Buses have a stigma in North America that doesn’t apply to trains. Buses are seen as transport for people who can’t afford a car, while it’s a status symbol to sit in your car stuck in traffic.

@brooklynnyc

2 ай бұрын

Good point

@thedapperdolphin1590

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, I know a number of people who will take light rail, but refuse to touch a bus. Aside from the weird stigma around buses, I think people are also just afraid of getting lost. A bus network can seem overwhelming to people, even though we live in an age where Google maps will tell you exactly where you need to go and what buses to take. Rail seems more straightforward because there are less lines, and they just follow the tracks. Buses also just follow a path, of course, but there’s some mental disconnect there.

@ryanstevens2722

2 ай бұрын

@@thedapperdolphin1590 I expect bus riders are prob not as tech savvy as you so Google Maps are of no value to most bus customers.

@robk7266

2 ай бұрын

It's because busses are never faster than driving

@kirillboyko9208

2 ай бұрын

Good point. Buses have an “image” problem, there is definitely a classist and racist component here at play too, if to be honest. However the bus planners don’t help the problem by designing ineffectual networks with shady safety record.

I live in Seoul, here the buses are color coded. Green are your neighbourhood buses that go down smaller streets and have a lot of stops. Blue buses are on the busiest routes through the city and are extremely high frequency. Red buses are highway buses. Along with their subway system it works really well. They have massive island stops usually on top of a major subway station, sometimes with 5 to 10 buses lined up at any one time, the blue buses come literally every 5 minutes, if you are connecting between 2 blue buses usually you wait 2 or 3 minutes. The green every 10, some of the red buses are every 15.

@user-sc7ul1ef6i

Ай бұрын

in los angeles, we also have color coded buses. local buses are orange, rapid buses are red, and express buses on freeways are silver

Every time RMTransit uploads I become 0.3% stronger

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

Inspired

@TheOneCity1

2 ай бұрын

❤❤❤

@LouisChang-le7xo

2 ай бұрын

@@RMTransit you are that one guy in the RPG that heals us

@catabakies69

Ай бұрын

after 50 videos, you will be 4.383906 times stronger, unlimited POWER

I often wondered if running buses on the highway would be a good way to make use of the existing highway system to move more people and reduce traffic. HOV/bus lanes and even shoulder lanes are good ways to do that. Thanks for showing some examples of this in practice.

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

It absolutely is. Buses in a single lane in each direction can easily move more people than all the other lanes!

@boiyo2203

2 ай бұрын

yup! a 5-6 lane freeway at most can handle 20,000pphpd (even the highest capacity tramways can meet that!) while a single bus lane can easily handle 35,000pphpd, and even more!

@compdude100

2 ай бұрын

They do that a lot in the Seattle area. They even have ramps from the center of the freeway that allow buses to merge directly into the HOV lanes from transit centers/park and rides.

@djdtk

Ай бұрын

Caltrans has been "studying" bus-on-shoulder for the North Bay (California), but I haven't heard any updates on that. There's too much pushback against bus lanes, even buses on shoulders are difficult because of the need for emergency access/pulling over. :/

@CCK1972

Ай бұрын

buses do run on highways

In Hong Kong, taking a highway bus is often seen as a fast and comfortable option for transportation, bus companies are usually happy to operate these routes as they often charge higher price than normal routes. However in North America, these kinds of highway routes are absent in many cities. It's a huge waste that we have the highway network but never use them for public transit.

@alankingchiu

2 ай бұрын

HK is a special case, with most of the population rely on public transport.

@carstarsarstenstesenn

Ай бұрын

Chicago has a couple. We have an express bus on Lake Shore Drive and the 68 Northwest Highway bus.

@mj.414

Ай бұрын

Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area utilize some highways for bus routes

@mjrt34

Ай бұрын

@@alankingchiu you get to a point where people rely on transit by making an adequate public transit system. If it’s efficient and clean, people will use it. If it’s well connected so people aren’t worried about getting stranded or walking miles between stops, people will use it. By having more convincing and convenient routes more people will ride, allowing it to become more affordable to the average rider. Saying Hong Kongs special because they’re reliant on it is like saying people only use those transit systems so much because they’re well designed, complete, and affordable. There is an exponential relationship between new connect rail or bus line and ridership. Aka it’s a special case because it’s good.

