SEE IT! Boston’s Bus Rapid Transit is Working

It was a momentous 2018 year for bus riders in greater Boston as municipalities around the region took bold steps to pilot elements of Bus Rapid Transit. Empowered by grants, the city-led regional effort showcased small but salient service and street design improvements that garnered public and political support for better buses and the vision of Gold Standard BRT.

The demonstrated BRT elements included dedicated bus lane segments, queue jumps, transit signal priority and level platforms, and were enhanced by creative art installations and community group partnerships.

This short film shows how easily other cities could adapt these strategies:

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

America’s Early Bus Rapid Transit Systems Are Working Well

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 5, 2018

Now 10 years old and older, the performance of the U.S.'s first bus rapid transit systems helps explain why the model has caught fire.

The Red Line will be a trunk route in Indianapolis's new frequent bus network. Image: IndyGo

The Bus Network Redesign in Indianapolis Will Be Like Launching a Brand New Transit System

By Yonah Freemark | Jul 11, 2017

What Indianapolis is doing deserves attention, especially from other spread-out American cities looking to spend their transit dollars as efficiently as possible. The big change is a complete reshaping of bus service, which will be like setting up a brand new transit network.

Koch Brothers Tentacles Reach Out to Squelch Albuquerque BRT

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 16, 2015

Albuquerque, like many cities, is looking at bus rapid transit as a cost-effective way to improve mobility and create a more walkable city. Its BRT plan calls for frequent service on a center-running bus lane along Central Avenue, the city’s busiest bus route, which passes through the heart of downtown. The city has applied for funding from the […]

The loss of bus ridership as service has been cut and speeds have slowed swamps recent gains in rail ridership. Photo via David Guo/Flickr

Los Angeles Bus Service Declined as Rail Expanded

By Yonah Freemark | Aug 23, 2017

Given the tens of billions of dollars that L.A. will spend on transit over the next few decades, it's all the more important to invest it in ways that will be useful and attract riders. But since 2014, ridership has been dropping.

ITDP: American Bus Rapid Transit Can Catch Up to the Rest of the World

By Ben Fried | May 26, 2011

Attempts by U.S. cities to build Bus Rapid Transit systems tend to get stymied by a Catch-22: Most Americans have no experience riding great BRT, so mustering the political will to build full-fledged systems — and reallocate the necessary street space from cars to buses — is often fiendishly difficult. The results — incremental bus […]

Even after decriminalizing fare evasion, racially discriminatory fare enforcement on Cleveland's HealthLine persisted. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Cleveland Police Enforcement of Transit “Proof-of-Payment” Ruled Unconstitutional

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 2, 2017

Proof-of-payment speeds up bus service. But leaving enforcement up to police can violate passengers' rights, a Cleveland judge ruled.