How did America's "BEST" Bus Rapid Transit Become a Disaster?

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Kezl

Kezl

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 148
@MilesinTransit
@MilesinTransit 9 күн бұрын
I clicked on this because it looked cool and informative; I wasn't expecting to feature so heavily in it! 😂 Amazing video - it was hilarious, and you did such great research on the Healthline's deterioration over the years.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Thank you so much! I saw your video with Caleb on the HealthLine and I just HAD to make a video explaining what was going on with our BRT 😅
@AverytheCubanAmerican
@AverytheCubanAmerican 9 күн бұрын
"Important people in cars were pissed that they had to wait for a bus to make their left turn into work" tells you everything you need to know about how said "important" people feel about important services like transit....smh. These drivers care more about making sure they don't have to wait for a bus to turn than about pedestrians. And important people take transit too, not just people in cars!
@adanactnomew7085
@adanactnomew7085 9 күн бұрын
Girl you are everywhere
@MirzaAhmed89
@MirzaAhmed89 9 күн бұрын
​@@adanactnomew7085 Avery is a guy.
@RudeMyDude
@RudeMyDude 9 күн бұрын
"important people in cars were pissed that they had to wait for a bus to make their left turn into work" Incredibly infuriating sentence and sentiment, even more maddening that it worked
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
That was my thought when I was reading the article! It's so frustrating and sad that it happened.
@rannyacernese6627
@rannyacernese6627 8 күн бұрын
The Premier of Ontario forced Toronto to remove bike lanes because it slowed down his commute.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 8 күн бұрын
@@rannyacernese6627 absolutely insane behavior
@alpacarama21
@alpacarama21 8 күн бұрын
absolutely boils my blood, yeah
@AverytheCubanAmerican
@AverytheCubanAmerican 10 күн бұрын
That Curitiba system you mentioned is awesome! They opened the world's second BRT system in 1974, the Rede Integrada de Transporte, which was also a component of one of the most successful examples of TOD! In 2024, the system has 6 lines with a length of 81.4 km total! Their fleet uses bi-articulated buses split into three sections and operates only with soy-based biofuel, which reduces pollutant emissions by 50%. In the 1980s, they introduced elevated glass tube stations by Jaime Lerner, who was more than just an urban planner in Curitiba, he was mayor three times in 1971-1974, 1979-1983 and 1989-1992. In 1994, Lerner was elected governor of Paraná, and was re-elected in 1998 and stayed governor until 2002. His glass tube stations allowed for fare prepayment, all door loading, and level boarding! In Curitiba, a small ramp folds down from the bus onto the platform so there is no gap to cross to enter or leave the vehicle. Jaime originally got Volvo to make 270 person Swedish articulated buses (300 Brazilians, said Lerner), so that the problem of a lower passenger-number-to-driver ratio was no longer an issue. In 2010, they got B100 (biodiesel) buses, alongside real-time information and overtaking at busway stations. Inside some tube stations there are Tubotecas, or small libraries, introduced in 2013. Citizens can borrow books with no need to register and return them to any other Tuboteca, any time. In addition, 20% of the stations also have passing lanes to allow for express services. Based on 1991 traveler survey results, it was estimated that the BRT in Curitiba had caused a reduction of about 27 million auto trips per year, annually saving about 27 million liters of fuel. 28 percent of BRT riders previously traveled by car. Compared to eight other Brazilian cities of its size, Curitiba used about 30 percent less fuel per capita, resulting in one of the country's lowest rates of ambient air pollution. In 2011, it was used by 85% of Curitiba's population (2.3 million passengers a day). However, recently, overcrowding on the system has become a problem as the city's population swelled as well as a reduced fleet, and none of the routes extend beyond the municipal boundary of the city which forces passengers in the generally poorer outlying suburbs to have to change buses and pay two fares. Thus, the car ownership rate has gone up. Curitiba is now the Brazilian capital with the highest automobiles per inhabitants ratio, with 1.2 million vehicles for a population of 1.8 million inhabitants. The network reached its low point in 2020, dropping to a little over 710,000 passengers transported per day. Fortunately, numbers are recovering and were up to 1.1 million in 2022. Recent years have seen substantial efforts to regain quality, improve service levels, incorporate technical innovations, and initiate more robust projects to reinvigorate the integrated transit network. In response, Curitiba has planned a north-south underground metro line Even NJ Transit gave BRT a try. They introduced "go bus 25" in 2008, and "go bus 28" in 2009. The "go bus 25" only runs during peak periods as a fast, shorter version of the 25. The Go Bus 25 runs half-hourly during peak periods on weekdays, stopping at eleven points between Irvington Bus Terminal and Newark Penn Station, along the Springfield Ave corridor. The Go Bus terminates at the Irvington Bus Terminal, while the ordinary 25 doesn't. The bus also serves Newark's Four Corners (intersection of Market and Broad Sts; once the busiest intersection in the US) and the Essex County Courthouse. Go Bus 28 on the other hand is a full-time bus that operates between Newark Liberty International Airport's terminals, Newark's central business district, Lincoln Park, Government Center, Branch Brook Park, the Roseville neighborhood, and Bloomfield station on the Montclair-Boonton Line. The route also stops at Newark Broad Street, so there are connections to the Morristown Line, Gladstone Branch, Montclair-Boonton Line, and the Newark Light Rail, as well as other connections to the Newark Light Rail like at Grove Street, Military Park, and Bloomfield Ave. In 2011, NJT introduced devices for real-time locating to their entire fleet, so shelters later had "next bus" scheduling information. Now, NJ is creating a transitway in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the Meadowlands. This is another option to serve those coming from Secaucus Junction and supplement the Meadowlands Rail Line. The transitway in its initial phase utilizes the eastern and western spurs of the NJ Turnpike with a bus-only connector at NJ Route 7. But after the World Cup, the transitway will use the former Boonton Line alignment (abandoned since the Montclair Connection opened in 2002) and will share it with the Essex-Hudson Greenway state park. NJ purchased this ROW from Norfolk Southern for 65 million. Using this alignment, the transitway will extend westward to Montclair and Newark, and eastward to serve Jersey City.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 10 күн бұрын
It's incredible that Curitiba was able to pioneer such a useful form of rapid transit as early as they did! Hopefully they are able to finish the metro given the capacity issues that make BRT no longer practical. I'll definitely have to give the "go bus 25" a try if I ever visit NJ! Did not even know that was a thing but it definitely sounds interesting- perhaps a useful connection between other major transit lines/destinations at the very least.
@silvioriechi
@silvioriechi 9 күн бұрын
Resident of the metropolitan region of Curitiba here... The system has declined a lot in the last decade, but it is still one of the best in Brazil. Some municipalities already have tariff integration. And the metro will not be a reality for us, the people of Curitiba, for at least 20 years. ​@@spd_bird
@CraigFThompson
@CraigFThompson 2 күн бұрын
@@spd_bird And there are also plans to replace most of the BRT lines to light rail; saves on police/traffic control costs.
