1. TRB/APTA 2004 Bus Rapid Transit Conference When is BRT the Best Option? the Best Option? 1:30 – 2:40 p.m. Paul Larrousse Director, National Transit Institute (NTI) (Moderator)

2. TRB/APTA 2004 Bus Rapid Transit Conference FlexBRT Project Briefing, Randall Farwell “When is BRT the Best Option – The LA Experience”, Rex Gephart Lane Transit District “BRT Decision Process”, Stefano Viggiano Session Presentations

3. TRB/APTA 2004 Bus Rapid Transit Conference Rex Gephart Masters Degree in Architecture and Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles Director of Regional Transit Planning for the LA MTA Manages the MetroRapid Service program

4. When is BRT the Best Option? Rex Gephart Director, Regional Transit Planning Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Russell Chisholm President Transportation Management & Design, Inc. APTA Bus Operations/BRT Conference May 5, 2004

5. Page 5 Decision Process for Modal Selection Regional Transit Alternatives Analysis (1998) Metro Rapid Demonstration (2000) Transit Corridor Study (2000) Metro Rapid Expansion Program (2002)

6. Page 6 Regional Transit Alternatives Analysis Purpose of RTAA: Identify regional transit corridors Identified major regional demand patterns Defined areas with high transit dependency Defined areas with high transit demand Defined origin and destination trip patterns Identified five candidate corridors San Fernando Valley Corridor Wilshire Corridor East Los Angeles Corridor Exposition Corridor Pasadena Corridor Supported Metro Rapid arterial concept

7. Page 7 September 1998 Los Angeles County Transit Dependency Index (By Traffic Analysis Zone)

8. Page 8 September 1998 Transit Ridership by Line Community Statistical Areas with high transit dependency

9. Page 9 September 1998 Mid-Wilshire & Koreatown CSA Work Trip Destinations

10. Page 10 Metro Rapid Program 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 High Capacity Buses Exclusive R-O-W and Arterial Lanes Off-vehicle Fare Payment Bus Feeder Network

11. Page 11 Legend Metro Rapid Station Rapid & Rail Station Metro Rapid Line Metro Red Line Metro Blue Line Demonstration Lines Implemented June 2000 Downtown Los Angeles Pasadena Gold Line Blue/Gold Lines

12. Page 12 Metro Rapid Demonstration Reduced Passenger Travel Times Wilshire/Whittier Corridor – up to 29% Ventura Corridor – up to 23% Increased Corridor Ridership Wilshire/Whittier Corridor – ridership up 42% Ventura Corridor – ridership up 38% Attracted New Riders 1/3 of ridership increase are new riders Two-line arterial demonstration implemented in 2000 to determine if people would ride higher speed bus

13. Page 13 Metro Rapid/BRT Becomes Option Metro Rapid/BRT added as Major Investment Study option MTA develops mobility toolbox for assessing BRT as a transit option

14. Los Angeles Mobility Toolbox

15. Page 15 Transit Corridor Study Major Investment Study was performed on four of the five RTAA corridors Identified preferred corridor modes San Fernando Valley Corridor - BRT Wilshire Corridor - BRT Exposition Corridor - BRT/LRT East Los Angeles Corridor - LRT Pasadena Corridor – Independent Study (JPA) - LRT

16. Page 16 San Fernando Valley Corridor BRT Statistics 14 miles, 13 stations, 7 minute headway Project construction/vehicle cost = $330 million Issues At-grade corridor with many street crossings (against signal progression) Connects Red Line (HRT) with Warner Center (50,000 jobs) Originally planned as heavy rail extension (too costly) BRT selected over LRT Expected demand (22,000 daily boardings) did not meet LRT economies of scale BRT required for flexible on-street operation at Warner Center

17. Page 17 San Fernando Valley Corridor BRT

18. Page 18 Wilshire Corridor BRT Statistics 13 miles, 15 stations, 3-4 minute headways Project construction/vehicle cost = $182 million Issues At grade corridor in 3 jurisdictions; many major street crossings Very high arterial traffic with bottlenecks Existing Metro Rapid arterial BRT; extends beyond study corridor Potential future extension of Red Line (HRT) BRT selected over LRT Existing BRT-light successful; only need to add exclusive lanes Avoid mode complexity and unnecessary transfers Minimizes short term investment until Red Line extended

19. Page 19 Wilshire Corridor BRT Rendering

20. Page 20 Exposition Corridor LRT Statistics 9.4 miles (7.9 new/1.5 shared), 10-12 stations, 7.5 minute headway Project construction/vehicle cost = $426 million Issues Exclusive railroad right-of-way with street crossings Alignment options include partial arterial operation & grade seps Opportunity to connect with existing Blue Line LRT Serves several jurisdictions LRT selected over BRT Expected demand (43,600 daily boardings) provides LRT economies of scale LRT allows shared use of Blue Line LRT tracks & LACBD tunnel

21. Page 21 Exposition Corridor LRT

22. Page 22 East Los Angeles Corridor LRT Statistics 6 miles (1.8 miles in tunnel), 8 new + 1 existing station, 7.5 min hdwy Project construction/vehicle cost = $898 million Issues Initially HRT extension (too costly) Desire to link with regional hub (Union Station) and existing LRT Station locations not on continuous street or right-of-way Surface streets narrow (built in 1800s); active community street life Surface operation requires numerous turns across traffic LRT selected over BRT Minimize community impacts (mix of tunnel and surface ops) Through service w/ existing Gold Line LRT at Union Station

23. Page 23 East Los Angeles Corridor LRT

24. Page 24 Metro Rapid Arterial Expansion Based on the success of the Metro Rapid Demonstration, the program was approved for expansion Improved travel speeds (up to 29% faster) Increase in ridership (up to 40%) Relatively low capital cost ($200,000 per mile) Easy implementation (12 months to start-up) FY 2008: 28 corridors and 450 miles of service

25. Page 25

26. Page 26 Summary BRT allows for greater flexibility Allows for easy mix of on-street and exclusive right-of- way operation Easier to fit in challenging corridors Allows for incremental upgrading Lower cost for both capital and operations until economy of scale threshold is reached for LRT Over 5,000 passengers per peak hour, peak direction Over 25,000 passengers per day Each corridor requires a unique decision