Buses World News

BUS ONLY LANES * USA: In Arlington, Virginia

* Virginia - New rules adopted for bus-only lanes coming to Arlington

-- The rules are out for new bus-only lanes that are coming to Arlington in the spring. On Thursday, the Arlington County Board adopted the rules for the lanes, which are part of the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway project... In Potomac Yard, the lanes, which are physically separated from traffic, will be off-limits at all times to vehicles other than buses and emergency vehicles... In Crystal City, it will work a little differently. Since the lanes are sharing the road with other traffic, they will only be off-limits during the morning and afternoon rush hours. Outside of the hours of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., and 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., all vehicles will be able to use the lanes... To keep the lanes clear for buses, the county also adopted fines for those who break the rules... Drivers who use the lanes when they shouldn’t face a $200 fine if caught. Anyone who gets busted trying to take the bus without paying a fare faces a $100 fine... The county says it will be working to get the word out to motorists about the new rules. When the lanes open, only warnings will be handed out for the first 30 days...
(Getty Images/Hemera Technologies - To keep lanes clear for buses, Arlington County adopted fines for those who break the rules) -- Arlington, VA, USA - WTOP, by Mike Murillo - January 29, 2016

Labels: bus exclusive lanes

* USA - Transportation pilot project aimed at cutting congestion

Officials hope Pace buses on I-55 shoulders will double ridership

(Photo by Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune - On a morning rush hour training run, this Pace bus uses a bus-on-the-shoulder)

Chicago,ILL,USA -The Chicago Tribune, by Richard Wronski -November 8, 2011: -- Pace hopes by spring to have twice as many riders commuting on express buses that use the newly widened shoulders of the Stevenson Expressway to maneuver around traffic jams... Gov. Pat Quinn, transportation officials and legislators hailed the start of the service next Monday on U.S. Interstate Highway 55 as a landmark step toward reducing the Chicago area's congestion, the nation's second-worst...

Labels: bus exclusive lanes

BUS-ONLY LANE * USA - JTA's First BOL Opens On Westside

Jacksonville,FLA,USA -News4jax -February 24, 2009: -- Bus only lanes -- common for years in many large cities -- have arrived in Jacksonville... The city's first -- a two-mile stretch of Blanding Boulevard between Morse Avenue and 103rd Street -- opened Monday... It's the first piece of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority's goal of upgrading mass transit to a system that could eventually include light rail, commuter rail, street cars and even making use of the St. John's River... (Photo: The JTA says the bus-only lane does not reduce the number of lanes for cars, but buses have the right of way at all times - SEE VIDEO)

* NYC to cabbies: Say cheese!

New York,NY,USA -Newsday -February 23, 2009: -- New York City taxi drivers who sneak into bus lanes may get their 15 seconds of fame... Transportation officials said Monday that they'll be videotaping midtown Manhattan bus lanes in an effort to catch cabbies who don't belong there... The city reserves two curbside lanes along 34th Street for buses that carry over 31,000 passengers a day... Taxis are only allowed there in rare instances. A medallion owner can be fined $150 for a bus-lane violation...

Labels: bus exclusive lanes

BILL * USA - Would launch pilot bus-only lane program in local counties

Austin,TX,USA -The Austin Business Journal -24 Jan 2009: -- Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, has filed a bill that would create a motor-bus-only lane pilot program for state highways in Travis, Williamson, Bexar and Denton counties... If passed, would require appropriate mass transit authorities to initiate the pilot program no later than Dec. 31, 2009... State highways that would qualify for the motor-bus-only lanes are those that enforce a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less. Motor buses would not travel more than 15 miles per hour greater than the speed of vehicles on the main part of the highway...

Labels: bus exclusive lanes

* New Zealand - War over lane as busway opens

Plans to close a key bus lane in Takapuna when buses start using the $295 million Northern Busway on Saturday have raised a political firestorm

Auckland,New Zealand -The New Zealand Herald, by Mathew Dearnaley -December 05, 2007: -- ... Furious North Shore City Council members, spurred on by Mayor Andrew Williams, are demanding Transit NZ keep open a buses-only motorway on-ramp at the head of the 1km bus lane along busy Esmonde Rd... They were shocked at a committee meeting yesterday to learn of plans by Transit - in partnership with their own officers and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority - to close the ramp and lane and require buses to make a right-turn into the new Akoranga bus station... (Photo by Dean Purcell: Jan O'Connor predicts transport chaos if cars and trucks reclaim the bus lane )

Labels: bus exclusive lanes

* USA - Could buses run faster on paint?

Boston,MAS,USA -MBTA book club/ intransit/bostonnow.com -19 Aug 2007: -- Silver Line buses were supposed to whisk passengers between downtown and Dudley Square via dedicated lanes on Washington Street... Is anyone surprised that drivers break the rules by driving and parking in the lanes? New York’s had the same problem, and will import a European solution: painting the entire lane. It’s worked on drivers in London; Edinburgh; Rouen, France; Seoul, South Korea; and Melbourne, Australia. If it works on New Yorkers, it might work here... (Photo by David L. Ryan/ Globe Staff - Jason Demasi drove a Silver Line MBTA bus through an empty Ted Williams Tunnel. Only MBTA’s Silver Line and Massport’s Logan Express buses have access to the eastbound tunnel)

Labels: bus exclusive lanes