Tag Archive for 'bus'

Of Buses and Trams

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on October 19, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 4 Comments

The Florida Department of Transportation has issued a new document entitled Accessing Transit:Design Handbook for Florida Bus Passenger Facilities. At 176 well-illustrated pages, I have yet to dive into this one, but from a quick skim it looks to offer something for every bus transit geek. Download it here.

Looking internationally to, um, Canada, the University of British Columbia released A Cost Comparison of Transit Modes. Their research found that of all major modes of transportation, excluding bicycling or walking, modern trams (streetcars) are the most cost effective transit investment dollar, as well as the most environmentally friendly. Click here for a nice, well-illustrated synopsis of their work.

Miami’s streetcar can’t come soon enough…

Alvarez Proposes Cutting Bus Routes

Published
by
JM Palacios
on August 29, 2008
in Commission, MDT, Miami Bus Service, Miami-Dade Transit, Uncategorized and bus
. 2 Comments

If you’ve been too distracted by elections and Vice Presidential nominations this week, maybe you haven’t heard yet that Miami Dade Transit may be cutting bus routes. Larry Lebowitz at the Miami Herald has the details on the routes that could be cut. These are routes with plenty of ridership, so nothing to be taken lightly.

We are sorry we didn’t get this news out before Mayor Carlos Alvarez won reelection by a landslide. It seems these cuts are being proposed by him and County Manager George Burgess. Lebowitz says that they would be returning the total miles of bus service “close to the pre-sales tax levels of 2002.” That would just prove that the sales tax initiative has failed. I believe that Miller-McCune magazine was justified in putting the Metrorail expansion and the sales tax inititiative on their list of “The World’s Biggest Boondoggles.”

The county commission will be voting on this issue Sept. 2., along with the vote on the proposed fare increase. We urge them to clean up this mess by seeking new sources of income for existing transit service, and coming up with a solid plan to expand Metrorail and bus transit—not by cutting existing service or putting extreme burden on the riders. The Herald offered some suggestions in a follow-up editorial, and we agree with most of their points. Especially the one suggesting to stop handing out free rides before raising fares or cutting service.

MDT is underfunded, and the county has been using this expansion sales tax to make up the difference. Commissioners need to find another dedicated funding source to keep the trains and buses moving, and then get the expansion back on track with the originally committed funding source. How about raising property taxes to fund the budget deficit? If you have a better idea, let us know.

Broward County Transit Meetings

Published
by
JM Palacios
on August 11, 2008
in BCT, Broward, Transit and bus
. 1 Comment

Tomorrow, Broward County Transit is having a public hearing on changes to some bus routes. Instead of the service cuts that South Florida sees too often, it looks like their changes mostly consist of service improvements and the addition of a new express route. See their press release for more details, and head over to room 422 of the Broward County Governmental Center on August 12 at 2 PM to put in your two cents’ worth.

There’s aso a Transportation Development Workshop this Thursday, August 14, from 3:30 to 5:30 PM at the Broward County Lauderhill Towne Center Library. Again, hit up the website for more info on the Transit Development Plan and the workshops.

And don’t let the bus hit you on your way there.

Morning Commute

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 24, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 6 Comments

One Hour and forty minutes – that is how long my commute was this morning from Coral Gables/Coconut Grove to my office in Doral.  Utilizing the 37, 36A, and 41 buses, I seamlessly (for the most part) was able to get to work before the 9 AM arrival time goal.

My day began at 7 AM with a 17-minute walk to catch the 37 bus in Coconut Grove.  The morning was cool and the lush shade trees in the grove provided a wonderful canopy that shaded much of the walk (Really, walking Miami would not be terrible if we had an adequate canopy cover.)  Standing, waiting for the bus to arrive, I watched as car after car of single occupant vehicles began their daily commutes while joggers utilized the main highway multi-use path.  The 37 bus arrived about 3 minutes behind schedule.  Once aboard, I began to realize the biggest downfall of the entire MDT system; route alignment.  Route 37 meandered in and out of the Douglas Road Metro station, Tri-Rail station, and all of the concourses of Miami International before finally reaching my stop at NW 36th Street about 40 minutes after I had boarded.

The transfer to the 36A was perfect.  The bus had pulled up behind the 37 as I was disembarking.  The 36A was standing room only and one of the passengers was a fellow coworker of mine who was also attempting to go car-free for the day from Miami Beach.  The 36A was filled with Doral employees including some Carnival and city employees.  The 36A transported us to the Doral Center on NW 53rd street where we (and nearly everyone else on the bus) transferred (yet again) to the 41.