@cameron_mays
@cameron_mays 9 күн бұрын
Great video!!! Spot on analysis. Rode the healthline almost daily for the better half of a year literally from downtown to university circle... what always bugged me was getting held up at tiny intersections so just one car can cross!!! I always dreamed there should be an express bus that just does public square, csu, 55th, 105, mayfield, and stokes... alas! Thanks for featuring the frans 🤘
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Thanks! Definitely agree, I think what you proposed fits with what I would wish the HealthLine would have been as well as a BRT line Appreciate the incredible music you and the Frans created! No bus ride to work is complete without it.
@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un
@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un 9 күн бұрын
One of the more interesting examples of BRT is the Adelaide O-Bahn, a guided busway in Australia. You can also find guided busways in the UK like the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway and Leigh-Salford-Manchester BRT, as well as in Japan as the Yutorito Line in Nagoya. The history behind the famous Adelaide one is that the greater Adelaide area experienced significant growth during and after WWII, and thus so did the number of vehicles registered. By the mid-1970s, transportation had become a problem in the northeastern suburbs. This led to a study that concluded that a light-rail would be the best option. However, there was opposition because people thought it would interfere with the well-designed layout of the city proper, and that light-rail vehicles would be too noisy. In search of a replacement for the light rail project, they examined the O-Bahn system in Essen in what was then West Germany by Daimler-Benz. The system was seen as far superior to previous proposals because it was flexible, used less land, made less noise, they viewed it as faster and as mentioned here as a reason for BRT, it cost less. In addition, its unique feature of a non-transfer service direct from suburban streets to the city center made it more attractive. With this system, the buses use a guide-wheel, which protrudes just ahead of the front wheels. It is connected directly to the steering mechanism and steers the bus by running along the raised edge of the track. Adelaide's track is 12 km/7.5 mi long and includes three interchanges at Klemzig, Paradise and Tea Tree Plaza. With its interchanges, it allows buses to enter and exit the busway and to continue on suburban routes, avoiding the need for passengers to transfer to another bus to continue their journey. Not to mention, the O-Bahn has sump buster devices to prevent cars. The O-Bahn has caused a clustering of commercial and community development near the Tea Tree Plaza Interchange, as service-providing organizations and businesses have of course sought to exploit the area's easy accessibility to public transit and the city center. Market imperatives have also been aided by the zoning of the land around the area as commercial rather than residential. The large Modbury Hospital is adjacent to the interchange, and the Torrens Valley campus of TAFE was built directly to the east of the busway after it opened The first use of a protected busway was the East Side Trolley Tunnel in Providence, RI. It is 2,160 feet long and was originally built for trolleys in 1914, but the tunnel was converted to bus use in 1948! The tunnel runs under College Hill on Providence's East Side, with its east portal at Thayer Street, the busy commercial district near Brown University, leading to its west portal at North Main Street near the Rhode Island School of Design. The tunnel traverses a 100-foot drop in elevation from its east portal to its west portal, while providing a gentler 4% to 5% grade compared to the steeper 10% grade of the city streets above it and of course allowing transit vehicles to bypass traffic and stoplights. The tunnel allows faster transit access from College Hill to Downtown Providence and the RIPTA transit hub at Kennedy Plaza. Police and fire department vehicles also use the tunnel. You could argue this was the first BRT in the world, though many believe the first BRT system in the world to be the Runcorn Busway in the UK which opened in 1971. 22 km was operational by 1980. Arthur Ling, Runcorn Development Corporation's Master Planner, said that he had invented the concept while sketching on the back of an envelope. The town was designed around the transport system, with most residents no more than five minutes walking distance, or 500 yards (or around 460 m), from the Busway. The busway has a designed speed of 40 mph. The central station is at Runcorn Shopping City where buses arrive on dedicated raised busways to two enclosed stations Bogotá has the TransMilenio BRT system. In 2024, 12 lines totalling 114.4 km (71 mi) run throughout the city. Usually four lanes down the center of the street are dedicated to bus traffic. The outer lanes allow express buses to bypass buses stopped at a station. There are six types of stations on the TransMilenio. Sencillas (Simple) or local service stations, located approximately every 500 m. De transferencia (Transfer) which allow transfer between different lines through a tunnel. Sin intercambio (No transfer) which do not allow transfer between lanes (north-south, south-north, west-east, east-west), located in the Autopista Norte (due to a stretch of the road), Tunal and 6th Street ramification (due to water channels). Intermedias (Intermediate) which service both feeder and trunk line. Cabecera (Portal), which are near the entrances to the city. In addition to feeders and articulated buses, intercity buses from the metropolitan area also arrive at these stations. And Paraderos bus dual (dual-bus stop) which are located in the streets, these stops don't have turnstiles, electronic boards and the floor level is the same of the street, served by buses with station-level and street-level doors. These stops are located in the pretrunk corridors (AK 7, AV Caracas, AV Suba, AC 80, AV El Dorado). At the end of 2018, Transmilenio ordered 1,383 new buses as a replacement of the older ones in service. 52% were compressed natural gas (CNG) buses made by Scania with Euro 6 emission rating, 48% were diesel engine made by Volvo with Euro 5 emission rating. In the 4th quarter of 2023, 1,836 buses on average were circulating on the trunk line system. An additional set of 869 regular buses, known as "feeders" (alimentadores in Spanish), carry passengers from certain important stations to many different locations that the main route does not reach. There is no additional fare to use the feeder buses. There are 27 bicycle parking facilities in main TransMilenio stations with 7,351 parking spaces to facilitate cyclists using the system. Eight BRT corridors were certified in 2013 to meet the BRT standard with excellence, Autonorte and Caracas silver, Americas, Calle 80, Eldorado, NQS and Suba gold
@njz1
@njz1 9 күн бұрын
Very interesting, Thanks for typing this out!
@CraigFThompson
@CraigFThompson 2 күн бұрын
ANOTHER DISSERTATION FROM GENERAL MOTORS!
