Comments on: Meet-Up, Plus Rapid Ride Photos

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:38:34 +0000

I hear a lot of complaints about all of these systems, yet not one person who has commented has come up with an actual SOLUTION to the problems people are talking about. The RapidRide system will have 10 minute headway during peak operating hours and 15min any other time. The systems will have dedicated lanes and the ability to communicate to traffic signals to accomodate their flow. Which could increase traffic back up, but likely won’t since the lights aren’t going to extend for much longer than the time it takes to bus to pass through. You can pay the fare before you board and hold a transfer-like ticket that will be your ride pass. That speeds up loading considerably.

If everyone would stop name calling and acting like children, perhaps actual adult conversations can happen around solutions. There will always be a flaw in a system. Learning to adapt to those flaws and work with them is the goal.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:48:32 +0000

Oh joy. Another system. More ugly vehicles. More stupid names. More bad logos. More bad signage. Why is the Northwest a black hole for good design as it relates to transit?

By: DCodomo

DCodomo — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:17:26 +0000

is it just me or is RapidRide color scheme / visual style horrendously ugly?

sound transit does a much better job at making things visually appealing

By: Mr Bradford (Brian)

Mr Bradford (Brian) — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:39:43 +0000

Its just like one of the 6800’s (newest hybrid artics) except for that funny nose.

By: Mr Bradford (Brian)

Mr Bradford (Brian) — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:31:10 +0000

Sorry Oran, somehow I missed the word Vancouver…

I have now read the TCRP report that you linked to and noticed that some systems have a securement strap while others do not.

Thankfully, by law any implementation would be subject to ADA rules that require a full securement system.

By: Oran

Oran — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:59:09 +0000

I think you’ve misread what I said. Metro has the standard tie-down. Vancouver has those rear-facing positions (where tie-downs are optional) and they still have another spot with the regular tie-downs. That’s what I witnessed in Vancouver.

See this photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/viriyincy/3494430713/ and video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1iztddQ6rk for an example of what I mean.

Read this paper about them TCRP Synthesis 50 on Use of Rear-Facing Position for Common Wheelchairs on Transit Buses http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_syn_50.pdf

Don’t hit on the guy, he’s just the messenger.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 06 May 2009 07:56:19 +0000

Ah yes, now I remember reading that article. A lot of people are going to be pissed at that split. While waiting for the 194 downtown, I’ve heard people talking of their ride on the 174 to just south of the airport. Forcing a transfer = not good. Oh well, they can start riding LINK down to Tukwila/International Blvd.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 06 May 2009 07:46:47 +0000

King County has a video up:

http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/NewsCenter/DOTcast/MetroTransit/050409_rapidrideevent.aspx

By: Oran

Oran — Wed, 06 May 2009 06:50:18 +0000

Probably moved back to South Base where the 174 is based out of.

By: Oran

Oran — Wed, 06 May 2009 06:48:11 +0000

Look at my photo in the Flickr pool, it’s a more complete picture. It’s under Late Night/Early Morning: 10 pm – 6 pm Bus departs approximately every 30 minutes.

See http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/sc/plans/2009/012009-swkc-phs-ib.html for proposed changes to SW King County service. For RapidRide it says Evening service: 15-30 minutes, 2-3 owl trips. I don’t know Metro’s definition of an “owl” trip, any trip that leaves between 2:15-3:30 am?

By: Mike Orr

Mike Orr — Wed, 06 May 2009 05:57:58 +0000

Picture #9 in the P-I article shows 10-minute headways at peak times and 15 minutes midday until 10pm. It doesn’t say that it runs at all after 10pm, although that part may be off the edge of the picture. if it does, it should really say so in the “Schedule: Weekday” section. Granted, this may just be a prototype sign with bogus info.

It would be nice to see “2:15 and 3:30 night owl” service replaced by real 24-hour service like you almost have on the 7, but I doubt it, especially with the budget cuts. The cities that do have 24-hour buses (Chicago, NYC, San Francisco) don’t extend it to the suburbs.

@Tim: the 174 is being split at S 154th St. The northern part will be renumbered to the 174. The southern part will be converted to the “A” next year. Such a long route should have been split long ago, because congestion at any part is magnified by the length of the route.

By: Mr Bradford (Brian)

Mr Bradford (Brian) — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:52:08 +0000

Hmm… I guess my stepfather could sue Metro for broken arms and busted pelvis for the inevitable injury from this foolish assumption!

