BRT for Troost?
 The Kansas City Business Journal reports that the budget proposal from the White House contains $6.3 million for a bus rapid transit (BRT) line in Kansas City. The money would pay for a nine-mile bus rapid transit line along Troost Avenue into downtown. The line would include 25 new stations and 15 new low-floor buses.First, let me say I'm thrilled that any federal dollars would be allocated to Kansas City. Unfortunately with all the President's other proposed spending cuts, I have a feeling KC's $6.3 million is not long for the world. Too bad because I think Troost would be a wonderful route for BRT. The problem is, they're proposing what sounds like another MAX line. Repeat after me. The MAX is not BRT! It's an express route. BRT is characterized by dedicated lanes, traffic signal control, level boarding and most importantly off-vehicle ticketing. It's meant to be a hybrid of bus and light rail. So while I realize we're discussing a bus line that will probably never get funding, let's call it what it is. There's no shame in a nice express line. My hope is with the Democrats in control of Congress, they can manage to rearrange some of the president's more ill-conceived environmental notions. Regular readers will remember my post about Who Killed The Electric Car and how I think it's foolhardy for us to pursue E85 ethanol. Corn or even switch grass to distill alcohol is not the future of alternative fuels. Archer Daniels Midland will just have to fend for themselves. Hopefully some money can be taken out of the Ethanol boondoggle and moved to more important things, like health care. Then maybe, just maybe we can get a new Express Bus line down Troost. Write Congressman Cleaver and Senators McCaskill and Bond. Let them know what you think. And then keep your fingers crossed! Update: In the interest of full disclosure, Heidi disagrees with me in the Comments and says the MAX is BRT. I'm always willing to admit when I'm wrong, but in this case I have to stick by my guns. But for the sake of getting federal dollars? Okay it's BRT! Yeah that's the ticket! Update II: Commenter Bridgette informs me that the arrival clocks are indeed functional. They've just been having some problems. When I'm wrong I say I'm wrong. Thank you KCATA for clearing that up! Interesting thing about blogs. The people who disagree with me leave comments. The people who agree send private emails. Why is that? |
posted by Mark at 6:56 AM
Comments on "BRT for Troost?"
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Heidi said ... (8:08 AM) :
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Mark said ... (8:47 AM) :
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Heidi said ... (9:23 AM) :
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Mark said ... (10:11 AM) :
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Mark said ... (10:12 AM) :
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joeinkc said ... (8:04 PM) :
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Mark said ... (10:07 PM) :
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Bridget said ... (9:00 AM) :
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Mark said ... (3:21 PM) :
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bridget said ... (10:35 AM) :
post a commentWow, so the feds are funding something they THINK is BRT but we're snookering them?!
Actually, MAX is BRT. Bus rapid transit includes different elements. It would be great if it included dedicated lanes all the time and off-vehicle ticketing. But a system doesn't have to have those elements to be considered BRT.
More info:
http://www.fta.dot.gov/assistance/technology/research_4234.html
http://www.cfte.org/trends/brt.asp
MAX has "dedicated" lanes during rush hour. I believe they had difficulties getting the city to concede to more than that on Main Street.
So MAX *is* BRT, but it may not be the level of BRT some of us would like. I would suggest that the place to start would be with the city, who controls the lanes BRT runs in. If we feel it should have more priority and dedication, then we should let city officials know.
And then there's the money issue. Show me the money, and I'll show you a better BRT system. With a cash-strapped system, where are we going to get more money for a larger local match?
[end soapbox]
Heidi,
You're WRONG! (kidding) I see your points that technically by some standards the MAX is BRT, but certainly not by mine. To me it's no different than the Express we used to ride to downtown Minneapolis.
At the minimum I expect onboard GPS, real-time data at each stop and traffic signal control. Those are things that should have been implemented and had nothing to do with City right-of-ways.
I still love ya though! Can we agree to disagree? One transit rider to another?
Hope all is well on the East coast. Thanks for reading.
Like I said...it may not be the *level* of BRT that some of us would like, but it's still BRT. You just may not like it. ;>
But I'm pretty sure the city has something to do with controlling traffic signals, too. (Is that element still not working yet? I don't know.) Man, if the ATA only had as much power as people think they do....!