@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un
@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un 8 күн бұрын
Pittsburgh has different bus highways! The Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway serves Pittsburgh's eastern neighborhoods and suburbs. Originally a Pennsylvania Railroad line, planning for the East Busway began shortly after the Port Authority of Allegheny County purchased the Pittsburgh Railways Company in 1964. The original segment of the busway opened in February 1983, running between Downtown Pittsburgh and Edgewood, a length of 6.8 miles, and expanded to 9.1 miles in 2002! The West Busway serves western neighborhoods and suburbs, running for 5.1 miles (or 8.2 km) from the southern shore of the Ohio River near downtown to Carnegie, following the former Panhandle Route (called such because it served WV's northern panhandle) railroad ROW. The Airport Flyer uses the West Busway as part of its route, as there are dedicated ramps that connect the Busway to Interstate 376. The Airport Flyer has a stop restriction with buses outbound to the Airport only stopping to pick up passengers, with drop-offs along the busway prohibited. The South Busway runs for 4.3 miles (or 6.9 km) from the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel across the Monongahela River from Downtown Pittsburgh to the Overbrook neighborhood. The Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel is pretty cool in that it's shared by both buses and light-rail, meaning it's one bi-modal tunnel with no levels separate for buses or light-rail, so they share the same section! The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel in Whittier, Alaska is another road-rail tunnel in the US, serving as both a highway tunnel and the Alaska Railroad. The CTfastrak is another great BRT example. CTfastrak opened in 2015, and its services have initially run on a 9.4-mile (or 15.1 km) dedicated busway on an abandoned rail ROW from downtown New Britain to Newington Junction and alongside the active New Haven-Springfield Line from Newington Junction to downtown Hartford. Downtown New Britain is a sprawling complex with numerous bus bays and large shelters to support transfers between CTfastrak services and local CT Transit services. Flatbush Avenue and Sigourney Street have large island platforms and off-busway loops. There are center passing lanes to allow express buses to pass stopped local buses. Besides routes that do run on CTfastrak, there are feeder services that make stops at CTfastrak station platforms. From New Britain to Newington Junction, a fenced multi-use trail was constructed alongside the busway. This trail was not possible on the northern section, where all available room was needed for an access road for Amtrak maintenance vehicles. A great example of turning a bus line into a light-rail line is the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. Before they built the tunnel, there were different proposals for a rapid transit line, with the most significant in the 1960s. For the first attempt in February 1968 when voters were asked to provide 385 million, it narrowly passed by 50.8 percent but fell short of the required 60 percent supermajority. A second attempt in May 1970 when voters were asked for 440 million, it failed with 46 percent, and the federal money was instead given to Atlanta for MARTA. Despite this, they still planned for a bus tunnel in 1974 that could potentially become a light-rail line. While the light rail plan was left unfunded at the time in the 1980s, provisions were made to accommodate a future Eastside light-rail connection. When the bus tunnel was opened in 1990, they already installed light rail tracks in anticipation, however they had to be replaced when the tracks were later found to be poorly insulated and unusable. And there was a scandal during the tunnel's construction when it was discovered in 1989 that the granite was quarried in South Africa despite a boycott of South African goods by the King County Metro Council at the time. For several years, service in the tunnel was provided exclusively by dual-mode buses, which ran as trolleybuses in the tunnel and diesel buses on city streets. Putting buses in the tunnel meant less traffic on city streets! The dual-mode trolleybuses were replaced by hybrid electric buses to prepare for the light-rail. And when the light-rail opened in 2009, the tunnel had operations where buses and the light-rail shared it, just like in Pittsburgh! That is until Convention Place station was sold to the Washington State Convention Center for redevelopment, closing Convention Place in July 2018 and closing the tunnel to buses two years earlier in March 2019 than the scheduled closure of 2021 (which was meant to coincide with the Northgate Link expansion). Making the tunnel light-rail only.
@ClassyWhale
@ClassyWhale 8 күн бұрын
Very well done! Glad to cameo and contribute :) What software do you use for motion graphics?
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 8 күн бұрын
Thank you for creating the great video that inspired this in the first place (and for allowing me to use your footage >:3 ) I used Davinci Resolve for the motion graphics
@climateandtransit
@climateandtransit 9 күн бұрын
But I'm a (BRT) creep. I'm a (BRT) weirdo.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Don't worry, I have yet to beat the (BRT) stalker allegations
@billsinkins361
@billsinkins361 9 күн бұрын
What the hell am I doing here...
@andrewfidel2220
@andrewfidel2220 5 күн бұрын
In addition to painting the lanes they could also have mountable curbs to separate the bus lanes from the traffic lanes everywhere where there's not a protected left turn lane that needs to cross the bus lane. This would also help with traffic calming along Euclid as it would narrow the car space and naturally discourage the illegal parking.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 5 күн бұрын
Yes, this is very true!
@Naqiy0403
@Naqiy0403 9 күн бұрын
Amazing video! Was extremely disappointed with the Health Line when I visited Cleveland although overall the city is very nice and underrated. Hope it can be restored to greatness one day
@CraigFThompson
@CraigFThompson 2 күн бұрын
Cleveland will be restored to its original glory once it rebuilds most of its RAIL-BASED public transportation infrastructure. Anything based on the automobile has ruined and destroyed our nation's cities, including Cleveland.
@jacktattersall9457
@jacktattersall9457 6 күн бұрын
Very interesting video. I agree that a lot of BRT projects are sometimes in practice just "priority bus" improved bus routes (better stops, some priority features, better buses) and not proper bus rapid transit (hence why so few systems get graded by ITDP). Question though, why can't police stop drivers without a reason in the USA? In both Canada and Australia, police do not need a reason to do a traffic stop in order to check a driver's license and fitness to drive (breath and/or drug test). Failure to comply with a request for a breathalyzer test is a crime in both countries with equivalent penalties to DUI including fines and license suspension. I don't see how a fare inspection by a police officer is any different. However, the best transit systems employ unarmed fare inspectors with customer service styled rather than security-styled uniforms to conduct fare enforcement, such as in Sydney, Australia.
@andrewfidel2220
@andrewfidel2220 5 күн бұрын
The 4th amendment to the US Constitution requires an officer to have a reasonable suspicion that a law has been broken to stop someone.
@WatchSparkkTV
@WatchSparkkTV 7 күн бұрын
They're not going to bring back proof of payment. The Red Line is suppose to get fare validators for digital fares and gates once they close it down to start the work for the new trains (all the platforms need extended to fit). They're suppose to put up gates that only open if you scan your fare at the validator. This is assuming however they go forward with the idea of doing away with cash fares and bring in the cards you can pre-load like they're suppose to when they signed the contract with EZ-Fare. RTA has a huge fare evasion issue and a homeless problem also. Before W.117-Madison State closed for the bridge work, it was very scary and dangerous to walk thru the station. And the city likely DID turn off signal priority because just look at the mess that is Public Square. I feel like the old 4 way square from 10+ years (when Ontario was a thru street) ago flowed way better than today's Public Square. And technically the CSU Line is also BRT (cough, cough) on the 55, 55B & 55C routes but their are no scanners, you pay on the bus like normal and they do use small buses on some blocks for reasons. Night blocks use them because RTA likes getting the 60ft buses off the road by 7pm (excluding HealthLine). Also on weekends the 55 flips with the 90 downtown so small buses are used. And the 55 will always run late during the week because of where the reliefs are made, it's in front of the Key Bank building as soon the bus turns from Rockwell onto Ontario. So it's mid-route. And RTA from what I understand from people does NOT plan to order any more 60ft buses except for the Healthline because the mechanics DO NOT like them at all. This is why sometimes you will see almost none on the 22 or 55 because they're all at Triskett for maintenance. Hayden doesn't have this issue with the Heathline because they have extra buses incase that happens and only uses those on one route.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 7 күн бұрын
@@WatchSparkkTV Interesting, do you have any sources to back up the claim that the RTA plans to re-install fare gates at red line stations? Also last I heard, the RTA doesn't have a fare evasion issue- they estimate it's at average national levels (~3% iirc). I've also used W117th plenty of times before and I've never had any issues there.
