Development of a Regional BRT System Proposal

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Development of a Regional BRT System Proposal
Crafting a package of bus-related projects for
funding consideration under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act

• Presented to the TPB Access for All Committee
• April 23, 2009
• Michael Eichler and Monica Bansal
• Transportation Planning Board staff

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
provides a real regional opportunity Although
almost 50 billion in highway and transit
transportation funding is mostly formula
funding 1.5 billion in competitive
discretionary grants for capital projects What
can we propose that would benefit the entire
region and compete for these funds?
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• The bill tells us that projects will have to be
• National or regional in scope and impact
• Multimodal
• Ready-to-go
• Completed quickly (lt 3 years)
• Relatively low-cost
• Job creation/Economic benefit

Current TPB and other regional initiatives point
to bus rapid transit as a wide-reaching,
flexible, and reasonable-cost focus for a
regional project that could be implemented within
a tight timeframe.
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TPB Scenario Study Task Force charged TPB staff
with assembling 300-million grant application
for a pilot phase of a regional bus rapid transit
(BRT) system.

• Beginning with a series of existing regional
  initiatives that
• could fit into broad requirements
• WMATA Priority Corridor Network (PCN)
• TPB Regional Bus Subcommittee Priority Bus
• Project List
• TPB Scenario Study, CLRP Aspirations Scenario
• Other state-wide and local initiatives

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Working toward a Regional BRT Network
Proposal to use stimulus funding to develop a
pilot BRT project a step towards demonstrating
that BRT on a larger regional scale can really
happen in the region.
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What is Bus Rapid Transit?
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Why BRT for the Washington Region?

• An implementation of true BRT can
• Increase bus operating speeds
• Reduce travel time variability
• Increasing bus speeds can greatly reduce
  operating costs, which can provide for increase
  service levels.
• The perception of a new transit system will
• Raise the perceived level of service for bus
  passengers
• Provide increased levels of mobility across the
  region

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How Does BRT Save Operating Costs?
Before Priority Treatments
After, keeping headway the same
After, keeping buses the same

• Increasing the bus speed by 50 results in
• 33 reduction in operating costs and capital
  needs,
• or
• 33 reduction in headway with same operating
  costs.

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Causes of Bus Delay
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Smart Stations
SWIFT, Snohomish WA
Viva, York ON
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Regulation of Peak Period Curb-Lane Parking
San Francisco
New York City
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Bus Lanes
New York City
Boston
7th St NW, DC
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Enforcement
London
Singapore
London
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Reversible Bus Lanes
Colesville Rd, Silver Spring
Connecticut Ave, NW DC
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Queue Jumpers
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS)
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Transit Signal Priority
Viva, York ON
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Full Dedicated Right-of-Way
eMX, Eugene OR
K St Busway, DC
Los Angeles
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Cost for BRT Strategies
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Other requirements for BRT

• Real-time arrival information
• Includes regional real-time arrival prediction
  database
• Distinctive identity and branding.

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Current System
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WMATA Priority Corridor Network
The WMATA Priority Corridor Network (PCN)
proposes to enhance bus service along the top 24
bus transit routes in the region through a
combination of service enhancements and
running-way improvements
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Arterial corridors recommended for evaluation in
a Phase 1 BRT network eligible for stimulus
funding.

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Next Steps

• Continue to develop details on
• Routes for inclusion in plan
• Priority treatments for each segment of proposed
  network
• Further input provided by committees and task
  force.
• USDOT guidelines for proposals released mid May
• Project proposal due mid November

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WMATA PCN Corridors