Rapid Ride Gets 24/7 All-Door Boarding

SounderBruce (Flickr)

In a win for efficiency, operational speed, and regulatory simplicity, beginning today all Rapid Ride lines will allow 24/7 all-door boarding. Until today, the lines have reverted from proof-of-payment to traditional front door boarding after 7pm, causing unnecessary complexity and confusion for riders.

The change comes after Metro management polled operators about the proposal, with the results coming back in favor of the change.

Metro's blog post below the jump"

In response to feedback from operators and customers, RapidRide service will begin full-time, 24/7, all door boarding on Saturday, May 14. Beginning that day, drivers can use all doors to board customers during all service hours on RapidRide bus service.

An extensive operator survey at all RapidRide bases asked if all-door boarding hours should remain the same, be slightly expanded or be changed to 24/7. A strong majority of operators said 24/7 all-door boarding would reduce RapidRide security incidents and increase service efficiency. Many operators noted that consistently allowing all door boarding would be less confusing for customers and reduce operator-customer conflict.

This change is only for RapidRide service. Other service that is not RapidRide still requires front door entry at all times.

Signage at the RapidRide stations will be changed over the next few months. Timetable and schedule information will be updated for the September service change.