WELCOME TO
NTD AHEAD
NTD Ahead is a project led by Norwalk Transit District (NTD) to rethink bus service in Norwalk and southern Fairfield County. Through Summer of 2024, Norwalk Transit District will be working with bus riders, residents, bus drivers, and other stakeholders to create a vision to reshape NTD’s service to reflect where we are going as a community. This vision will focus on creating bus service that reflects the resources available today while also giving our community a roadmap for improving transit services over the next decade.
FAQs
What is a Comprehensive Operational Analysis?
A comprehensive operational analysis (COA) is a deep analysis of existing transit service that helps identify the transit network’s strengths and weaknesses. This project will not only help us understand the advantages and shortcomings of our current service, but it will also provide clear recommendations on how to improve the transit network to make it more usable and intuitive for riders. This COA will help Norwalk Transit District balance priorities to ensure that its transit service best reflects the needs of the community both today and well into the future.
Why are we doing this now?
While NTD frequently adjusts service, this project can be viewed as an opportunity to look at the bigger picture to determine how well all bus service in Norwalk and southern Fairfield County works together. Much of the service NTD operates was started long ago, and the world has changed significantly. Between changes in people’s travel patterns in the post-COVID world and introductions of new technologies that make bus service more efficient and easier to use than ever before, this is the perfect to look closely at bus service to make it work better for our community.
What is going to happen to my bus route?
During the course of this project, the community will be asked to consider different transit networks that may impact current bus routes. Working closely with stakeholders, the project team will work to minimize negative impacts while maximizing choices that improve transit service for as many people as possible.
Do I have a say in this project?
Yes! We want to hear your feedback! You can provide direct feedback about your transit experience by emailing the project team.
We look forward to hearing from you!
HOW LONG IS THIS PROJECT?
NTD Ahead is a year long project. Through July 2024, the Norwalk Transit District will be working with the Norwalk community to identify strategies to improve NTD bus service to better meet the needs of the community.
Key milestones include:
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Development of the State of the System Report – The State of the System Report helps NTD understand where transit service in Norwalk is today. This document helps understand both the baseline need for transit in Norwalk while also helping understand how well transit service currently serves the Norwalk community.
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Evaluation of Transit Scenarios – Utilizing both feedback from the community and the State of the System report, the NTD Ahead project will evaluate different transit scenarios to help understand the priorities of riders and other stakeholders. During this phase, we will ask ourselves key questions such as: Is it more important to cover more area with less frequent service, or should NTD provide more frequent service that is focused on key destinations? How late should service run? When should service begin? Is there enough transit service throughout a week? How do we improve connections to other communities? How do we improve access between NTD and local rail service?
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Selection of a preferred scenario – After robust feedback from riders and other stakeholders, NTD will select a preferred scenario that will combine features from each of scenarios evaluated previously. This scenario will become the basis for the updated NTD transit network.
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Implementation and Phasing Plan – NTD will develop a plan to implement the preferred transit scenario, with short term implementation focused on maximizing usage of existing transit assets and long term implementation focused on larger projects that will take longer to develop.
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Finalization of NTD Ahead – At the end of the NTD Ahead project, NTD will adopt this plan which will then guide growth and service development over the next ten years.
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
The project includes robust community engagement.
Getting involved in NTD Ahead is easy! There are two ways to get involved today.
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Use the form below to sign up for project updates. These updates will include information about project documents, where and when project events will occur, and information about when surveys launch. We look forward to hearing your thoughts about how transit can be improved to make your life easier. Don’t worry, your contact information will not be shared with anyone and will only be used by NTD and the project team to update you during the duration of this project.
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Use the mapping tool below to identify and label areas where you see challenges using NTD. Whether it's a missing bus stop, or an area where there is no transit service, we'd like to know where your travel around Norwalk could improve.
RESOURCES
View the project documents.
As the project progresses, documents detailing findings and recommendations will be posted here.
CHECK BACK FOR UPCOMING RESOURCES