Rail vs BRT....FTA is bringing it back!

[fsujax]

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) head Peter Rogoff. Insist spending less in rail transit and more in buses? are you serious? see folks this crap is bigger than JTA.

He seems to be at direct odds with Lahood and the Obama administration.

Unfortunately FTA controls the purse strings when it comes to major capital projects like commuter rail.

http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/05/19/u-s-fta-rogoff-paints-grim-picture-of-nations-transit-priorities/

Make sure to read the comments below the story. The old BRT vs Rail is heavily discussed. This one is for you Lake and Ock!!

[thelakelander]

Great discussion going on over there at thetransportpolitic.com.  Regarding Peter Rogoff, I take most transportation planner's comments with a grain of salt initially because their viewpoint rarely comes from or factors in the livability, economic development and community building angle. 

Nevertheless, what I read here isn't really a rail vs. BRT issue, its an issue of funding rail expansion at the expense of your local existing bus system.  I happen to be of the belief that regular bus improvements and rail expansion should be done at the same time and coordinated in manner that allows the modes to complement and feed each other with riders.  Instead of competition, they act as partners to efficiently serve the communities they are located in.

With that said, I'm a fan of improving our existing bus system now through the addition of bus shelters paid by the private sector.  I'm also a fan of running regular buses down the proposed BRT corridors now and at the proposed frequencies, rathering than waiting for federal money to add bells & whistles.  By the same token, I'm in favor of seeing the downtown bus loops completely eliminated, the skyway being more integrated and a user friendly fare collection system implemented.  From an operational standpoint, I believe these things will not only increase ridership but also save JTA money that is currently being wasted.

However, even with all of these improvements, there is still the question of what this community wants to become and what's the best mode of transit to help get us to that goal.  Time and time again, residents express a desire to see more sustainability and walkability within this city.  There's also a desire to get the city's general budget under control while improving our region's quality of life.  If these things are wanted, there's a certain style of transit that is critical to get you there.  That's rail.

Thus, the ideal solution is to create an integrated transportation system where your rail lines are designed to be spines and the bus lines are reconfigured to serve as feeders by spreading transit services out to areas located away from these spines.  This method gives your community the ability to benefit from economic development opportunities that rail stimulates, while also making sure that the existing bus system doesn't suffer as a result.

[fsujax]

I worded the title as an attention grabber! learning from others on this site.

[Ocklawaha]

The FTA has long wanted to fool the public into believing BRT is "Just like rail - only cheaper..." and to date, not one of them has ever looked up the word CHEAP in the dictionary.

Rail vehicles cost more then buses... or do they?  A transit bus lasts 12 years or 500,000 miles (according to DOT/FTA) but a streetcar? We really can't say because several in excess of 100 years old are still in regular daily service.

Acceleration, electric rail wins every time.

Pollution, Unless it's a hybrid as costly as a new streetcar, a bus will pollute the environment. Rail can pollute too, but just as easily rail can use wind, solar, methane, tidal, hydro, battery, chemical or other sources of "free" clean power.

A mile of railroad track is generally cheaper to build then a mile of highway.

Buses compete with the auto unless they have expensive busways, streetcars, LRT and trains are on train track and can run with the auto's in a street, or down the railroad, in a median, curbside, or side of the road, on the elevated, or in a subway, ... but they'll tell you the buses "flexibility" is it's strong selling point. How many of these routes can a bus really operate on?

A single streetcar capacity? 90 seated passengers.  A single Gillig BRT model Transit Bus capacity? 40 seated passengers. So in passenger capacity per vehicle modern streetcar holds more then a 2 to 1 advantage. But if the agency has 450 people to move it would take 12 bus drivers and 12 buses, or 1 Motorman and 5 streetcars (coupled) to do the same job.

We could go on and on and on... but until sometime late tonight.

OCKLAWAHA