I would argue that MAX differs from a plain ol' express bus in other ways. Those stop markers are much more distinctive than any regular or express on-street bus stops I've seen (heck, they're more visible than some of the Metro station entrances in DC!), and the bus is different, more visible, than a lot of regular buses. To me, it may not seem that radically different from the 56 (other than that I now have to pay attention to which one I catch because they don't all go to Brookside...grumble grumble). But I was surprised when it started at how, anecdotally, it has broken through to a lot of people who aren't transit or urban nerds who argue and follow these kinds of things. (Why they aren't, I don't know because it's fun, isn't it?)
Heidi,
How much more wrong can you possibly get? (KIDDING AGAIN!)
I think what's really fun is a voter and a candidate are discussing transit in real terms. Not just lip service.
And no, the traffic signal control still hasn't been implemented. Neither have the real-time arrival clocks at the stops. They LIE LIE LIE! Either that or the KCATA has obtained one of those nifty Romulan cloaking devices that allows the bus to pass by invisibly.
Oh and one more thing. I've determined a way I can call this new line BRT without choking on my words.
Buses Running on Troost!
Don't we already have real time arrival clocks? The bus stops always says something like "Next Max in 8 minutes." Maybe those are just estimates?
I don't see how the BRT you like would be any different. From folks I talk to, either they would already ride the bus (if it went by their work) or they wouldn't ride unless it stopped in front of their house and rolled out a red carpet.
I know people that live 2 blocks from the Max line but wouldn't ride it to the Plaza. Those same people wouldn't ride a train either.
I'm all for mass transit, but as long as their is ample parking I don't think people will use it. Maybe a better PR campaign is what is really needed.
joeinkc,
The arrival times? They're just estimates. I learned the hard way one very cold and windy night in the Crossroads. Originally they were billed as "real-time" with GPS positioning data from the buses but that never got implemented.
I agree about the parking. Goes to my problem with TIF plans calling parking garages "public infrastructure."
It's going to take a culture change to get people to ride transit. Part of that change is leadership by example. If your councilman won't ride transit, why should you?
I had a great question at the Volker forum tonight from someone challenging the candidates to ride transit if elected. It met with a mixed response. Mostly the answer was "no because..."
Thanks for reading and thanks again for the kind words on your blog.
Mark,
This is your friendly neighborhood transit market-teer. I'm not going to argue whether or not MAX is real BRT, but I did want you to know that the GPS data is being used to calculate the real-time arrival signs.
The real-time signs use a formula to calculate arrival times that includes the current location of the bus and estimated road speed, among other things. We have found that sometimes the signs and GPS system is adversely affected by harsh weather. (Which is exactly when customers want it to work most accurately!) The signs seem to be working best at stops that are a further distance from one another, outside of downtown.
The Crossroads stop had some specific technical problems over the spring or summer, but those have been fixed. If you are seeing consistent inaccuracies at that stop, please email me at metro@kcata.org with a description of the problem, and I'll get it to our engineering department.
And thanks for riding The Metro and MAX!
Mark-
Well said about BRT. I do like the MAX, but we should be careful about calling it things that it isn't. However, it is a good bus line, and we should do every effort to expand it.
As to the GPS technology, someone should explain to me why we need to dig up the streets at all to do the MAX lines, with the advent of excellent GPS technology (and even a local company that's a leader in the field)
Kevin
Thanks Kevin. I agree it is a great bus line. I would like to see its success duplicated on Troost. I have to admit I'm being a bit selfish. Twice the bus lines running from downtown would be a good thing for me. It only takes a few minutes to walk from 59th & Troost to my house.
As far as excavating around MAX stops, I'll defer to KCATA Commenter Bridget. Bridget, care to respond?
Could Anon or Mark give me some more detail about why we wouldn't need to dig up the streets?
The MAX stations needed electricity, so I believe that was what the digging was all about. Additionally, the design of the shelters requires that there is some sort of foundation. (I'm in Marketing, not Engineering, so if you want more detailed info I'll have to ask around.)
I believe portions of Main were resurfaced for a smoother ride, since MAX travels in the curb lane.