Peter Varga, CEO of The Rapid says the BRT project is like rail. WZZM quotes Varga on the BRT, “I think you have to visualize it as using busses as rail, as a rail system. It operates just as fast as rail would in the corridor. It stops at a station. There would be announcements as to when the next bus is coming. Multiple doors open. People who have already paid at kiosks at the station, and they just board and the doors close and they go."
Sure, it might be rail like with nice stations and ticket machines. Lets look at the real reason why rail is being injected into the conversation -- saleability. Go farther down the road when The Rapid has to brand this route and see if it comes with a rail inspired moniker.
Sell the public enhanced bus.
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Downtown Streetcar Loop
Proposed downtown streetcar loop.
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Links
- Amtrak
- City of Grand Rapids
- Disability Advocates (Transit)
- Downtown Grand Rapids
- Grand Rapids Planning Department
- Interurban Transit Linkinages Study
- Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid)
- Knape's Corner: Downtown Development
- Light-Rail from Wikipedia
- Metra Photo courtesy of Nate Beal (Flickr)
- Metro GR Transit Initiatives Working Group
- Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, Inc.
- Pere Marquette -- West Michigan's Train
- Semi-Rapid Streetcar Concept
- The Overhead Wire
- The Rapid from Wikipedia
- Transit Initiatives Working Group Information Center
- Urban Planet -- Grand Rapids
- Westrain
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2 comments:
BRT - It's like rail, only its not! These guys will never quit will they. We didn't cheap out on the interstate highway system, so why are we cheaping out now?
The locals are using rail as a visioning reference. However, its getting blurred between vision and selling point. As I mentioned in the previous post, it's at the expense of rail.
It would probably be more advantageous to sell the BRT as an enhanced version of regular bus routes. That way the public at least has the expectation of improved bus service. Now they may have much higher expectations.
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