Orbit (bus system)

Last updated
Orbit
Founded1990
Headquarters500B Church Street
Locale Huntsville, AL
Service type Bus service
Routes9 weekday
1 weekend
Daily ridership2,207 (2022) [1]
Annual ridership624,512 (2022) [1]
OperatorCity of Huntsville, Public Transportation Division
Website City of Huntsville, Public Transportation

The Orbit fixed-route bus system began in 1990 in response to the growing population and congestion of the city of Huntsville, Alabama. The system is run by the city of Huntsville, and is funded by city and federal funds. (Alabama law prohibits state funding of public transit.) [2]

Contents

History

Huntsville had a streetcar system in the early 1900s linking downtown to outlying mill villages like Five Points and Lowe Mill. The system was dismantled in the late 1940s. In 1990, the city of Huntsville decided to form the Department of Parking and Public Transit, which included the Shuttle. It began with two routes, the Red and Blue Core Loops which served downtown, the Medical District and surrounding areas. By 2004, the system had expanded to ten routes and a Tourist Trolley. That year, a new bus terminal was built at Church and Cleveland Streets near the Huntsville Depot. In 2005, the city began weekend evening service to the downtown and Five Points areas. In 2006, bike racks were installed on all fifteen buses as part of the city's Greenway Master Plan.

The system today

The Shuttle has a total of 9 routes, including 9 weekday routes,9 Saturday routes, the Tourist Trolley Loop, which seasonally runs six days a week, and two weekend evening routes. Routes 10, and 12 were discontinued in 2010. The system keeps a fleet of 15 buses. The regular weekday routes run from 6 AM to 9 PM. Saturday routes runs 7am to 7pm. The Tourist Loop runs from 7 AM to 7 PM. The weekend evening routes run from 7 PM to 2 AM on Friday and Saturday. Bus turnarounds range from 15 minutes downtown to one hour in outlying areas. Between 1,500 and 1,800 riders use the system daily. The number has steadily risen in recent years due to rising gas prices; however, while other transit systems have seen double-digit gains in ridership over the past year, the Shuttle's ridership has only grown by 5%. This prompted the city council to hire a consulting firm in August 2008 to see how the city can make the system more attractive to residents. [3]

Transit Center

The Huntsville Transit Center at 521 Pratt Ave. serves as the primary transfer point for Orbit. It replaced a smaller facility across Interstate 565 on Cleveland Ave built in 2004. It features fourteen bus bays, a rain garden, and a 3,880 square foot lobby waiting area and ticket office. [4] A ribbon cutting occurred on August 29 with the building opening to the public on September 3, 2024. [5] Fuqua & Partners served as architects for the $14.6 million project. [6]

Fares

One-way:

Other Services

The City of Huntsville Department of Parking and Public Transit also maintains the 13 public parking garages and lots in downtown Huntsville, the Access paratransit fleet, and RIDE-SHARE, the Huntsville-area carpool program. In June 2008, the department also began managing the neighboring city of Madison's paratransit system, MARS.

Future plans

A park and ride is planned at Bridge Street Town Centre, a mixed-use development in Cummings Research Park West, and will become a transit hub for the western part of the city. Other park-and-rides have been discussed, but no specific locations have been selected.

Routes to the following places have been planned/discussed for when funding becomes available:

Other long-range transit projects that have been discussed for the Huntsville area:

Routes

Madison County Courthouse, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville Hospital, Parkway Place Mall, Huntsville Senior Center/Brahan Spring Park

Same as #1, but in reverse, with one additional stop at Carousel Skate Center

University of Alabama in Huntsville, Research Park East, Madison Square Mall

University Drive commercial area, Madison Square Mall, Perimeter Office Park

Von Braun Center, Parkway Place Mall, Crestwood Medical Center, Huntsville Hospital Medical Mall

Von Braun Center, Westlawn, Brahan Springs Park/Senior Center, Milton Frank Stadium

JF Drake State Technical College, Alabama A&M University, Five Points

Alabama Career Center, JF Drake State Technical College, Alabama A&M University, Five Points

The Fountain Shopping Center, Oakwood College, Alabama Career Center

Parkway Place, Airport Road, Jones Valley, Southeast Huntsville, Joe Davis Stadium

UAH, Calhoun Community College, Sherwood Park, Bridge Street Town Centre, Research Park West, Westside Pavilion (Target), University Drive

University Drive, Madison Square Mall, Research Park East, US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville Botanical Garden, Huntsville Museum of Art, EarlyWorks, Alabama Constitution Village, Courthouse Square

Five Points, the Medical District, the Von Braun Center, Big Spring Park (Huntsville, Alabama), and various restaurants and clubs. Runs on Fridays and Saturdays from 7PM-2AM only.

Roster

Fleet Number(s)ThumbnailYearManufacturerModelEngineTransmissionNotes
422, 436DesignLineEcoSaver IV
457DesignLineEco-Smart I
463 ElDorado National Transmark RE
503, 528 ElDorado National Transmark RE
536-537, 570-571 Collins Industries NexBus
576 ElDorado National E-Z Rider II BRT

Fixed route ridership

The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response services. [7]

100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
2005
2008
2011
2014
2017
2020
2023

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Orbit 2022 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Public transit is an investment in Alabama's future". Alabama Arise. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  3. ↑ "City looks to improve public transit system Archived 2008-09-26 at the Wayback Machine " The Huntsville Times August 29, 2008
  4. ↑ "Mayor Tommy Battle, City leaders cut ribbon on state-of-the-art Transit Center". August 29, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  5. ↑ Michael Seale (August 29, 2024). "New Huntsville Transit Center ready to open for business". Hville Blast. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  6. ↑ John R. Roby (September 3, 2024). "AL: New center brings 'state of the art' travel to Alabama's biggest city". Mass Transit Mag. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  7. ↑ "The National Transit Database (NTD)" . Retrieved April 24, 2024.
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