Over the past few months of doing this blogging thing, it has become abundantly clear to me that most people with whom I associate, at least verbally, are committed to having rapid transit options in their city, or would like to live in a city that has such infrastructure.
Typically, when we think of rapid transit, we immediately think trains. We love trains. They provide a novelty that transports us back to our childhood days of watching Thomas the Train. In an increasingly globalized world, many people have traveled to Europe, Chicago, and New York City, and few (if any) are not amazed by their extensive rail network and long for such a thing to exist all across the United States. Something about being able to walk 5 minutes, hop on a train, and go anywhere they could possibly imagine, quickly, is something I think most of us can stand behind. Driving sucks.
So why are trains so awesome and fast? For starters, they are grade separated. This means that trains have their own dedicated right of way upon which they are the only user of the space to which they are entitled. There is no competition on the tracks deep below the streets of New York City, and there is no slowdowns due to traffic congestion. Trains have their own space.
Second, they often come frequently. In Chicago, the headway (transit jargon for how frequently a bus/train arrives at a station) on the Red Line, at least at the time I was using it, is just 5 minutes. Having frequency this fast means that as a consumer of transportation, you do not have to live your life around a timetable. You show up at the train station, and you know that at MAXIMUM, you'll have to wait 5 minutes. But as famed transit planner Jarrett Walker (2012) notes, you'll actually wait an average of 2.5 minutes. You do not need to plan ahead to use transit.
Third, there is no delay stemming from waiting for people to pay their fare as you're trying to board. In the US, most systems either have a turnstiles or proof of payment. Proof of payment is more common in European countries, but essentially it means there are no turnstiles, but you are still expected to pay your fare, with a hefty fine if you don't. In other words, you buy a ticket and board the train, and you are essentially trusted to have paid your fare.
Put simply, you pay for your fare long before boarding the train. Contrast this with riding a bus, where many people pay for the fare at the farebox at the front of the bus. People fumble around to find their cash (since these fareboxes are almost exclusively cash only), which causes delay. If there are many people boarding the bus, you get frustrated at the fact that you have to wait for 5 minutes for 20 people to board the bus. This doesn't happen on the train. You just get on, the doors remain open for maybe 10 seconds, and you're off.
If mobility impaired people need to board the train, they can easily do so. This is because trains are boarded at platform level. On a bus, if someone in a wheelchair needs to board, the driver must lower the wheel chair ramp to allow their passenger to board. This causes delay.
So now you know a little bit behind why rail is so awesome, we need to discuss a major problem. Rail transit is EXTREMELY expensive. In some recent projects, the cost per mile of rail line construction is well over $400 million. You read that right. $400 million per mile. Even projects that are above ground, using freeway medians, can cost over $100 million per mile.
But we are smart people. There has to be a way we can reap the benefits of rail transportation without the massive capital costs. Enter Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
What is BRT?
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a rather new, innovative transportation solution that mimics all of the characteristics of rail that make it great, but on a bus. Unless you're from Downtown Cleveland (strangely enough), you've probably never heard of this transportation solution, let alone know what it is or how it works. Let's first describe what BRT in theory should be. In a future article we'll solidify the ideas with a practical example from the best BRT line in the United States (as ranked by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy), which just so happens to be in Cleveland, Ohio.
The 5 Components
1. Dedicated right of way
As discussed above, this is what makes rail so fast. In BRT, the idea is to give buses their own space on the road, similar to rail tracks with a subway. This can include a separated lane on a road where only buses can travel (as is the case in Cleveland), or a "busway"- which is a road specifically for buses and buses only (see
Pittsburgh). This reduces delay stemming from traffic congestion.
2. Busway Alignment
With BRT, these dedicated busways are to be designed such that they interact with general roadway traffic as little as possible. This can be done, for example, by having the dedicated lanes in the middle of the road. That way, when a car turns onto the corridor from a side street, they do not risk cutting across the bus lane and forcing the driver to slam on their breaks, or worse, risking an accident. This reduces delay from traffic conflicts and congestion, which occur most often at intersections. If you have ever ridden your bike on a road just to have a car sitting in the middle of the bike lane, waiting to make a right turn, you can see how the median bus lanes would be beneficial.
