The Woodlands looks to grow public transit services in 2025 From the cover
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Two-minute impact
“We found that a consistent, albeit smaller, number of riders continued using the service pri- marily for commutes to the Texas Medical Center,” Petersen said. “This highlights the essential nature of the service for a core group of essential work- ers—those that cannot work from home.” The board is also looking to expand another service it operates during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, as well as potential future hubs for new routes for residents to reduce trac. “The township is constantly monitoring the region’s changing commuting patterns to under- stand emerging needs and adjust service accord- ingly. This includes identifying new employment hubs and assessing potential demand for routes to these locations,” Petersen said. “The successful implementation of the Energy Corridor service broadened the service’s reach.”
Township ocials said one of the biggest challenges facing the park and ride system is the change to work schedules following the pandemic, where more individuals have hybrid work sched- ules. Reduced demand led to the rst ticket rate increase in the history of The Woodlands Express in February from $13 to $15 per round trip. “We have worked hand-in-hand to improve our schedule over the past several years to ensure that they meet the needs of our current ridership,” said Ann Snyder, a member of the township’s board of directors. “That’s been very important since the very, very beginning.” Regardless of the change, use of The Woodlands Express system has resumed the growth pattern originally seen in 2019, and the township projects 20% usage growth to areas such as the Texas Medical Center by the end of 2025.
On Nov. 20, township board members approved a formal extension of the contract between Houston’s Energy Corridor and The Woodlands Express for four years following a three-year pilot period which began in January 2022. The Woodlands Express is a public transportation service partially funded by the Federal Transit Administration which takes residents to a number of stops in Houston across four main business hubs in Downtown Houston, Texas Medical Center, Greenway Plaza and the Energy Corridor. The extension came after the township gained a voting seat on the H-GAC’s Transportation Policy Council in April following years of requests to join the agency for long-term regional planning and funding for transportation projects. The township was not previously included on the TPC due to restrictions against special- purpose districts joining the council. “Over the past ve years, The Woodlands Express Service has seen signicant changes in usage and growth, marked by both expansion and the impact of the pandemic,” Petersen said. The Woodlands Express stations 1 Research Forest: 3900 Marsico Place, The Woodlands 2 Sawdust: 701 Westridge Drive, Spring 3 Sterling Ridge: 8001 McBeth Way, The Woodlands
The Woodlands Express ridership, 201924
600,000
March 2020: COVID-19 pandemic causes drop in ridership
January 2022: Energy Corridor route added
February 2024: $2 round-trip fare increase applied
500,000 400,000 300,000
200,000
100,000
0
2021
2022
2023
2024*
2019
2020
*JANUARYOCTOBER
SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY IMPACT
242
MARSICO PL.
Also of note
1
The Woodlands Trolley ridership, 202024
3
45
The township also operates The Woodlands Trolley, which provides free local transportation around the Town Center and Grogans Mill area. Unlike the Express service, which is still seeing reduced ridership, the trolley service has exceeded performance expectations set even prior to the pandemic, according to data provided by the township. The township plans to have an additional, fth trolley up and running to accommodate growth in demand of the service by early 2026. “The Trolley is performing better than regional ‘xed route’ ridership levels and outperforming pre-pandemic ridership levels,” Petersen said.
MCBETH WAY
200,000
GROGANS MILL RD.
150,000
WESTRIDGE DR.
2
100,000
N
50,000
The Woodlands Express routes • Energy Corridor Route (I-10) • Downtown Route (Louisiana and Milam streets) • Greenway Plaza Route (Hwy. 59/69) • Texas Medical Center Route (including Museum District)
0
*AS OF NOVEMBER
34
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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