@LUNITUNZBackup
@LUNITUNZBackup 4 күн бұрын
I feel like the idea that they're not buying more 60ft buses because the Mechanics don't like it is wild, I feel like the operators should have more sway. If the mechanics decide they don't like working on 40ft buses either, are they gonna ditch them and only do trolleys?
@WatchSparkkTV
@WatchSparkkTV 4 күн бұрын
@@LUNITUNZBackup RTA never had 60ft buses until the Healthline BRT started. They ordered 20 for the Healthline and 17 more for routes 22 & 26. Then when the 55 became the CSU line instead of the 'Gold Line', they ordered more, 16 for the CSU Line and then 7 for the 22 & 26. The first was retired and more were not ordered except for the HealthLine. And Lakewood asked RTA to take them off the 26. Before 'Next-Gen' took effect you will remember seeing the 60ft buses on the 49 & 75 even because they didn't know what else to use them on. If you know anything about Lakewood and why they were so bad on the 26, Detroit Rd. is a former 4 lane road that was converted about 20 years ago to 2 lanes with a middle turning lane and parking on both sides. And you'll know it's a very slow road and hard to curb a bus as it is. Now recently you will notice times where both the 22 & 55 are all 40ft buses because the 3200's (60ft buses) are all at the garage. And we're talking during the week, not weekends (they don't use 60ft buses at Triskett on weekends). They break down so often. And as soon as snow hits, they gotta come off the road, they fishtail like crazy and on the 55 CSU Line in North Olmsted at the County Line (Industrial Parkway) if you get more than a few inches of snow, they don't plow some streets that are concrete and the buses get stuck. There is a whole list of reasons why RTA is not ordering more 60 ft buses outside of the Healthline. Also ridership don't warrant it. We just increased service on the 22 so most of the blocks are Gillig's now anyways because not enough 60ft buses anyways. The RTA mechanics hated 2 series of buses, the New Flyers and NABIs. The NABIs always had turbo issues.
@LUNITUNZBackup
@LUNITUNZBackup 2 күн бұрын
@WatchSparkkTV That's nice and all, but I feel like my original point that the operators who operate the buses should have more sway over if they continue to use them then the mechanics. Also, if no one is riding them on the west side, why not try them on the east side?
@TheCloakedTiger
@TheCloakedTiger 9 күн бұрын
BRT, if designed right can be a great solution for cities who have tight budgets and low populations, but like you said, don’t just add some features and call it BRT. It needs to be designed right with protected bus lanes and signal prioritization. Sadly there’s many USA BRT systems that get built but all it ends up being is some enhanced bus service, such as the JAZZ A and B line in Monterey CA and many others.
@Hodaggium
@Hodaggium 9 күн бұрын
It was good to hear Madison mentioned in this video. I visited Madison last weekend, and rode their BRT. It certainly is a great service in the community there.
@tylerkochman1007
@tylerkochman1007 9 күн бұрын
It’s something I talk about with city elected officials and candidates I am friendly with in Madison: avoid having the rapid aspects of the system disintegrate the way Cleveland’s did.
@radishpineapple74
@radishpineapple74 8 күн бұрын
I've already seen a broken ticket machine and stop time display, and it hasn't even been a year yet. It's rough when it's 5°F and you're not a local, so you need to pay cash, but the ticket machines don't work. I'm hoping these were one-off issues and not signs that the city procured cheap equipment not built to withstand years of use in cold temperatures.
@Hodaggium
@Hodaggium 7 күн бұрын
@ I actually experienced that on the day I departed Madison. I put in my $2 for a ride and was able to navigate the screen. Then the screen went dark. Thankfully I had enough time to walk to the next stop if I needed to, but I still was able to get my ticket and board.
@TheTransitNomad
@TheTransitNomad 9 күн бұрын
Such an interesting and sad story! I cannot believe that a few drives with influence can decide to shut down signal priority for thousands who use public transportation. And I totally agree that front door boarding and bus stops being located too close together dramatically slow down the entire system. Subscribed and look forward to watching the rest of your videos! 😎
@Wolfletech
@Wolfletech 10 күн бұрын
Having ridden the Madison BRT, being skeptical at first about it, it's been nice being able to drive 20 mins from outside Dane County, Board the BRT bus, and take it downtown. I wish the busses ran later but I'll take it for now. For the same price of parking downtown, I can grab the bus. And not have to worry about traffic. If done right, they work. If not, we'll, it's an expensive local bus.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 10 күн бұрын
That's incredible! Definitely agree. I'd also love to see it have better service span (and I'm really hoping the baseline of 20-30 minute headways on evenings/weekends gets bumped to 15 soon because that's just not that "frequent")
@crazyaboutnintendo64
@crazyaboutnintendo64 9 күн бұрын
@@spd_birdit was supposed to be 15 right away, but that still just isn’t realistically adequate when the Busses on the route are always late. I left Madison a couple months before the BRT opened, but even beforehand, they were running the Route A with “15-minute” frequencies during most of the day, but this was never ever ever how often it would come. It did typically end up being closer to 20-30 minutes, like was previously mentioned. Madison’s BRT is another example of a system that only slightly improves existing bus service, instead of providing true rapid transit. Failures with signal priority, lane protection, and headways are the culprits, as usual.
@crazyaboutnintendo64
@crazyaboutnintendo64 9 күн бұрын
Looking it up a bit now, it does seem to have gotten smoother these days and is actually a pretty respectable line, so I’m gonna half-walk back these comments. I still think the line has some inherent issues, but it does work.
@himbourbanist
@himbourbanist 8 күн бұрын
I feel like half of these issues could kind of be resolved just be reinstating the signal priority and MAYBE cutting the absolute lowest ridership stations on sections where the bus moves the slowest. That would cost very little (or even like, nothing at all since the tech is already there w/ signal prio) and would result in significantly faster trip times for people. That alone would draw ridership, even if frequency is just left at 15 minutes all-day, since OTP would also improve, along with the perception of reliability.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 8 күн бұрын
You are 100% right!