3. Off board fare collection
Just like with rail, the idea is to have people purchase their fare before getting on the bus, in order to avoid delays stemming from waiting for people to pay as they board. Just like rail, this can be done with turnstiles or proof of payment.
4. Intersection treatments
This essentially means that buses will be given priority at intersections. This could mean preventing cars from turning across the bus lane, timing traffic lights so that buses frequently get green lights, or signal priority, which means that when a bus approaches a traffic light, the light will know this and turn green, or hold the green for longer, so the bus can pass through without skipping a beat. This reduces time spent waiting at intersections (red lights, people crossing the bus lane on a left turn arrow, etc).
5. Platform level boarding
As discussed before, allowing people to board at the platform level can reduce boarding times. Even small inclines to board the bus can cause significant delays and pose a hazard to elderly people, people with luggage, and persons with disabilities.
Other components include station spacing, so buses must not stop as frequently, high frequency, seamless connections to other lines, bike parking, etc.
All 5 of these things put together produce an environment very similar to rail transportation and the benefits associated with it, all at a fraction of the cost. The Healthline in Cleveland cost $200 million in total, or $29.41 million per mile (GCRTA). That is a heck of a lot cheaper than rail, and it functions in a very similar way.
Benefits over rail
Look, I love trains as much as the next guy, but the fact of the matter is that they are so expensive that most cities will never shell out the cash required to build a railway system. I actually tend to favor BRT in place of rail, meaning if a city is deciding between BRT and rail, I tend to choose BRT, unless there is an extremely compelling reason for rail to exist (very high ridership potential, existing rail lines, etc). Money is certainly a large reason for this, but there are many other reasons why I feel this way.
1. Cities already run buses, and have the capacity and technical know-how for them
If a transit agency is considering a rapid transit option, they obviously already know how buses work. Rail requires an exceptional amount of technical capacity and knowledge. It is a highly specialized area of work, and agencies that currently do not have rail will be scrambling to find people to tell them what the heck they should do. This capacity building is extremely challenging and expensive, and will take time. Agencies will already have mechanics highly skilled in bus maintenance and training programs for drivers, but if nobody in the agency has ever fixed a train, fixed railroad tracks, fixed electric lines to supply power to trains, or driven a train, how can they teach the large amount workers needed for such an operation?
BRT works with the tools that all transit agencies are very familiar with, and does not require massive organizational overhauls.
2. BRT is more flexible
To illustrate this point, consider a rail line that is scheduling maintenance to their tracks. In order for people to work safely on the line, rail service has to be suspended. There is often little room for detour, since a train requires tracks to travel on.
A bus, in contrast, can operate practically anywhere where there is a road. If the case of BRT, if there is a massive pothole in the bus land that needs fixed, or the city is doing work on the sewers that necessitates a road closure, BRT doesn't skip a beat. It can simply take a detour- go around the block. This minor inconvenience pales in comparison to the entire line shutting down in certain areas. In this case, people have to get off the train, get on a bus, get back on the train, and continue. Ugh.
3. BRT is probably more politically feasible
Massive rail projects sometimes generate
fierce opposition. People do not want to give up their land for the new tracks. People do not like the massive price tag. There is
NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard). It is much easier to upgrade an existing bus line than starting over completely new.
Additionally, implementing BRT is a lower risk option compared to light rail. Since the costs are so much lower, implementing a BRT system can be a stepping stone for future transit in a city. If the BRT line is wildly successful, this may provide the justification to convert the BRT system to light rail. Since the street will already be designed to accommodate transit, the upgrade costs would likely be lower than starting from scratch.
Now that you know all there is to know about BRT, ensuing articles will discuss a good example in Cleveland, some not-so-good examples, and Columbus' vision to have a network of high-capacity, BRT lines in the near future.
Notes
The five components of BRT come from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). You can read more
here.
Sources
Walker, J. (2012). Human transit: How clearer thinking about public transit can enrich our communities and our lives. Washington, DC: Island Press.
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