Magic Bus
The bus is the black sheep of the public transit world. Yet, if you haven’t checked out the buses in use in different areas of the country lately, you might be surprised. The bus has become the go-to transit option, especially for regions seeking to link seemingly unconnectable destinations. While light rail gets all of the publicity and dollars, express bus routes represent a quick low cost option for serving the same routes. And as the bus has taken on a bigger role, the experience has improved immeasurably. The most recent success story is the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley outside Los Angeles, which debuted in October 2005, and has now 23,000 boardings each weekday. The line operates like a rail line, with a dedicated “busway” and only 13 stops along a 14 mile route. The buses are all custom built, offering far more comfort than a typical public bus. The most critical element to the success of the Orange Line, however, is the dedicated busway, which allows the bus to avoid street congestion and provides dedicated signaling for the buses. The look and feel of the system is designed to mirror a train, which seems to have more positive connotations among riders than standard public buses.
Both the LA Times and The Economist have hailed busways as a critical ingredient to solutions for easing congestion. The Economist notes the growing worldwide use of busways, citing cities like Sao Paulo, Santiago, Bangkok and Cambridge, England. According to the article, busways are even rising above the chaotic streets of Jakarta, Indonesia:
For anyone used to creaky Indonesian public transport, a ride along busway route one is a novelty. As the clean, air-conditioned buses sweep down from Kota railway station past the president’s office, Independence Square and the stockmarket, nothing gets in their way. Other traffic rules are generally ignored in Jakarta, but the exclusivity of the bus lanes is sacrosanct. To keep the system moving, fearsomely efficient conductors shove passengers on and off at the stops.
I recently had a similar reminder of the effectiveness of express routes, even without busways, during my recent trip to Seattle. Because the region has never had light rail, King Country Metro uses express buses to connect all sorts of suburban destinations with each other and downtown Seattle. We were able to plan our city to suburb and back routes with ease and minimal connections, and every bus operated on schedule during our stay. In regions with HOV lanes, the express buses that travel on freeways have the added appeal of using those lanes, which, at rush hour, can feel like a dedicated busway.
In the interest of full disclosure, I admit I have an irrational attachment to rail. Trains hold more romance for me and I like seeing a train as part of the cityscape. I do, however, recognize the benefits, notably the cost and ease of implementation, of dedicated bus routes. Too often, however, transportation debates pit these two options against each other, with anti-rail folks adding the flexibility of bus routes to further the case against rail. These arguments miss the point. Not only are these options not mutually exclusive, they serve a different purpose. Rail is an attractive investment precisely because it is fixed. Building a light rail line is an unequivocal statement by local government about where future development should occur. Residents, developers and business owners appreciate the certainty of rail. It allows them to make long term decisions about where they will make their own investments. Still, the current layout of most American metropolitan areas prevents rail from serving all population and job centers. Dedicated bus lines fill in those gaps. Planners in Southern California understand this synergy: the Orange Line bus terminates at the beginning of the subway’s Red Line. The two lines serve each other.
So next time you’re looking to go somewhere on public transit, don’t forget the bus. It’s probably the best alternative.