convenient location. The existence of robust, reliable public transit options allows long-distance commuters to pursue patterns with a greater level of confidence and efficiency. A common barrier to greater use of the regional bus network appears to be its lack of “legibility” or ease of comprehension. Signage communicates more effectively and is also capable of attracting riders who didn't originally intend on using the service, but found it convenient to their travel needs. Adding trips to an expanded route would allow service to a wider span of individuals, making rural transit a viable and increasingly attractive option for more people.

The #12 also travels through low density residential areas not conducive to transit, but manages to have the BAT's highest rate of ridership. It's primary ridership generators are at the beginning, middle, and endpoints of the line, places where passengers can connect to other services. The Rockland Line is in reach of three such ridership generators, not to mention several shopping destinations, such as Wal-Mart and Target, which are not on the #12 line. Other destinations along the line, such as Downtown Brockton and Rockland Center will see an increase in passenger traffic, as Rockland's Historical district finally has a real connection to a central business district that is historically aligned with theirs. Linking these two municipalities together will make rural transit a truly viable and attractive option.

In conclusion, BAT services meet and support community needs, while rural transit awaits the opportunity to become the viable and increasingly attractive option that BAT wants it to be. Improved rural transit can provide the foundation for a better user experience and create increased ridership for regional transit agencies, and better planning tools for towns seeking to urbanize. Access to transportation is the single most important factor in an individual's ability to escape poverty. Someone who lives next to a subway stop is astronomically more likely to find a high-paying job than someone who doesn't have a way to get around. Individuals in poverty generally live in poor neighborhoods with few job opportunities. But with reliable, accessible, inexpensive public transportation, these individuals can get all across their region to where the jobs are.