As we boarded the 41, the bus operator immediately warned us not to photograph her or her bus, after she spotted us snapping a couple of pictures before getting on.  The route dropped us off just across the street from our offices on 97th avenue, leaving us to cross the treacherous 41st  intersection that lacks pedestrian signals.

From my experience this morning, the biggest flaw with MDT’s system is the route alignment and unnecessary transfers.  The MIC-MIA connector will alleviate some of the problems for many of these buses, eliminating the junket to the terminals for several routes.  MDT also needs to introduce a cross-county route that transports passengers across Doral, rather then leaving us at its doorstep and expecting us to transfer to another route.

The whole point of this experiment was to illustrate how difficult it is get to the second largest employment district in the County, Doral.  As I shared with my coworkers, this type of on-hands research is critical to understanding what types of problems we face in the planning industry (from transit to land use.)  Disturbingly, I know of several transportation planners who have never stepped foot on a public bus, let alone walked across a busy street and yet these are the people we designate to design our public spaces.

I cannot wait for my ride home – on paper it should only take an hour, if all goes well…

Bus vs. Bicycle

Published
by
JM Palacios
on July 12, 2008
in bike lanes and bus
. 6 Comments

Bus blocking bicycle lane

I was spoiled by learning to ride my bicycle on the road in Gainesville, one of Florida’s most bicycle-friendly cities. Bus drivers in that city typically check for bicycles in the bike lane before pulling over into it to stop, or they stop outside of the bicycle lane altogether. This is in obedience with Florida Statute 316.085(2) that requires a driver to check that a lane is clear before changing lanes. In this regard, a bicycle lane is no different than a regular vehicular lane, just as a bicycle is no different than a regular vehicle. There is nothing wrong with the bus changing lanes into the bicycle lane when stopping, but the driver must make sure the bicycle lane is clear before doing so. Anything else is a violation of the law and a threat to cyclists.

Bus drivers down here seem ignorant of that law as it applies to bicycle lanes. At least the one who I ran into yesterday was ignorant, as was the cop who faulted me for the accident without finding me in violation of any law.

A message to all the local transit systems: train your drivers to drive carefully and lawfully as it pertains to cyclists! In this case, they need to check their right mirror before encroaching on any kind of bicycle lane. We are all part of the multimodal transportation system, and bicycles and buses are both good alternatives to cars. We would hate to see one kill off the other.

Broward County Transit Installs Real-Time Message Boards

Published
by
JM Palacios
on June 6, 2008
in BCT, Broward, Bus Stations and bus
. 6 Comments

Tired of unreliable buses? Sick of not knowing when the bus is coming, or whether you just missed it and have to wait the full 30 minutes for the next one?

We can’t do anything about the unreliable buses until we get a streetcar, but BCT has begun putting up real-time message signs that tell you when to expect the next bus. The first two started operation Thursday at bus stops on Hwy.  441 near Oakland Park Blvd., and more are ready to be installed in the near future. Broward County’s signs one-up many similar systems across the country by including a voice that audibly tells riders when to expect their bus. It’s a great feature for visually impaired or illiterate people, many of whom are forced to ride the bus as they cannot legally drive a car.

Maybe we need some more visually impaired people. We need some way to get people out of their convenient Lexus Cages. Failing a sudden rise in blindness, perhaps comforts like these message boards will help.

Read more details about the boards in the press release. If anyone’s used the message boards, please let us know how they work. How’s the accuracy of the time?

 

Update 6/11/2008: BCT sent us a picture of one of the message boards. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

 

 

Metro Monday: Boston’s Silver Line

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on May 5, 2008
in BRT, Boston, Bus Rapid Transit, Busway and Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

The Boston (MBTA) Silver line illustrates the proper way transportation should be integrated into up and coming areas, not yet ready to be serviced by regular rail transit.  The Silver line will eventually create an “Urban Transit Ring” connecting much of the transit in the city of Boston and establishing a BRT to service areas which could sorely benefit from regular fixed transit.  The Buses used on the silver line operate using engines on regular streets, but operate under electrical power (transferred by overhead wires) when operating in tunnels or streets with existing electrical infrastructure (similar to streetcars and LRT.)  The eventual objective of the silverline is to serve as a placeholder for future rail expansion while cultivating proper transit oriented development and ridership along the route…