@baddriversofcolga
@baddriversofcolga 4 күн бұрын
Fantastic vidya! I can't believe how badly they screwed this up (well, I can believe it, but still...).
@dindog22
@dindog22 8 күн бұрын
it's really more B and not so much RT. Cleveland just throws the bendy busses on the regular bus routes
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 8 күн бұрын
Don't worry, they're phasing out bendy busses from regular routes in favor of standard 40' buses 🥲
@CraigFThompson
@CraigFThompson 2 күн бұрын
@@spd_bird Maybe they should start using DOUBLE-DECKERS?!
@sammymarrco2
@sammymarrco2 8 күн бұрын
Amazing quality dude, it reminds me of the Metroway "BRT" here in Northern Virginia, different problems but similar outcomes. Also what is that outro song😂?
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 8 күн бұрын
@@sammymarrco2 thanks! The outro song is "Smoking on the BRT" by the Frans! (Local RTA/public transit themed band). Their info is in the description if you want to check them out!
@Yvonne-Bella
@Yvonne-Bella 2 күн бұрын
About the fare part- Cleveland could just start up a payment card similar to Clipper (I dont know about any others. Clipper just happens to be the one I use) and add payment boxes at every door. AC Transit and Muni do that already and it works. Speaking of AC Transit: The 1/1T line is a BRT set up just like this and you know what they did to signal that car shouldn't drive in those lanes (because they sure were before this)? The put those bendable dividers all along the corridor. I'm sorry, but like...eh!? I cant with this
@AthyDragoness
@AthyDragoness 8 күн бұрын
7:40 oooh do I spot a fursuit? 👀 I've also noticed this about american BRT, it's really just a nicer bus with some branding, but that's it. And "BRT light" is literally just a bus. I've heard it described as "a slightly nicer bus", but I think it only seems that way because regular american busses are so horrendously awful. When I see footage of american BRT systems, they often just look like normal bus infrastructure does here in germany.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 8 күн бұрын
Yeah, it's funny but also sad that "BRT light" is a pretty standard bus line in other countries. I think the biggest differentiator at that point between BRT and local buses would come down to station/stop spacings and other characteristics of service instead of infrastructure. And looks like you found one of the furry easter eggs >:3
@rust_belt_city_enjoyer
@rust_belt_city_enjoyer 9 күн бұрын
Another banger bestie 🎉
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Impossible without your banger judge impression!
@markw.schumann297
@markw.schumann297 9 күн бұрын
RTA never had the promised signal priority, so the "BRT" is waiting for cross traffic at major intersections. RTA simply doesn't enforce the dedicated bus lane, so the "BRT" is constantly navigating around parked cars. RTA put cops in charge of fare enforcement, _already knowing that that violated the Fourth Amendment,_ and then didn't have backup plan when the cops were dismissed. RTA also put up "real-time arrival" displays that actually just displayed the schedule times.
@pizzajona
@pizzajona 2 күн бұрын
Great video (except for the furry parts, I guess I’m not up with the times)! It is incredibly frustrating to hear that the city of Cleveland and RTA themselves are hamstringing what should otherwise be an amazing rapid transit corridor.
@liamleveto9208
@liamleveto9208 8 күн бұрын
Well done!
@brownsfan6447
@brownsfan6447 3 күн бұрын
Painting the bus lanes red in downtown won’t help on Euclid. You have people double parking there and at its worst near the hotels, Valet parking will completely occupy the car lane on Euclid. There is no choice but to drive in the bus lane during peak times.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 3 күн бұрын
@@brownsfan6447 never said it would completely solve it, but it definitely would still help- nacto estimated roughly 30% better compliance which is not 100% because of what you mentioned
@joeltwomey6457
@joeltwomey6457 9 күн бұрын
They JUST added phone scanners like a month ago as well as the blue and green line trains. It took them long enough to
@jdayellow
@jdayellow 9 күн бұрын
Great video! Thoroughly researched and great graphics. The situation in Cleveland sounds similar to what happened in York Region, ON. Our VIVA BRT was promised as "rapid transit" with shiny vehicles and stations but we also had our TSP weakened, the headways cut below 15 mins in some periods, and local connections reduced or made unusable. Thankfully we have not backtracked on the off-board payment yet. It's difficult to turn BRT into a full-fledged rapid transit service in this continent because it's so easy to water down BRT by axing the features that make it rapid transit such as taking away its priority and frequency, which is harder to do with rail. Hopefully Cleveland can find solutions to improve the BRT as mentioned.
@AdiposeExpress
@AdiposeExpress 6 күн бұрын
It can happen with rail too, just ask MUNI or any of the cities with 3 mile streetcar loops.
@somerandomlatvian7801
@somerandomlatvian7801 9 күн бұрын
great video
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Thanks!
@alvacoyote
@alvacoyote 9 күн бұрын
Loved the vid! What did the RTA end up deciding with regards to fare enforcement?
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Thanks! The RTA still has the bus operator make sure riders validate their fare at the front of the bus on the HealthLine On the Red Line, there's technically nobody going around checking fares However, both lines feature RTA police who roam around and will check your fare if you're causing issues and/or if they're looking to remove you from the vehicle.
@louisjohnson3755
@louisjohnson3755 9 күн бұрын
4:47 I hate that they are calling them “important people”, as if only people in cars are important. Lots of people who take transit are also important, Infact in Minneapolis St. Paul, which is where I live, 40 percent of people who take transit are essential workers. Plus how do we know all those people in cars are important people? Some of those people in cars could be people who aren’t important and are instead just some dude cruising around roaming the streets looking for prostitutes
@markw.schumann297
@markw.schumann297 9 күн бұрын
Okay but to be fair, the person saying "important people" was being sarcastic. Angie Schmitt is a frustrated transit advocate.
@MrBirdnose
@MrBirdnose 9 күн бұрын
In a lot of cities there's unfortunately an assumption that if you care about arriving on time, you won't take the bus. And it becomes self-fulfilling.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Totally get it, but I think the "important people in cars" was not implying drivers are "important people," but rather, a negative euphemism for the few politicians who got angry at the HealthLine's signal priority and had the power to shut it off. The chair of the Citizen's Advisory Board probably didn't want to get into political drama actually naming names.
@WBTravels
@WBTravels 9 күн бұрын
I love our bus system in lynwood even more after watching this: we are a suburb of seattle, with just under 100,000 people, we have not 1, not 2, but three separate high quality, fast & frequent BRT light lines. All SWIFT brt stops, have high floors, ticket machines, all door boarding, level boarding, full roofs, and yellow textile strips. All swift BRT intersections have signal priority, and almost all of it has dedicated "turn only" lanes, or full Bus Lanes, to prevent traffic build up along the route: the swift runs from 4 AM to 2 AM, every 15 minutes at night, every 10 during the day, and every 5 during rush hour. It is a hilariously well maintained, clean, fast, and well designed system for a city with less than 100 000 people.