As a Seattle resident who works in a suburb and takes these express busses often I just want to highlight how well done these busses are. The 545 and 542 express busses runs every 6 min during peak hours and is about 30 min from downtown Redmond to downtown Seattle. The center running bus lanes and transit stops keep it very competitive with driving. Ignoring parking time, this drive takes 25 min with no traffic but 50 min during peak times with traffic. Because it’s competitive with driving, the busses are jam packed (you sometimes can’t get on the first one at rush hour). Outside “peak” hours my family/friends often take the bus express to Seattle rather than drive because parking in Seattle is (strategically) difficult. In fact this route actually turns a profit! The STExpress system only launched in 2000 so it’s incredible to see how quickly it’s become an irreplaceable part of the transit system. Sound transit gets a lot of (well deserved) criticism for how they do certain things, but the express busses and light rail have completely changed the transportation culture in the city!

@greenislandserenade1

Ай бұрын

only launched in 2000? that's 24 years old already, more than half my life

@greenislandserenade1

Ай бұрын

idk why your response got deleted but my point is if 24 years is considered very fast and the standard is generally more than that... well if it takes that long to make changes to a transit system in just a city, we likely won't see the benefits of a transformation in this lifetime. sure it could be great maybe 50+ years in the future but at that point it wouldn't matter much for this generation outside of maybe gen alpha.

Thank you Reece for another very clear and informative video. I particularly liked the section at about 5 minutes where you explain how Seattle succeeds in getting buses into dedicated bus lanes running down the MIDDLE of a multi-lane highway rather than using bus lanes on the edge of the highway.

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

It requires some smart engineering and planning work!

@driverdoug2002

2 ай бұрын

Still, has the Redmond, Bellevue, 540 crossing to U District and S Lake Union without a transfer cost, been solved?

@adamv6917

Ай бұрын

No, but at least it will be easier once the rest of the 2 line opens

@zarosderer4447

26 күн бұрын

whats the downside of driving on the edge?

@Fan652w

26 күн бұрын

@@zarosderer4447 Here in Britain our bus lanes, where they exist, are almost always 'on the edge' They are constantly being blocked by delvery vehicles, and by illegally parked cars. There are conflicts with cyclists. Where there is building work on adjacent buildings (common in Britain) the sidewalk is closed, and pedestrians walk in the closed bus lane. The buses get stuck in general traffic. (There was an example of this which lasted TWO YEARS right by where I live.) Bus lanes in the middle of the highway are like segregated street car tracks. (Edit) See also the wonderful reply about Seoul posted by paulrussell1207. He identifies yet another advantage of centrally placed bus lanes.

Every time I see anything related to busses on highways, especially with this particular color scheme, I can't help but be reminded of the Onion's "Obama high-speed busses."

@LouisChang-le7xo

2 ай бұрын

you mean the onion's scam to replac cahsr with highway buses?

Metro J-Line in LA immediately came to mind. It's seen as lesser than the E-line to Santa Monica because it's a bus, and it runs through lower income areas. But it's secretly way faster because it runs in a killer express lane.

Even though Switzerland is seen as a country with great public transport, it still gets annoying when you're trying to do a non-radial trip in many places.

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

Thats fair!

Houston actually has a fairly robust express bus system that takes people from many places within the county, using HOV lanes to get the bases moving faster. The one to Katy even has two lanes allowing for inbound and outbound buses all day. Right now the system needs to expand so that in can reach cities outside the county such as Sugar Land, Galveston, Pearland and The Woodlands as well as later times.

My primary issue with the highway buses in Seattle is that, due to the heavy weight and high speeds, any little imperfection in the roadway surface can cause the bus to jolt up and down. It's not very comfortable. That said, the speed at which I can get from Seattle to the east side is valuable (I did this when East link opened a month ago and have taken a similar trip many times in the past getting to work everyday).

@ab-tf5fl

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, for some reason any little bump on the road is much more noticeable in a bus than in a car going over the same stretch of road. Not sure how much of that is weight vs. vehicle size vs. the company that makes the buses cheeping out on the suspension.

You hit the nail on the head with the challenges section. It is utterly infuriating that the GO bus from KW to Mississauga can sometimes spend five minutes trying to turn left from the highway exit ramp into the utterly massive and expensive busway station...like...instead of spending 50 million dollars on seating and paving for cars, spend just a tiny amount creating a bus ramp so that passengers don't have to wait so damn long for their bus.

