Atlanta — 15 Minute Headway Too Long

April 2013

An op-ed commentary posted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the 15-minute streetcar headway proposed for the city's downtown urban circulator line could be a crippling flaw in building ridership.

The question posed by writer Ariel Hart is why anyone would wait 15 minutes for a streetcar that would take them a maximum of 1.3 miles, a distance many consider walkable. Atlanta's Mayor Kasim Reed is aware of the problem and is seeking funding to run more frequent service. With this line serving as an introduction to streetcar and light rail technology to Atlanta, supporters are anxious for the line to make a positive impression, and frequent service is a component of that impression.

Only two other new streetcar lines, the ones in Tampa and Little Rock with a 20-minute headway, run less frequently thatn the proposed 15-minute schedule. Most other operations have more frequent service, usually 10 minutes.