EOT and MBTA Do Good with BRT
By Steve PoftakJune 10th, 2009
Enough acronyms for you? BRT stands for Bus Rapid Transit.
The state’s transportation planners (yes, you, Jim Aloisi!) are doing a very good thing with their latest plan to implement aspects of Bus Rapid Transit on the existing Route 28 Bus Route.
They are marketing it as “28X” and they will be implementing (as feasible) dedicated lanes, stand-alone stations (as opposed to stops) and off-board ticketing. See details here, here, and here.
This last item is of particular importance. On-board fare collection on buses has proven to be the Achilles Heel of automated fare collection (which this space has long supported). The continued use of paper tickets (versus CharlieCards) results in serious dwell time delays. Moving that delay off the bus and into the station will dramatically lower the time spent in stations.
This is a great example of taking an existing transportation asset and using technology and incremental capital improvements to vastly improve service. Well done.
Entry Filed under: News
1 Comment Add your own
1. The Great Shmendrecki | June 10th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Agreed, well done.
Now let’s make a deal: EOT implements BRT as planned on the 28X if and only if they do the same for the Silver bus Line along Washington Street.
Alternatively the T gives up the ghost and stops calling the Silver bus Line BRT and instead refers to it as what it really is, a bus that moves far slower than anticipated, is constantly stuck in traffic, has approx. 100 yards of contraflow lane and is bumped into traffic by cars parked in the “dedicated bus lane.”
Or is there a reason the riders of MBTA’s shining new line should get worse service?
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