Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
Transit
»
Will "BRT" begin the end of new "LRT" development?

Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="marknewton"][quote user="Samantha"] I wonder how many of the people who have stated a preference for light rail over BRT understand the cost and funding implications or who will pick up the tab.[/quote] And I wonder how many people who are proponents of BRT understand that the maintenance of a bus road is four times more expensive than a tram track? Mark.[/quote]Unlike Adelaide, where the BRT runs on a dedicated right-of-way for a portion of the routes, most BRT in the United States runs or will run in dedicated lanes on existing roadways, as is the case in Dallas.  Except in specific locations, i.e. downtown Austin, BRT will run on streets that are used by other vehicles.  BRT in Austin is expected to reduce travel times by approximately 20 per cent over existing bus route times.  The primary tool for doing so will be the ability of the driver to control the traffic signals, thereby reducing the amount of time waiting for a signal to change.  Another tool will be limited stops at locations that will look a lot like a light rail stop.  And the third tool will be a pre-paid fare system so that the driver does not have to wait for the passengers to deposit their fare.  Given the numbers that I showed for the implementation of light rail in Austin vs the implementation of BRT, the future value of the difference could cover a lot of maintenance, even if your assertion is true.  Moreover, the investment in BRT would buy 57 miles of route as opposed to 15.3 miles for the light rail.I have provided verifiable number regarding the cost to construct light rail vs. the cost to implement BRT in Austin.  I would like to see some verifiable numbers from the people who claim that the cost of maintaining a bus lane in the U.S. is four times the cost of maintaining a tram line.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag