City officials in Palm Springs are taking a look at making some changes to the Palm Springs Buzz trolley including adding advertisements (sure, why not) and charging fares (no!). Since city leaders are clearly open to change with the service – and since the mayor reads Cactus Hugs when he is not driving to Palm Desert for shoes – I figured I would take five minutes to fix the current route of the shuttle, which takes too long and makes no sense.
Let’s start by taking a look at the current route:
Okay. So it is not completely terrible. It does take riders for free around downtown and the surrounding areas. But, if you have ridden the Buzz, you know that it takes a crazy amount of time for the busses to travel this route. So, let’s get to fixing it.
Step 1: Eliminate the dumbest leg of the route
Plenty of people will speculate why this diversion off of the main route even exists (hint: follow the money), but this post is not about that. It is about fixing the route. So, poof, it’s gone.
Step 2: Also get rid of this part
If people want to go to the Spa Casino or the Convention Center, they are going to have to walk a block. This is about efficiency, not getting you to the slots faster.
We are not done yet. But, let’s take a moment to look at how much better the Buzz route already looks.
Ooooh. That’s nice. But now, things get even better.
Step 3: Add Tahquitz
I know what you are saying, “what the hell are you doing, man?” Just give me a chance to explain.
You see by adding the street onto the map…
We can get to the final and biggest step of all…
Step 4: Two Routes
Two routes, two loops. Call them what you want: North and South, Buzz 1 and Buzz 2, Buzz Lightyear and Buzz Aldrin, it’s up to you, Palm Springs.
Half the trolleys will work the north end(inside the yellow)and half on the south (inside the blue) – meaning only about 15 stops per route, rather than the 30 that each bus currently makes in the existing route, and a better chance to get to where you want to go in less amount of time.
Sure, this might be slightly confusing for some, but, c’mon – tourists figure out the New York City subway system everyday. I think they can negotiate two Buzz loops.
Thanks in advance for making this happen, Palm Springs. Now, feel free to send those lucrative consulting fees my way.
