Revamped Bus Route * USA - Riders Will Pay Before Boarding, and Save Time, on
Beginning on Sunday, passengers on a revamped bus route in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan will pay their fares before they get on the bus, as part of a series of innovations intended to allow faster travel
New York,NY,USA -The New York Times, by WILLIAM NEUMAN -June 29, 2008: -- ... The time it takes to cross the Bronx on the upgraded Bx12 route should eventually drop by 20 percent under the new system, said Ted V. Orosz, the director of Manhattan and Bronx bus service planning for New York City Transit... The new service will replace the Bx12 Limited, which took 58 minutes at midday on a weekday (when traffic is usually heavy) to travel the full seven-mile length of the route, from Co-op City in the Bronx to 207th Street and Broadway in Upper Manhattan... Officials hope to ultimately shave 10 or 12 minutes off that trip... The new service, called Select Bus Service, will save time mostly by requiring riders to pay fares before they get on the bus, using coins or swiping their MetroCards at curbside machines at each stop... The idea is to cut boarding times by eliminating the lines that often form at the front door of a bus while passengers wait to swipe or pay. That wait is a primary factor in slow travel times for buses... The route will have other innovations as well... The Fordham Road part of the route will have computerized traffic signals that communicate with the buses, helping them by holding a green light or shortening a red light by up to 15 seconds as a bus approaches... The buses, all articulated models, with two carriages connected with accordianlike devices, will look a little different too, decorated on the outside with a wavy blue pattern covered with blue plus signs. Inside, the seats are covered in a blue polka dot fabric... The upgraded route was designed with cooperation between the transit agency and the city’s Transportation Department. They plan to establish similar service on several more routes. The next will be a route along First and Second Avenue, which will get Select Bus Service late next year, Mr. Orosz said... The new service is a modified version of what elsewhere has become known as bus rapid transit — a system that has been used in cities like Bogotá, Colombia, and Mexico City to make bus travel speedier and more like train service. In many other cities, however, barriers separate the bus lanes from other traffic, ensuring a clear path for the buses... (Photo by Uli Seit for The New York Times - A new service on the seven-mile Bx12 route begins on Sunday) * Bus Rapid Transit Debuts in the Bronx
New York,NY,USA -Wired News, by Alexander Lew -June 30, 2008: -- Sunday, passengers taking the Bx12 Limited bus route in New York's Bronx experienced a different ride than the usual. The buses had changed colors and the stops became "stations." With the use of dedicated lanes, pre-paid boarding, and limited stops, the city hopes to reduce the time to travel the whole route by at least 10 minutes in the future. The buses, however, aren't much faster when looking at the printed schedules... The Select Bus Service, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority calls it, only cuts three minutes during the midday service off the pre-Select Bus Bx12 Limited service. The MTA, however, says that they will monitor the route closely and then reflect on the time savings... The Select Bus Service only cost $10 million, which is much cheaper than implementing an entire rail line. An estimated 25,000 daily passengers will use the service, and this number is expected to grow... (Photo: Wikipedia/user Pacific Coast Highway )Labels: bus rapid transit - BRT
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