T3 Webinar:

4/16/2008 - Assessing the Potential for BRT in Your Region: Lessons Learned from a Los Angeles/New York ITS Peer-to-Peer Exchange

April 16, 2008

Text version of Webinar presentation:

"Los Angeles BRT"

Description of image or images on a slide contained in brackets.

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Slide 1: Los Angeles BRT

T3 Webinar on Bus Rapid Transit Webinar
Rex Gephart
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority
April 16, 2008

Slide 2: Metro Rapid Orange Line, Los Angeles

Slide 3: Metro Rapid, Los Angeles

Slide 4: Why BRT in Los Angeles

Public dissatisfied with slow bus service
Average bus speeds declined by 12% between 1985 and 2000
LADOT found that 50% of the time a bus is in service it is stopped
Metro and City of Los Angeles formed Metro Rapid Program in 2000

[Image: Photo of a bus pulled up along a BRT boarding station. ]

Slide 5: Metro Rapid (BRT) Attributes

Frequent Service Bus Signal Priority Headway-based Schedules Simple Route Layout Less Frequent Stops Integrated with Local Bus Service Level Boarding and Alighting Color-coded Buses and Stations	Primary Attributes
High Capacity Buses Exclusive Lanes Off-vehicle Fare Payment Bus Feeder Network	Expansion Attributes

Slide 6: Los Angeles Metro Rapid

[Images: Photo of a a Metro Rapid BRT bus; photo of a BRT station in Los Angeles; image of a screen shot of tracking system that shows location of buses along the route. ]

Slide 7: Bus Signal Priority

[Image: Photo of a transponder attached to the underside of a bus’ front bumper. ]

Slide 8: Loop Detector

[Image: Photo of a loop detector embedded in a road.]

Slide 9: Bus Signal Priority

Uses loops and transponders
Reduces bus delay and assists in maintaining bus spacing

[Images: Screenshots from bus signal priority software.]

Slide 10:

[Image: Photo of a man seated at a computer in a transportation management center. Man is monitoring activity along BRT routes.]

Slide 11: Bus Signal Priority - Wireless

[Images: Two maps. One map shows location and station order of BRT along Vermont Avenue. The other shows location and station order of BRT along Atlantic Avenue.]

Slide 12: Less Frequent Stops

Local bus 0.2 miles
Limited stop 0.3
Metro Rapid 0.7
Orange Line 1.0
LRT 1.0
HR 1.2

[Image: Maps that shows location and station order of BRT along Vermont Avenue. ]

Slide 13: Program is a Success

Reduced Passenger Travel Times

Wilshire/Whittier Corridor – up to 29%
Ventura Corridor – up to 29%
Broadway Corridor – up to 24%
Vermont Corridor – up to 27%

Increased Corridor Ridership

Wilshire/Whittier Corridor – 49% increase
Ventura Corridor – 45% increase
Broadway – 17% increase
Vermont – 4% increase

Attracted New Riders

1/3 of ridership increase are new riders to public transit

Slide 14: What’s Next ?

Expand Metro Rapid network
Introduce additional attributes
- High capacity buses
- Exclusive bus lanes
- All-door fare collection

[Image: Photo of an adult and two children at a Metro Rapid kiosk. ]

Slide 15:

[Image: Map of the Los Angeles Metro Rapid Network. Map shows location of existing Metro Rapid lines (as of Dec. 2007); future Metro Rapid lines; Metro Orange Lines; Metro Rail and Stations, and; Metrolink and Stations. ]

Slide 16: Exclusive Lanes

Short segments where warranted
Full-length exclusive transitways either on arterials or in separate rights-of-way

[Image: Photo of a street with heavy traffic in all lanes except for the designated BRT lane, which is clear of traffic except for an oncoming BRT bus. ]

Slide 17: Orange Line

Slide 18: Metro Orange Line

October 28, 2005
Over 83,000 people rode the line on opening day

[Image: Photo of a Metro Orange Line BRT bus. ]

Slide 19:

Slide 20: Grade Crossings

[Image: Two illustrations, both computer-generated and both showing BRT grade crossings. Both photos show the same elements: park and ride lots, bike lanes, landscaping, and buses navigating in exclusive rights-of-way. ]

Slide 21: Pedestrian Crossings

[Image: Computer-generated illustration of pedestrian crossing situated at BRT exclusive right-of-way. ]

Slide 22: Service Operations

Same fares as Metro Rapid and local buses
No on-board fare collection
Next stop announcements, GPS vehicle tracking, passenger information displays, bus signal priority

[Image: Photo of two BRT buses on the same route, one departing a station and the other approaching a station. ]

Slide 23: Orange Line is a Success

25,000 weekday boardings
1/3 of Orange Line customers are new riders to transit
77% of Metro customers who previously drove or carpooled indicated reduced travel times

Slide 24: Los Angeles Mobility Toolbox

[A chart the compares the Peak Directional Capacity (passengers per hour) against the Operating Speed Range. The chart shows that local bus carries the fewest peak-time passengers per hour (5,000) at the slowest miles per hour (10 MPH). Local bus is followed by Limited Stop Bus (10-15,000 passengers) at just over 10 MPH, which is followed by Limited Stop Bus is followed by Metro Rapid BRT (10-15,000 passengers) at 15 MPH, which is followed by Orange Line BRT (10,000 passengers) at just under 20 MPH, which is followed by the Blue Line Light Rail (20-25,000 passengers) at 25 MPH, which is followed by the Gold Line Light Rail (15-20,000 passengers) at 30 MPH, which is followed by the Red Line Heavy Rail (20-25,000 passengers) at over 30 MPH, which is followed by the Green Line Light Rail (5-10,000 passengers) at 40 MPH, which is followed by MetroLink commuter rail (10-15,000) at 50 MPH. ]

Slide 25: Dare to be Simple

[Image: Photo of an adult and two children at a Metro Rapid kiosk. ]