(Who was this guy from Metro? I would love to talk to them about their theory)

If your wheelchair user is athletic and has more trunk strength than an elephant, then yes, holding onto a stanchion would work.

Otherwise… …

And so far as I can tell, even the rear-facing securement areas do have tiedowns.

By: Mr Bradford (Brian)

Mr Bradford (Brian) — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:45:47 +0000

What I remember about the Silver Line…

I rode it on one of its first days of operation during a visit to Boston via Fung Wah Van Hoolio (sorry about that joke).

So they use Neoplans of the design presented to Metro back in 1985 (or was it 1984?) except now they’re low-floor.

They take an entire minute to mode-change! Did I mention that their electric motors are the noisiest I’ve ever heard! And those Series 60’s sure blow out a lot of soot!

Anyway…

By: alexjonlin

alexjonlin — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:23:31 +0000

According to the Transport Politic (http://thetransportpolitic.com/2009/05/05/boston-to-extend-silver-line-to-mattapan-and-south-station) even with all the signal control and everything, riders save an average of 7 seconds per trip. So there’s really not much you can do to make it speedy, especially since there aren’t that many dedicated bus lanes, there’s no off-board fare paying, and it will stop every 4-6 blocks…

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:56:56 +0000

It (was) at 6th & Lenora. I wasn’t there yesterday, couldn’t make it down there today, and probably can’t tomorrow either. My guess is that they moved the bus back to whatever base its being stored at to prevent vandalism.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:55:22 +0000

Is Metro considering getting rid of the 174 too then?

By: alexjonlin

alexjonlin — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:59:12 +0000

Where is that demonstration stop, and is it going to stay there for people to look at? And is the bus parked somewhere for people to ooh and aah at it?
Also, Community Transit unveiled the first Swift station. Unfortunately they only have one tiny pic. They say it will open on November 30.

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:22:49 +0000

I’m not opposed to buses, I ride them frequently, and they clearly are a necessary part of any transit system to serve lower demand areas. The single biggest improvement to any bus corridor is to reduce headways. The time it takes to travel a given distance is the wait time plus the travel time. If you are at an event, appointment, or shopping, or transferring from another bus, you don’t know when you’ll be leaving, so the headway or wait time can’t be controlled by arriving at the right time. Reducing headway can be a lot cheaper than reducing travel time. In addition, once you are on the bus you can read and are protected from weather and feel like you are making progress. A lot of the BRT investments don’t seem to do all that much for riders – I’d rather have a bus on a 10 minute headway than a bus on a 15 minute headway with an information system and off-vehicle fare collection. Unless a BRT line has dedicated right of way or enforced private lanes plus signal pre-emption – it’s just not any faster than a regular bus, and I don’t think the investments in more expensive buses and bus stops bring very much to the rider. When BRT is used as an excuse not to build a high capacity system, or diverts that money, it does a dis-service.

Has anyone taken the Silver Line in Boston from South Station to the airport? They call that BRT. It seems like the most asinine system I can possibly imagine. It has taken me 30 minutes to go 4 miles from South Station to the airport. It doesn’t seem to go more than 30 mph. Even the dedicated corridor has intersections with streets with no signal pre-emption. And even though all of the line was built in conjunction with the Big Dig and Ted Williams Tunnel, after the final stop in the busway, it then makes a 180 degree turn back towards South station on city streets, through several traffic lights – i think it backtracks past two of its outbound stops – before then making another 180 degree turn and then running in general traffic lanes and caught in all airport traffic congestion. The MBTA spent big bucks on this, as well as the Washinton street corridor which has lanes marked for BRT in which cars routinely park. Just call it a bus and run frequent headways and be done with it. When you decide to put in higher capacity, do it right.

By: Bernie

Bernie — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:36:59 +0000

I remember it being an oratory topic when I was in high school which was back in the mid 70's. Everyone was sure we'd run out of oil in 10-20 years. Detroit's answer was the Pinto and the Vega :-P {disclaimer, the Cosworth Vega was a pretty cool car... if you sleeved the block}

By: Oran

Oran — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:30:22 +0000

15 minute headways are half what the 174 is right now with 10 minute headways during the peak hours and 30 min headways after 10 pm. RapidRide provides 24-hour service. I don’t how different that will be from the current 174 owl trips but the schedule inside the bus gave me the impression that buses will run every 30 minutes all night.

Also timed transfers with the 124 (day and owl), the replacement for the 174 north of Tukwila.