Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on 35W

Posted November 12th, 2008 by Antonio Rosell
Posted in
BRT.jpg
BRT.jpg
Rendering of a potential BRT station at 46 Street in Minneapolis. Passengers would transfer to and from buses on city streets to BRT buses running on 35W by using the elevatos or stairs in the stations. Source: I-35W Corridor Study.

Increasingly, cities throughout the world have begun implementing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems to meet the transportation needs of their citizens. BRT systems provide a low investment, high return solution to the transportation needs of modern cities.

Some recent implementations include:
Cleveland, Ohio (link >), Mexico City (link >) and Bogota, Colombia (link to an excellent video - recommended)

Bus Rapid Transit in the I-35W corridor
35W is one the busiest transit corridors in the state, carrying about 15,000 bus passengers per day. When both the Crosstown and 35W Access projects neglected to study the potential for bus rapid transit in this corridor, progressive transportation advocates in the legislature began work to mandate investigation of this option for the corridor. In 2004, Rep. Frank Hornstein introduced a measure to mandate study of the potential for BRT in the 35W corridor.

This study was completed in early 2005. Its key conclusions include:

  • BRT on can triple transit ridership along the corridor: provision of bus rapid transit system can increase ridership from the current 15,000 passenger to over 45,000 passengers per day.
  • A bus rapid transit system on 35W will allow buses to run at posted speeds even in the middle of rush hour.
  • BRT can serve more people: adding BRT service to 35W can move more people than adding three new freeway lanes to the corridor.
  • Cost for a BRT system that serves the Twin Cities and surrounding communities is a fraction of what the Crosstown and 35W Access projects are expected to cost: for Phase I and II (65 buses, 3 stations, 1 Park and Ride), the cost is $37 million. The total cost for a complete BRT system on 35W (includes 126 buses, stations at Lake Street, 46th Street and 494, and one Park and Ride facility at Lakeville) is $55 million.

Want to find out more about BRT on 35W?
Download a copy of the report's executive summary (357 Kb pdf) or a copy of the full BRT report (22.2 Mb pdf) - both are attached to this post.

AttachmentSize
ExecSummary-Final-BRTreport.pdf356.01 KB
Final-fullBRTreport.pdf21.6 MB

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