ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Asheville transit planners are warning that improving bus frequency will require difficult trade-offs in service coverage as the city considers a major redesign of its ART network aimed at boosting ridership and reliability.

A consultant with Jarrett Walker and Associates told Asheville City Council during a Thursday agenda briefing that the system cannot increase frequent service without reducing coverage elsewhere if the budget stays the same — a core principle of the city’s ongoing transit overhaul.

“Within the budget you have, if you do want to shift toward ridership, it’s really hard to choose the places where we would remove service,” consultant Ricky Angueira said, noting that some lower-ridership areas would lose routes under the draft plan.

Realocating resources

The proposal, developed through a multi-phase “Comprehensive Operational Analysis,” would reallocate resources toward high-demand corridors, with some routes running as often as every 15 minutes during peak times. In exchange, several neighborhoods — including parts of West Asheville, Charlotte Street and Kenilworth — could see reduced or eliminated service.

Angueira stressed the plan reflects earlier council direction to “nudge” the system toward ridership rather than coverage while keeping the overall budget unchanged. The current system is roughly split between the two priorities, but the draft shifts more resources toward frequent service.

The choices

Still, council members questioned why some areas with transit-dependent residents appeared on the list of potential cuts, particularly Kenilworth and parts of North Asheville.

“I do share those concerns,” Angueira said, adding that changes were based on relative ridership patterns and concentrations of low-income residents across the system. “There are low-income residents everywhere … these are the places that have the least relative to other places.”

Much of the debate centered on two corridors facing some of the most significant changes: Haywood Road and Kenilworth.

Transit planners said portions of the Haywood Road corridor between Brevard Road and Patton Avenue would lose service entirely under the draft network, eliminating what is currently at least partial bus coverage in that segment. Officials said that area had previously seen service at roughly 30-minute intervals in parts of the network but would be removed to free up resources for higher-frequency routes elsewhere.

Ridership levels

Angueira said the change is tied to ridership levels and system efficiency, noting that service through that stretch is slower and less reliable than nearby alternatives. Under the proposal, service would be shifted to Patton Avenue, where buses could operate more quickly and maintain better on-time performance.

“That Haywood corridor is one of the places that I am the most frustrated with this network,” Angueira said. “I wish I could provide more service there.”

Council members pushed back on the loss of service along a corridor they said is heavily used by residents and businesses, pointing to a mix of housing, restaurants and job sites along Haywood Road that depend on transit access.

Transit vs. development

One council member also raised concerns about how the change could affect long-term development patterns in West Asheville, noting that the corridor has been identified in past planning efforts as a transit-supportive area tied to housing growth.

Angueira acknowledged the tension but said the redesign reflects broader constraints, including the need to preserve service in outlying areas with transit-dependent populations while concentrating limited resources on stronger-performing corridors.

“If we do want to shift toward ridership, it does mean removing service from these places,” he said.

Attention also turned to Kenilworth in east Asheville, where planners propose removing a segment of service that currently connects residents to major corridors along Biltmore Avenue and Tunnel Road.

Transit officials said the Kenilworth segment is part of a low-ridership portion of the system and would no longer receive direct service under the draft network, shifting the nearest access points to nearby major roads. Council members raised concerns about older residents, voucher-holding tenants and others who rely on close bus stops for mobility.

A transit division manager acknowledged the concerns but said Kenilworth ranked among the lowest-ridership areas in the network analysis, though officials noted some residents in the area are transit-dependent.

Balancing coverage and frequency

The consultant said the overall approach aims to balance coverage and frequency while maintaining equity considerations, particularly in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of low-income residents, though he acknowledged that transit-dependent populations exist throughout the city.

The proposal is not final. City staff will hold neighborhood meetings and public engagement sessions over the next several weeks, with additional feedback collected through a survey open until June 28. A final recommendation is expected later this summer, with any approved changes not taking effect until July 2027.