@jaden997
@jaden997 8 күн бұрын
I remember the first time I actually rode on a Swift/Community Transit bus and was pleasantly surprised to see that you had to tap your ORCA card at the stop. I was so used to riding KC Metro and ST buses around Seattle/Bellevue. Also, those double decker ST buses are super nice to ride on.
@13thFlProductions
@13thFlProductions 8 күн бұрын
One issue with BRT in the USA is that in most states, it is illegal to use camera enforcement for traffic laws. In Ohio, there is no way for transit agencies to use cameras to enforce bus lanes. This is why Cincinnati is proposing curb-side bus lanes for most of its BRT, which function as legal car turn lanes. This is also because of very limited street space on hilly Cincinnati streets (usually 4 11 foot lanes and nothing more) that make median stations difficult or impossible, but still. Painted red lanes are definitely possible though and could help. One smaller issue with the HealthLine is also that there are not dedicated lanes on the East Cleveland portion of it, which can mess with headways. I think that the HealthLine can definitely be fixed up, but it'll take doing the red painted bus lanes, fixing signal priority (when I rode it I thought it was at least partially working last year), maybe closing some of the lowest ridership stations, and revamping the RTA fare system. RTA really should adopt a TAPP card like Dayton Ohio did, and just replace all of their paper tickets with it. If they aren't willing to do off-board fare payment, at least use a TAPP card and put the readers on all doors so that you can still have all door boarding and not have to shuffle to the front of the bus. I feel like just fixing the fare system and signal priority is half the battle to improve this line. I hope that RTA gets told to put stations further apart for their new "BRT" lines.
@ix830
@ix830 8 күн бұрын
It's a shame how personal preferences of "important people" can ruin public goods. BRT is the right choice for many cities and it's residents. Political power shouldn't be allowed to say different. This can also extend to LRT and commuter rail, where headways grow, expansions are deferred, and auto centric development proliferates. Thanks for emphasizing the impact of signal priority and lane enforcement. These things shouldn't be political but are already an issue on our regular routes here in Dallas. We have even more challenges with BRT.
@jakobcordes2285
@jakobcordes2285 8 күн бұрын
The station distancing point is so important - even on Denver's express/L buses, which are in mixed traffic, the stop spacing saves a ton of time. I save ~5 min on the 15L vs the 15. Fewer stops also makes for a better riding experience, since you don't have to hold on every two stops when the bus slides to a stop.
@pseydtonne
@pseydtonne 5 күн бұрын
I came here thanks to Rust Belt Enjoyer. I am very glad to see their improvised lav mic holder and may yoink such an implementation in the future. I was also very juiced to see Detroit Avenue through Lakewood, about a mile from my house! Wheeee! That's on route 26 (nowhere near the Health Line), but lovely all the same. Thanks!
@jacksonp2397
@jacksonp2397 9 күн бұрын
THE FRANS 🤘
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
HECK YEAH!
@christucker3413
@christucker3413 Күн бұрын
Richmond Virginia has a good system
@empirejackson5434
@empirejackson5434 Күн бұрын
It's a regular bus line, scam from the beginning. It sucks like the test of RTA.
@jasperli
@jasperli 9 күн бұрын
2:07 Ottawa Transitway mentioned 🥳🥳🥳
@stickynorth
@stickynorth 9 күн бұрын
The old adage of "you buy cheap, you buy twice" is most certainly the case here. Personally I'd put LRT down that corridor but only use the 12 stations described in the original plan from the 1980's... I've never personally seen a BRT line that wouldn't have been better designed as LRT other than perhaps Ottawa which ironically is dismantling its BRT line for LRT along the same corridors but at a very high cost due largely to maxed out capacity. In other words, BRT worked too well and there's no way to grow the system so they had to switch to rail...
@dommy456
@dommy456 9 күн бұрын
INDY MENTIONED (rip blue line bus lanes)
@irkibby
@irkibby 9 күн бұрын
Would it ever be possible to remove some of the BRT stops along the line that have low usage?
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Technically yes, but from my conversations with them, the RTA would never do that given how opposed they are to stop consolidation in general, especially since the BRT station is already built. Instead, it looks like the RTA's solution is to simply reduce amenities at every station to bring down costs instead.
@TF417
@TF417 9 күн бұрын
columbus mentioned 🥳
@MrBirdnose
@MrBirdnose 9 күн бұрын
This reminds me of when King County, Washington put in the BRT "A Line" along International Boulevard, and it somehow ended up being slower than the regular bus line it replaced.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Yikes! At least the HealthLine still ended up being (slightly) faster. Something must've been messed up (unless traffic just significantly increased).
@whostheplum1711
@whostheplum1711 9 күн бұрын
Oh the quality on this is amazing
@ttopero
@ttopero 8 күн бұрын
Since Denver’s DOTi is doing the engineering & construction (contracted), I’m hopeful that RTA’s BRT issues don’t migrate to RTD’s issues when the Colfax BRT opens. I’m not interested in foreshadowing in this case!
@brunhildevalkyrie
@brunhildevalkyrie 9 күн бұрын
this is Alex Davis quality
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Thank you! Alex was a big inspiration (along with Uytae Lee)
@phylliselizahb1041
@phylliselizahb1041 8 күн бұрын
Rapid Transit stations are extremely dangerous. There's no security. Police don't respond to bus drivers calling for help electronically. I've witnessed & managed to avoid some scary moments. Of course, both busses & the Shaker Rapid which runs like a trolley have had robberies happen @ stops on board. Gotta say the drivers by 2024 seem much nicer & responsible.
@CraigFThompson
@CraigFThompson 2 күн бұрын
Yet driving on some damned STUPERHIGHWAY is even MORE dangerous, especially with an increase in road rage....
@glassowaterful
@glassowaterful 9 күн бұрын
good video
@DenisAgar
@DenisAgar 9 күн бұрын
This was SO good
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Thank you!
@pacificostudios
@pacificostudios 9 күн бұрын
This is why BRT is little more than a distraction from restoring urban rail in our cities. First, because BRT capacity is too low to substitute for LRT economically, given North American labor costs. Second, it is too easy for governments to repeal rules and policies and generally let the system deteriorate from the day after the politicians pose for TV cameras. I saw a BRT system collapse in Honolulu as soon as the present mayor lost his election. LRT and Metro are permanent improvements that last.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Not necessarily. If you're comparing street-running transit, the Delmar Loop Trolley is a classic example of light rail "light" which was stripped away so much that it is objectively worse than any local bus route that exists in St. Louis. At the end of the day, any sort of transit project can deteriorate. Infrastructure might look permanent, but what makes it work is service which can get cut back just as easily on rail as it can on buses. At the end of the day, we can't let perfect become the enemy of better, and we shouldn't take an LRT-or-nothing approach- that just isn't realistic for cities like Cleveland where capacity of vehicles is the last concern the transit system has. The reality is more nuanced- BRT and LRT are useful in different contexts. LRT makes sense when you need greater capacity that a frequent bus just can't deliver. BRT is for systems that see low ridership but need some sort of rapid transit.
