Rochester transit plan would increase frequencies, merge low‑use routes and shorten weekend hours

Interim Transit and Parking Director Rachel Fouch presented proposed spring 2026 service changes aimed at increasing ridership and service reliability across Rochester Public Transit.

Fouch told the City Council the package would reallocate service to bring more routes to 20‑minute frequencies on the city’s primary transit network, convert some looped routes to bi‑directional service to shorten trips, and merge or discontinue underperforming lines. “We’re looking at increasing some of those frequencies to 20 minutes,” she said, adding the goal of improving boardings per hour toward the Metropolitan Council’s 15‑per‑hour guideline (the system average today is roughly eight boardings per hour). The proposal retains route 102 as a peak‑only route after public feedback and would discontinue a low‑use “shopper” route (505), which averaged about two boardings per day, while ensuring most stops remain served by other routes.

The plan also trims weekend service hours (shifting the weekend service window closer to mid‑morning and ending trips earlier in the evening) to match observed low early‑morning ridership on Saturdays and Sundays. Staff said 99% of current boardings would remain within a five‑minute walk of a stop under the proposed changes and projected an increase in the share of jobs reachable in 20 minutes by transit.

Council members pressed staff on expected ridership lifts and fiscal impact. Fouch cited prior fall service changes that improved boardings by about two boardings per hour and said staff expect a similar or better gain from these spring adjustments. She emphasized the package is intended to be revenue‑neutral operationally and stresses collaboration with drivers and the transit operator to align runs and blocks.

Riders and advocates at the meeting urged strong public education and physical materials for riders (updated printed guides, A‑frame signs, and in‑bus banners were promised) and called for rapid monitoring. Fouch said staff will begin collecting performance data quickly after implementation and that a Remix interactive tool will be available for riders to explore impacts of the changes.

The council did not take a final vote on the service package at the meeting but asked staff to proceed with final outreach and return with implementation details and performance monitoring results once the changes are in place.

The next formal update to the council is expected after the changes take effect and staff have one or two months of ridership data to report.