MetroMoves includes four new express routes as precursors to potential light rail routes, designed to get riders used to using mass transit in these corridors. Others are possible as well, such as a downtown link to Northern Kentucky University along Interstate 471. But light rail can't work alone, according to Schneider. Light rail needs to be centered around transit hubs and shuttles to form a web of transit connections conveniently serving as many people as possible, he says. Metro planners strongly back light rail, but MetroMoves' new routes don't depend on light rail to work well.
Rail simply moves people along key routes more quickly than buses.
Somebody's going to pay MetroMoves would expand service greatly in Hamilton County, but almost all of its buses would still stop at the Ohio River. TANK buses cover the three Northern Kentucky counties, but only reach as far north as Sixth Street in Cincinnati. Consultants hired by Metro and TANK say a merger across state lines would not be worth the bureaucratic hassle and expense. Instead the two transit operations will provide their own local service and cooperate on regional routes. The two agencies are likely to send their buses farther into each other's territory, Donaghy says.