@pacificostudios
@pacificostudios 9 күн бұрын
@@spd_bird - My real point is, don't waste citizen energy promoting BRT unless it really is a route where maximum ridership is 10,000 daily maximum. For example, look at the Line G BRT in Los Angeles, always overcrowded, slowed down by inherently slow loading/unloading, and now on the path to being replaced by LRT. Despite all its flaws, Line G has attracted a lot of new apartment development. But that just shows that it should have been LRT from the start.
@pacificostudios
@pacificostudios 9 күн бұрын
@@spd_bird - That sounds like a streetcar. A streetcar is a streetcar. In San Diego and Los Angeles, there is no mixed traffic LRT.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
@ Yeah, Line G is a good example of something that should have been LRT in the beginning. Capacity is definitely significantly more of a constraint on that route compared to routes you would find in cities like Cleveland. That's why this video is not geared towards transit in cities like LA, but rather, smaller cities and lower-ridership routes.
@foxpresso
@foxpresso 5 күн бұрын
I was wondering why there's a furry at 7:35 and then I see the channel icon. :3
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 5 күн бұрын
>:3 Had so much fun planting furry easter eggs Check out 14:01 as well if you're interested
@foxpresso
@foxpresso 4 күн бұрын
@@spd_bird Beautiful
@EMD_F59PHI
@EMD_F59PHI 6 күн бұрын
Imo, the only brt line considered a disaster in LA County would be the Metro J Line (Silver) 910/950 You've got the El Monte Busway in the East, and the Harbor Transitway in the south with DTLA in between said Busways and street running to San Pedro south of the Harbor Transitway, CAUSING A HEADACHE. MEANWHILE, the G Line (Orange) gets the whole Busway with signal priority (Hopefully). BUT METRO IS MORE FOCUSED ON TRANSIT AMBASSADORS
@Kas-tle
@Kas-tle 8 күн бұрын
1:48 I love how their plans get progressively less ambitious as time goes on
@sqoomsh
@sqoomsh 9 күн бұрын
jslskslsjdlsjsgfskdkdjd I want to go fursuiting on transit 😭😭
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
If you get a chance to come to Cleveland, we host meets on transit every month or so! (We also do it at MFF and some other cons)
@MalixPL
@MalixPL 9 күн бұрын
*laughing in european*
@CraigFThompson
@CraigFThompson 2 күн бұрын
Hotty-hah-hah-hah!!
@LisaMiza
@LisaMiza 8 күн бұрын
Lovely video, but quite hard to hear your voice over the music and so on much of the time
@RatTalisman
@RatTalisman 9 күн бұрын
Oh, hey, I was in one of these videos, kind of. Incredible video!
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
>:3
@markw.schumann297
@markw.schumann297 9 күн бұрын
7:37 Hey that's Matt Zone looking at the camera.
@JTGKirby
@JTGKirby 9 күн бұрын
Another BRT failure, Houston Metro!
@TohaBgood2
@TohaBgood2 9 күн бұрын
You’re avoiding discussion of the main problem of BRT. Buses cannot be coupled together when the ridership demands it. If the line proves even a little bit popular it quickly becomes 2-3-4x more expensive to run than light rail due to the linear increase in driver wages.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
I never claimed BRT would work in every situation- I made it very clear that BRT is for low ridership routes that would not justify light rail for that very reason. This video was made from the context of a rust belt city where ridership has been dropping and we barely have enough ridership to fill 40 foot buses running every 15 minutes at peak and 30 minutes all other times. Having a route that's "too popular" is far from the biggest issue right now or for the foreseeable future.
@AdiposeExpress
@AdiposeExpress 6 күн бұрын
Even for medium volume routes, it's nice to have 2-3 buses that comes every 10-15 minutes as opposed to a single train that comes every 20-30 minutes. Plus in theory BRT buses can branch out and through-run onto regular roads in the suburbs, which is nice for providing a one-seat ride.
@TohaBgood2
@TohaBgood2 5 күн бұрын
@@AdiposeExpress BRT that through runs on non-BRT streets is not BRT. It's a bus with fancy marketing but no actual advantages. And who says that the train needs to come every 20-30 minutes. Why not run single car light rail every 2-10 minutes? It's cheaper to run than the same number of buses. And when ridership picks up, which is the whole point of building higher order modes like light rail and BRT, you can just add as second/third/fourth car to your light rail train with near zero increase in cost. BRT can't do that. With BRT you are assuming ahead of time that your fancy and expensive to build new BRT line will fail to attract any more ridership than a regular bus line. And at that point, why are you even building that BRT in the first place?!
@CraigFThompson
@CraigFThompson 2 күн бұрын
@@AdiposeExpress Except the train WON'T be arriving "every 20-30 minutes"; in transit service, trains arrive every FIVE toTEN MINUTES. And buses are MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE over the life cycle than rail vehicles; one rail coach outlasts a bus (which really is an AUTOMOBILE) by a factor of five to one. Due to electric propulsion of LRT (and HRT), trains spend much less time in the shop than buses; hence, they're out there serving the public and earning the transit organization a steady income.
@markw.schumann297
@markw.schumann297 9 күн бұрын
15:56 "It's up to us as advocates, voters, and regular citizens to determine which future we want for our cities." No it's not. The RTA board isn't elected, it's appointed by corrupt politicians. The public doesn't realistically have any effect on the decision-making process.
@detroitpeoplemover
@detroitpeoplemover 9 күн бұрын
Corrupt politicians can still be voted out. It has and can be done. Vote out the politicians in favor of progressive urbanist politicians, urbanist politicians appoint good board members, that's how change is brought about.
@CraigFThompson
@CraigFThompson 2 күн бұрын
@@detroitpeoplemover And then we all gotta be concerned about the shenanigans of the replacement....
@trainluvr
@trainluvr 5 күн бұрын
The least important stakeholder is the riding public. And 15 min all day is just criminal. What a sad tale of incompetence and indifference.
