Comments on: BRT and New York City, Part 2: What We’ve Got So Far

By: Cap'n Transit

Cap'n Transit — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:04:58 +0000

Good point about the hours, Zach. I actually asked Port Authority Executive Director Christopher Ward about that the other day. Another commenter, Ann, beat me to it with a simpler question, "Do you have plans to improve bus service through the Lincoln Tunnel, and across the Hudson River in general? If so, what are they and when will they be implemented?" Today, Ward answered Ann's question as though he were expecting Lincoln Tunnel drivers to jump down his throat, and said that they're "looking into options for a second express bus lane" - presumably also in the mornings only. Hopefully he'll get to my question in the next round.

By: zach

zach — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:50:04 +0000

Good point, Cap'n. Perhaps we need more discussion of the Lincoln Tunnel bus lane as our model for BRT. Why does it only run during am weekday rush? Don't we want to encourage people to take buses other times? They run often and mostly full most hours. Wouldn't the system be simpler to understand and enforce if it were always?

I once took a NJ Transit bus into Manhattan on a Saturday evening. The bus had to wait nearly an hour to get into the tunnel for traffic. My fellow passengers said this was typical. It's always rush hour at the Lincoln Tunnel.

BRT over all the bridges and through all the tunnels? Why has the MTA only tested routes within one borough?

By: Cap'n Transit

Cap'n Transit — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:17:48 +0000

Sorry, I meant "people of all economic backgrounds take the bus."

By: Rhywun

Rhywun — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:22:58 +0000

What, exactly, would an "identity" bring to the Fordham Road bus line, in a city where lots of people of all ethnic backgrounds take the bus?

I'm not sure what that means. What does ethnicity have anything to do with it? I think by "identity" he means things that would give the impression of permanency but can't happen because it's a bus instead of a train.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:44:30 +0000

Looking forward to the multi-part series from a light rail advocate.

By: Cap'n Transit

Cap'n Transit — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:45:19 +0000

Why no mention of what is probably the most successful BRT facility in the US, the Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lane?

What, exactly, would an "identity" bring to the Fordham Road bus line, in a city where lots of people of all ethnic backgrounds take the bus?

By: Rhywun

Rhywun — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:24:22 +0000

they perceive a large, and immediate, political cost for taking travel lanes and parking away from their constituents

Another reason to support term limits.

By: JK

JK — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:46:59 +0000

Great interview Sblog! As Walter well knows, the main obstacle to BRT in New York City is the political cost of reallocating space on key arterial streets. It is essentially free for politicians to support hugely expensive new subway lines, but they perceive a large, and immediate, political cost for taking travel lanes and parking away from their constituents. Thus, on Second Avenue, NYC/MTA is spending $2B a mile for a subway instead of a tenth or twentieth of that for LRT or BRT. This is why incremental transit improvements, which impose a modest political cost, like Select Bus on Fordham Road are so important to current transit riders. Walter is right to label that project a big success, and perhaps more attainable model for other NYC bus lines than full blown BRT.

By: jass

jass — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:24:16 +0000

There are two solutions to the door problem. One is having a standard 40 foot bus with 3 doors, front, middle and at the rear. All three doors can be low floor, yes, even the one in the back. I've ridden on such buses in england.

The other solution is 60 foot buses with 3 or 4 doors. Why didnt the MTA find a company to make them? The MBTA in Boston has a fleet of 50 or so.

By: Rhywun

Rhywun — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Pre-paying the fare is typical of European *bus* systems too, not just trams. They were doing this over 20 years ago in the German city I was living in at the time. Every stop had a little ticket machine. Of course it helps when there are far fewer stops (in NYC terms bus stops are approximately 5 blocks apart rather than 2), when your bus and tram network is not scoffed at as something only poor people use, and when your teenage and young adult population is less likely to destroy them on a regular basis. Still, it's yet another example of American "leaders" continuing to ignore the rest of the world when so many of these sorts of problems were solved elsewhere decades ago.