Transit Panel Backs Asheville Bus Overhaul, Presses for On-Demand Service

Asheville's Multimodal Transportation Commission endorsed the biggest reset of the city's bus network in a decade on June 24, 2026. The plan trades coverage in low-ridership areas for the city's first 15-minute routes. The recommendation to City Council came with a condition in spirit, if not in law: find an on-demand option for riders at MAHEC, Grove Park Inn, the Social Security Office and the outlet mall who are about to lose their bus.

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• 1 big thing: Commission backs draft ART network that shifts service to 60% ridership and adds 15-minute routes on three corridors.
• Coverage cuts at MAHEC, Grove Park Inn, Social Security and the outlet mall spark an amendment urging Council to pursue non-fixed-route service.
• Transit funding has flatlined at about 100,000 service hours. The chair urges a long-term fix, possibly a sales tax.
• New operations contract starting July 1 raises the on-time goal from 66% to 80%.
• Traffic calming rewrite targets the 60% petition barrier and would expand tools beyond speed humps, with a fall draft planned.

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Commission Backs Bus Redesign With 15-Minute Routes

The basics: A Comprehensive Operations Analysis (COA) is a top-to-bottom review of a transit system's routes and schedules. Asheville's began in March 2025 after Council approval. In November, Council directed staff to lean toward ridership while safeguarding coverage for many low-income neighborhoods.

Why it matters: The redesign will decide which neighborhoods get frequent buses for years to come. It would take effect in fiscal 2028, which means July 2027 at the earliest.

Where things stand: Today's ART network splits roughly 50/50 between ridership and coverage. Most routes run every 40 to 60 minutes, while Haw Creek and the airport see a bus only every 90 to 120 minutes. No route runs every 15 minutes. About 39% of residents live more than a half mile from any service. "On-time performance is currently at 66%," said Chris Whitlock, Transit Planning Manager.

The draft moves to 60% ridership and 40% coverage with fewer routes overall. Changes include:

• 15-minute service on Biltmore, McDowell (downtown to River Arts) and Hillcrest-to-downtown
• Higher frequency on Patton Avenue
• Hendersonville Road service improved from every 45 minutes to every 30
• No more 90- to 120-minute routes

Buses would "pulse" at the ART station, with most arriving at :25 and :55 and departing at :30 and :00. Staff estimate 8% of residents would live near 15-minute service. The average resident could reach 10% more jobs within 45 minutes, and job access for low-income residents and residents of color would rise 15% and 16%, respectively.

A new operations contract effective July 1 raises the on-time target to 80%. It also imposes liquidated damages, which are preset financial penalties, for buses that leave early. Commissioner Randy Warren asked how much of current performance involves early departures. Staff said no early departure is acceptable but did not have the figure on hand.

The business push: Adam Charnack, founder and CEO of Highwire Brewing, presented a letter from 31 signatories, most from the business community. The letter urges service concentrated on Merriman Avenue, Tunnel Road, Haywood Road and Hendersonville Road. "I think most people would agree that the system that we run now is not good," Charnack said.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: "My assessment is that the improvements are worth some of the tradeoffs," said Jack Igelman, Commission Chair. Warren offered qualified support: "This plan lacks in a lot of ways, but we're limited in what we can do."

The amended motion supports the draft "as presented" and encourages Council to seek a non-fixed-route aspect of service. The chair declared it carried. For: 4 (Bill Loftis, Elyse Marder, Warren, Igelman); Against: 0; Absent: 2 (Joshua Jones, Cate Ryba). Responses from Vice Chair Kenny Armstrong, Commissioner Joseph Chesler and Commissioner Micah McLain were not clearly recorded.

Riders on core corridors stand to gain the most. Access would decline in Beaver Dam, Kenilworth, West Asheville, Tunnel Road and Lakeshore. At public housing, Pisgah View would be rerouted, and Asheville Terrace would get 30-minute rather than roughly 20-minute service on Tunnel Road. Commissioner Jonathan Anzollitto, who cannot vote, asked that the timed pulse be adopted "regardless of whether this plan gets adopted or not."

What's next: Public engagement runs through June 28 and had drawn about 750 survey responses. Staff will report to Council in July.

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Coverage Cuts Spark Push for On-Demand Option

Why it matters: The cuts land on medical, federal benefits and hospitality destinations. On a cost-neutral budget, the city says it cannot fill those gaps itself.

Where things stand: The draft removes service at Beaver Dam, Grove Park Inn, the Social Security Office, Kenilworth, MAHEC, the outlet mall, and outer Haywood between Brevard and Patton. Whitlock put daily boardings at 11 at MAHEC and eight at Social Security.

