L.A.’s Orange Line: Bus Rapid Transit (plus bike path!)
Who would have thought that one of the best Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in the U.S. would be in its most crowded, congested, sprawling city? Well check this out. It's really fabulous.
In October 2005, the Los Angeles County Metro Authority (or Metro) debuted a new 14-mile BRT system in the San Fernando Valley using a former rail right-of-way. Unlike many "rapid" bus transit systems in the U.S., the Orange Line is true BRT - it features a dedicated roadway that cars may not enter, has a pre-board payment system so buses load quickly and efficiently, and uses handsome, articulated buses to transport passengers fast - sometimes at speeds approaching 55 mph! The roadway is landscaped so ornately you could almost call it a bus greenway.
But that's not all. The corridor also boasts a world class bike and pedestrian path which runs adjacent to the BRT route for nearly its entire length, giving users numerous multi-modal options. Each station has bike amenities, including bike lockers and racks, and all the buses feature racks on the front that accommodate up to three bikes.
Perhaps the biggest problem is its soaring success: ridership numbers have some calling for the BRT to be converted to rail, and Metro is exploring ways to move more passengers, including buying longer buses. Plus: expansion plans are underway. Whatever way you slice it, this is truly a hit with Angelenos. A formerly 81 minute trip now takes 44-52 minutes - over an hour in round-trip savings - making a bona fide impact in the lives of commuters.
Gary S. Spivack: The
Orange Line is a 14 mile exclusive bus way with 14 stations. The
buses run starting from 5:38 in the morning and their schedule around
[00:30] 1am. They are timed to meet with the Metro Red Line trains
and also to bring people to the North Hollywood Transit Centre.
Before this line was put in place it would take about 81 minutes to
take local services from Warner Centre to Universal City. Now
this trip takes on average between 44 and 52 minutes. When we
first opened the line we expected to be able to carry nine to twelve
thousand people, [01:00]
but now we’re between 26 and 28 thousand
daily riders on the service. This is about 35 miles an hour.
We’re restricted in this particular area, but the max speed that we
get to is 55 miles an hour.
Bill J. Shao: Just want
to show you Orange Line, one of the intersections, there’s cameras
near, one on Channel Boulevard near Lower Canyon, we’re zooming in
at one of the locations.
Gary S. Spivack: The
signal system which gives us priority along the exclusive bus way, [01:30]
gives us about 75% green time, so as a bus approaches there are loops
in the roadway which sense when a bus is coming and determines whether
or not the signal can go green for the bus.
Bill J. Shao: For whatever
reason they are late to their destination and the next bus stop or the
certain clock time they are supposed to meet, the traffic signal downstream
would know that and the light, the green duration will favour the bus
way in such a way that helps the buses to recover their lost time and
their headways to the next bus stop. [02:00]
Gary S. Spivack: The
system was designed as a rail emulator, so you pay off the bus.
There are ticket vendors where you buy your fare, you have to carry
that for fare inspection. The TAP card system allows people to
preload fares, you can buy a monthly pass, a day pass, and you have
unlimited riding throughout the system. It’s a very simple design,
everything is low floor so people don’t have difficulty getting up
to a step. We can handle up to three bicycles on every bus, [02:30]
there’s a rack that has been specially fitted for our coaches.
Lynne Goldsmith: So we
went from double racks to triple racks on all of the buses along this
corridor, because they’re heavily used. Here comes another one
with a bike on it. One of the things that’s very different about
Los Angeles is we are so spread out and our employment centres are so
decentralised that people are going everywhere all the time. So
we know that bikes with Transit is a key component in solving [03:00]
the transportation problem.
Jonathan Hui: Orange
Line bikeway was built in conjunction with the Orange Line bus way.
It stretches about 14 miles from Canoga Park to North Hollywood.
Paul Meshkin: The good
thing about the bike path is a separate facility. It is much safer
than a bike lane on a street. [03:30] It provides safety
at the same time providing next to an active bus way. You can
always stop at stations, jump onto the bus.
Gary S. Spivack: The
corridor was designed to have a lot of foliage, a lot of greenery, and
to make it accessible to people.
Lynne Goldsmith: This
bike path and the landscaping, the lighting, everything, is specifically
for a cyclist experience, was paid for by Transportation Enhancement
Funds. In Los Angeles Transportation Enhancement Funds are particularly
important to us. [04:00] That is where all of our bikeway
funding comes from. Every station has eight lockers and racks,
but we realise that racks are really more of a short term parking solution
because the security in racks is not as great as it is with a locker.
Bill J. Shao: There was
a lot of scepticism on a bus run time between the east side of valley,
the west side of San Fernando Valley, but the bus has been proven to
be a major success. I mean the ridership is going through the
roof. [04:30]
Gary S. Spivack: It’s
not uncommon to see very heavily utilised buses late at night into the
wee hours.
Lynne Goldsmith: We’re
starting to add lockers to many of our stations because our demand is
getting so great.
Gary S. Spivack: We work
with people from Las Vegas, Seattle, New York, Cleveland and many, many
other folks from around the world have come here to see what we did.