@AL5520
@AL5520 9 күн бұрын
It makes me sad to see how hard it is to provide decent transit in the US which made me think that maybe you should try more basic improvments first. I'm from Barcelona and we have an extensive transit system with almost every type of transport mean but one of my favorite changes was in the bus system. Buses are good but existing lines were a legacy of the past with different lines that could be a good option in some cases but in most cases I prefered the metro. About 15 years ago they started a reorganization plan turning part of the line into a grid system. This shows up on the BRT list in Wikipedia but it's not BRT. The buses are regular (but they added over time more articulated buses), they stop in regular stops (they added more stops with next buses signes) and the new lines had larger distances between stops but now there were horizontal lines and vertical line (also 3 diagonal lines) so it was easy to find one of them near you and with one chane you can get close to almost any where. They made sure that change points between vertical and horizontal lines are close to each other and even added direction markers on side walks to make it eazy to find the connection. They did add more bus lane, basic ones near the sidewalks but there is mo priority in intersections (unless required, like for a bus stopping on right that meeds to turn left). They did cancel some regular lines for that but they made sure that the areas of those lines were covered by the new ones. Now I mostly use buses. Sometimes smaller and cheaper changes can increase ridership making the service more viable and with growth it will be easier to increase investments.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
That's incredible! More people need to know about that story. In the US, it seems many transit agencies (including the RTA) are attempting this with system-wide bus route re-designs to reduce coverage to increase service while emphasizing straighter routes and connections. Unfortunately, these have to be mostly cost-neutral due to limited funding and falling ridership.
@AL5520
@AL5520 9 күн бұрын
@spd_bird implementation will cost money but it can be done in stages. The redesign in Barcelona took a few years to complete and the cost was €40m (about $42m).
@eaglepay
@eaglepay 9 күн бұрын
Being from Pittsburgh and having three busway BRTs, I always found it odd that Cleveland RTA kept describing the HealthLine as the first true example of BRT when it was first conceived.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
Yeah, I'm guessing it's just cause it's one of the first examples of "modern" street running BRT that uses technologies like signal priority which is becoming more popular compared to Pittsburgh's grade separated metro-style BRT.
@davidunlikely2541
@davidunlikely2541 Күн бұрын
I've been on the Healthline at least once a week since it began. Am I remembering correctly that there was a period in the early days where the line was free to ride? RTA can't be making much from Healthline fares, and most people who use the line also transfer to/from another RTA and are ticketed, making fare readers less necessary.
@jbirzer
@jbirzer 9 күн бұрын
Furry jump scare.
@spd_bird
@spd_bird 9 күн бұрын
I had so much fun figuring out where to put furry easter eggs in the video
@paynteck4473
@paynteck4473 9 күн бұрын
ahahaha madison brt being used as a good example was the funniest joke of them all… half the route has no dedicated lanes, some of it the buses share the lane with cyclists in an uphill portion, maintenance issues and not enough employees means buses are canceled on a whim in frigid temperatures, the paint on the road has started to chip away in less than half a year, the plan was to have off-board payments, but that was quickly watered down to paying on board, the stations have hostile architecture so that the wind blows right through and the heaters do little to nothing to keep you warm (they purposely removed the glass panels that were originally there to block wind), buses are weaved in and out of traffic every two feet in the downtown, the service is every 30 minutes on weekends(when people visit downtown for fun), the entire system is going to be just one line until the city can figure out how to get it together once more to build the other line that was planned, accessibility is a nightmare when even though there are curb extensions to stop buses closer, it seems the drivers were never trained on this and pull multiple feet away from the platform, and all of this is for a system that is brand new and highly hyped up. Hell, they didn’t even bother to change the name, it’s still called “Route A”… Sure it is a nicer ride than the old one, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a laughable joke when compared to China or Brazil, even in small towns!
@AdiposeExpress
@AdiposeExpress 6 күн бұрын
To their credit at least they manage to run run every 15 minutes on Saturdays, and they *did* implement all door boarding with tap-to-pay on the bus (and off board fare machines for cash) which is still a lot faster then forming a queue at the front. But the second worst part you didn't even mention is that like the health line, we were promised transit signal priority, but it feels like we have the *opposite* of transit signal priority. In many places (like East Washington at First), the bus lane is placed to the left of the left turn lane, and when the light changes, the cars going straight get a green, and the cars going left get a green, but the bus has to sit and wait at a "red" light until the queue of left turning cars has fully cleared. Sometimes I've even seen the left turning light be triggered when there aren't any cars in the left turn lane, meaning the bus waits for nothing. Also happens with the right turn at Mineral Point and Whitney, it's so frustrating knowing that a "normal" bus would be able to go instead of waiting. Obviously the worst part is that buses are being cancelled both on BRT and non-BRT routes, messing with people's commutes (and potentially risking their jobs) is a fast way to get them to buy a car and never look back. Speaking of other routes, the third worst part is they kind of got shafted and get the bare minimum in infrastructure. Even in the few places the BRT and non-BRT buses interline, the other bus routes get separate stops with nothing more than a pole and a sign. Not even a bench, not even in places people are likely to transfer. Fourth worst is that then Johnson lane needs to be a 24/7 bus lane, screw rush hour I should be able to take the bus bar hopping without getting stuck in the same traffic as the cars. Those two blocks add 2-4 minutes during weekend rush hour.
@paynteck4473
@paynteck4473 6 күн бұрын
@@AdiposeExpress lmaooo dont forget the R bus stop on state street thats just a piece of paper and some tape... you're completely right about the darn traffic signal priority, the only reason the A is stopped is because it's waiting for the cars to turn left. Theres a point at university bay where the cars queue up, effectively blocking off the bus from reaching the station. And then theres the weird stuff going on on east washington when the bus switches lanes to avoid a right turn lane. They put up all those fancy bus lights, and then literally do nothing with them. If the bus is going to be so infrequent anyways, it better at least get a priority signal.... Also the lack of proper transfer spots like the old bus transfer stations really sucks. Pretty much every single line goes to capitol square at some point, but unfortunately passengers gotta figure out which of the 10 places they gotta be. Places where the BRT and standard routes intersect should totally have better infrastructure and definetly shouldn't be across the street from each other like the A and 38 often are. (or B and D)(or J and F)(or A and 80)(or C and E)(or F and E) Another thing is that its so funny to ride one of the longer buses on the B line only to get dropped off on a patch of dirt 3 feet lower than the bus instead of a platform because the city was too lazy to even pave a curb... and speaking of the B, why can't Park just get bus lanes and bike lanes already. Actually, all of park street needs a revamp. Actually all of madison outside of the downtown and university is a suburban wasteland. Literally yesterday i took my computer to a repair shop in monona, and waited at a crosswalk for 15 minutes for a light. I then called the non-emergency police because something was clearly broken, and they just told me to run for it and hope i didn't get hit by the off ramp traffic from the beltline. I love how the discussion of how madison's busses suck naturally devolves into how the city continues to prioritize drivers which leads to it sucking so much. Clearly they cant understand that given Madison's geographical challenges, cars should be the last thing to prioritize... YIPPEE!!!!! 🤩🤩🤩
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