|
|
Post by wad on Jan 5, 2009 5:24:08 GMT -8
If the bus was only carrying 11,000 it makes me wonder why they didn't first try out true BRT or simply peak hour dedicated lanes and if ridership, growth plans, etc. justified, then convert it to LRT. Phoenix has BRT. The problem is, bus rapid transit can be called whatever the agency wants it to be. In Phoenix, Rapid lines are peak-hour, peak-direction express buses much like Line 450X on the Harbor Transitway. There's an outbound collector park & ride, then the bus goes nonstop to downtown. Then, there's some BRT-like line at the Mesa end of the line, running from the light rail to a shopping mall. Damien, Phoenix skipped the intermediate step what you described. Valley Metro could have shaved some of the 2.5-hour run time down by making the line limited-stop. I cannot vouch for the project or its prospects, but the idea of light rail in Arizona seems silly until you look at the route and see there are destinations along the line that could surprisingly pop ridership. |
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Jan 5, 2009 11:22:28 GMT -8
Here's the introduction to the Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail project from the 2009 FTA New Starts report: The City of Phoenix and Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (VMR), a nonprofit corporation and the sub-recipient of Federal funds awarded under this Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), are constructing a 19.6-mile light rail system, with track alignment located mostly in the street median from 19th Avenue and Bethany Home Road in north central Phoenix, through the City of Tempe, to Main Street and Longmore in the City of Mesa. The project includes 27 stations, seven new surface parking lots, a bridge over Town Lake in Tempe, and a bridge at 48th Street in Phoenix. The project scope will also include 36 light rail vehicles and a maintenance and storage facility. In 2020, the project is expected to serve 49,900 daily riders.
The total project cost under the FFGA is $1,412.12 million. The Section 5309 New Starts funding share is $587.20 million. Ridership of almost 50,000 is well beyond BRT's capacity. |
|