Keeping those stops would cost time the new schedule can't spare:

• MAHEC: about seven minutes in each direction, dropping planned Hendersonville Road service back to every 45 minutes
• Social Security: eight minutes each way, which would break transfer timing unless the Haw Creek end of the route were cut

Assistant Transportation Director Jessica Morriss said MAHEC would still be served. "We're just not going up the hill around the building and making that 15-minute detour anymore," she said. Armstrong pushed back: "A pregnant woman or an old person walking up that hill is a big deal." He called loss of the W-2 route to the outlet mall his biggest "red flag."

Commissioner Elyse Marder floated employer-run on-demand shuttles for MAHEC, Social Security and Grove Park Inn. Councilmember Maggie Ullman, the commission's council liaison, said MAHEC has emailed Council and the city manager is scheduling a meeting.

The other side: "I'm not ready to make a call on this yet for a lot of reasons. I think it's a fantastic start," said Commissioner Bill Loftis. He called survey results overwhelmingly negative. He said Grove Park Inn generated 14,000 riders last year, is a paying Passport partner, and has an HR director who is "very concerned."

Loftis also made the cost case for alternatives. A bus costs $800,000 a year to run, he said, while on-demand options "can get you in a low-demand area for $280,000 for the same amount of service." He cited Spartanburg, Charlotte, Austin and Macon, Georgia, as examples.

The money problem: Morriss said employer Passport revenue totals under $50,000 of a $15M budget. UNC Asheville left the program when its budget troubles began. Loftis said the 2018 transit plan envisioned growth from 100,000 to 211,000 service hours by 2027. After 20,000 hours were added in 2020, service has flatlined near 100,000.

Igelman said he would "love to see city council staff, city manager, more aggressively seek a long-term funding solution." He raised a sales tax, though with reluctance. Anzollitto suggested tax increment financing (TIF), which captures future property-tax growth to fund improvements.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Loftis moved the non-fixed-route amendment and Chesler seconded it. It passed as part of the final motion. Ullman explained why the wording is soft: "The quid pro quo is kind of out of the lane of an advisory group." The message to Council is "encourages," not "requires."

What's next: Affected employers and agencies await talks with the city. The final network could still shift after public feedback closes.

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Traffic Calming Rewrite Targets Petition Barrier

Why it matters: Residents say today's process for slowing speeding on their streets is hard to navigate. Dedicated funding to build fixes has also lapsed.

Where things stand: "The current policy is 11 pages long, and we're hearing over and over that it's confusing and cumbersome," said Anna Sexton, Interim Transportation Planning Manager. Today's rules require 60% neighborhood petition approval and offer only speed humps and speed cushions.

Working with consultant Kittelson and Associates, staff are about 30% through a rewrite. The approach under study:

• Hybrid process: keeps resident requests but lets staff proactively target speeding streets
• Bigger toolbox: four to six treatments
• Prioritization factors: crash history, bike and pedestrian generators, connectivity, and proximity to greenways, parks and schools

City-owned residential streets would remain the focus. NCDOT-owned roads are ineligible now and will stay that way.

A May open house at the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center drew 52 sign-ins and 36 comment cards. Attendees favored city-initiated processes and quick-build fixes.

The other side: Armstrong asked whether the city could lower speed limits citywide and then apply traffic calming. City Traffic Engineer Chris Cairns said a 20 mph residential default would likely qualify hundreds of streets instantly. "I think making the threshold smaller is risky business," Cairns said, though he noted a citywide default limit is part of the conversation. Warren said the traffic calming task force he and McLain serve on has been severely underused. Sexton said focus groups are in the works.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: No vote was taken. Cairns said the former annual allotment, about $100,000 a year after 2014, has not recurred recently. Sexton said cheaper treatments could stretch limited dollars. Neighborhoods on state roads gain nothing directly, though staff relay those concerns at monthly meetings with NCDOT.

What's next: A public survey is coming within weeks. A draft goes to Council's PDE committee this fall with another open house, and adoption is targeted for winter.

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Minor Items

• Minutes: Oct. 30, 2025 minutes approved 7-0, correcting transit motion wording to "lean" toward ridership. Jones and Ryba were absent.
• Broadway crosswalks: Public commenter Susan Loftus urged low-cost temporary crosswalks on Broadway at Starnes, citing pedestrian danger.
• Lenny's Law: Ullman said Council passed a resolution supporting bicycle safety corridors the night before the commission met.
• Meeting frequency: Warren urged more frequent meetings. Advisory boards meet only on demand through June 30, 2027.

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Looking Ahead

Transit survey responses close June 28. The new bus operations contract takes effect July 1, and Council receives the COA report in July. The traffic calming draft is expected this fall.