Tuesday, August 12, 2014

MONTGOMERY COUNTY BRT BACKFIRE AT COUNTY FAIR

The latest gaffe in the effort to sell a skeptical public on Bus Rapid Transit was a photo op that backfired at the Montgomery County Fair. After several years of claiming BRT vehicles would be futuristic, and more like railcars than buses, a BRT vehicle presented to media at the fair looked...exactly like a bus! Inside and out, the vehicle resembled the Metro buses we ride all over the DC area today. Just how this would help overcome the lower ridership potential of buses versus rail was not explained.

I'm also curious - who paid to transport this vehicle to the fair, and for all of the display materials and signage? It would be very costly to do so. Was this lobbying by a company for the theoretical fleet contract? An organization (financially backed by whom?)? Or was it paid for by the taxpayers?

The media blitz contained no mention of the 155 homes and businesses that would be condemned between Olney and Wheaton alone to build the BRT line along Georgia Avenue. What would be condemned in Rockville and Bethesda for a line that duplicates the Red Line, and dumps downtown DC-bound commuters short of the DC-MD line?

Signage promoted "Rapid Transit" (note they dropped the "bus" part), but the vehicle screamed "bus."  At a speed of 12 miles in 50 minutes, they may want to consider dropping the "Rapid" term, as well. While there was no indication of who paid for the BRT vehicle, there was also no indication of how the BRT system will be paid for.

Overall, there seems to be a much more compelling need to finance 8-car trains for Metro with some of the $5 billion that would be spent on BRT. We know Metro - as with rail transit in general - would have higher ridership than BRT. Increased capacity on the Red Line would be far more effective in accommodating current and future development in downtown Bethesda, and along Rockville Pike. It would also avoid the currently-planned seizure of automobile lanes for BRT, which would reduce auto capacity on that congested corridor by 33%.

Rail transit, and a new Potomac River crossing, would have far greater impact on economic development and job creation than BRT.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can we get new Ride On buses as well? There are some dreadfully old buses in the Ride On system right now.

Metro has a newer bus fleet, so when I have a choice, I take a Metro bus route over Ride On.

Anonymous said...

But NoVA is getting a BRT line, Dyer, I thought NoVA could do no wrong?

P.S. the metro and BRT are completely different and serve different purposes. It's idiotic to pretend they serve the same function. That's like saying Metro isn't needed because there's an Amtrak line in place. Regional v. local transportation infrastructure, Dyer. Both are important and both are needed.

I also like how you complain both about options to expand the roads (removing homes along the arteries) and the option to use existing roads. Hilarious. A real problem solver you are, simply complaining about every option on the table. Do you find the status quo to be acceptable or do you simply have no better ideas than what's proposed by others? The extent of your contribution appears to simple be shitting on everything.

Woodmont said...

I support rapid transit, but I can't support anything that requires dozens of families to lose their homes. We're better than that. There's got to be a better way.

If you think Robert doesn't have ideas on improving transportation in the region, you're either new here or you haven't been paying attention.

And on the bus designs, I have to be honest that I'm let down a bit. These aren't the futuristic vehicles shown in the BRT presentations before. It looks like the articulated buses that Metro bus has used for years.

Robert Dyer said...

12:12 - I haven't "complained about every option," just the BRT option. I do have "better ideas," and mentioned 2 of them in the article above: increased capacity on the Red Line (8-car trains, no turnbacks at Grosvenor, replace Mr. Sarles as a condition for MD funds for Metro), and a new Potomac River crossing. Other options include putting more buses on these routes to achieve better headways, streetcars that run in traffic, the Rockville Freeway, the M-83 Highway and the Northern Parkway.

While comparing interstate railroads to Metro would indeed be foolish, the BRT - as currently proposed - functions the same as Metro. It will have limited stops. Yet it will be less effective. It will be slower than Metro. The BRT stops don't line up as well as Metro's with the locations of growth (Edmonston on 355 vs. Twinbrook, White Flint, etc.). And unlike Metro, BRT has a severe "last mile" problem - no parking facilities. How do people get from their homes to the BRT?

NoVa can do plenty wrong. Alexandria and Arlington have pursued disastrous planning agendas, which are eliminating affordable housing just like MoCo and DC. Arlington in particular has acted as a troll - literally - in holding the highway needs of the entire region hostage to their extreme, anti-car agenda.

Frank said...

Say no to Soviet-style ultraluxury condos!

Frank said...

"Unlike Metro, BRT has a severe 'last mile' problem - no parking facilities. How do people get from their homes to the BRT?"

They will walk, as they now do to the conventional buses that stop on those routes there now.

"The last mile" will be less of an issue because these routes are already closer to people's homes.

The idea is to give people the option to be car-free, rather than to make drivers miserable.

Robert Dyer said...

Frank, won't the routes be on major state highways like 355 and 97? If you live west of 270, for example, that would not be walkable for the average person. It's hard to imagine that reducing capacity on already-jammed roads by 33% won't inflict major pain on drivers.

Anonymous said...

You are right on the money Mr. Dyer. Keep up the good work. I can't believe some of these commenters. I guess they're from some of the BRT lobby groups. Nasty.