I've long thought that one thing that could be done to make the 401 into something less awful would be to build something like the Mississauga Transitway down the centre all the way across the city, similar to what you show at 4:45. It shouldn't be such a contentious thing to take two of the 22 lanes for this, but this is Toronto...

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

I don't even think it would be that contentious, it's just barely even considered!

@AshgabatKetchumov

2 ай бұрын

Had the GO-ALRT line to Pearson been built, the 401 probably would not have become the disaster it is today. Maybe building something similar (and frequent!) over two of the lanes might work? It might relieve some pressure off the GO Bus routes that use the 401 or 407.

Yes, omg, yes! Rapid buses on the highways, the simpliest idea ever, but no one talks about it! Thank you Reece! We in Washington metropolitan area have a fantastic beltway highway, and an equally busy i-270. There is a bridge between MD and VA that is backed up night and day. There is not a single bus that connects MD and VA across that bridge, which is so not right. Not to mention that the busiest portions of washington beltway are undergoing massive expansion with express lanes being added. The planners didn’t add option for heavy rail, so i really hope the highway buses will use the express lanes going forward.

@robertlunderwood

2 ай бұрын

Wmata proposed fixing that last year but I don't know if it's still on the table

@kirillboyko9208

2 ай бұрын

@@robertlunderwood wmata is in the constant death battle versus rising costs and bad maintenance record, i doubt they will push this plan to reality

@billyatwal4764

2 ай бұрын

I’m from London, UK and I was actually quite impressed by the use of toll lanes on the 395 by buses connecting to Springfield from Pentagon and then serves a local route. This is only during rush hour though. The potential of running this out of peak hours even just an hourly service and then expanding this is definitely needed.

The dense grid of highways in inner Detroit looks well placed to carry transit routes.

@mjrt34

Ай бұрын

It also just looks well placed to be buried like Boston’s 93. Fix infrastructure mistakes while they’re cheap rather than bandaging everything to get the city moving again as quickly as possible. Make the right decisions now so the same mistakes aren’t made again.

Awesome video. I LOVE that you mentioned all the amazing work Seattle is doing and how it is helping other cities rethink their bus networks!! Seattle has an awesome (and imo underrated) bus system and Stride is going to make it even better. I can’t wait until it’s all done!!!

We had a replacement bus in Melbourne that ran down the highway shoulder express to the city from the outer suburbs. It was faster than the limited express train.

Highways are generally hated on in urbanist circles, and there's certainly a lot of negative things to say about them. But instead of simply tearing highways down, you're showing how we can take a strength (and sunk cost!) in our North American transportation system and repurpose it to make the system as a whole less car-centric. As someone in the comments already mentioned, the 401 in the GTA would be a great application for this idea. Maybe also the Sepúlveda Pass in LA! Great video, Reece!

@maroon9273

2 ай бұрын

I agree, people who want to tear down highways will miss out on turning them into transit routes. Keep the highways, build over/underpasses, and cap those highways.

this is why I never understood the anti bus attitude that most urbanists and transit advocates seem to have. We already have the infrastructure for busses pre-built, it makes complete sense to invest in bus infrastructure as we transition away from cars.

In other words, Seattle is getting the equivalent of the 407 Go Bus services minus the 24 hours part and with maybe better marketing.

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

Nicer stops and better frequency though.

@compdude100

2 ай бұрын

@@RMTransit The Stride lines will be a definite improvement over the current express service on I-405, particularly from Bellevue to where I live in Lynnwood. The 535 between Lynnwood Transit Center and Bellevue doesn't have the best frequency. I think it's only 30 minutes on weekdays (nowhere near as good as the express buses between Lynnwood and Seattle), and I was shocked to discover a couple months back that it only once an hour (!) on Saturdays and doesn't run on Sundays! So the Stride will definitely be a big improvement.

People dislike waiting at a bus stop. There must be an app showing where the buses are. Better, the app should show how long till a bus gets to a particular stop or even can send a notification when a bus will arrive at a stop in X minutes time. This allows people to arrive at the stop just as the bus arrives.

@driverdoug2002

2 ай бұрын

Right on. Government mandates to include bus GPS with Uber and Waze, could also give multi-use of bus zones because ride-share drivers and shuttle bus drivers would know when to pull forward in bus zones when they aren't occupied by approaching buses.

@crytocc

2 ай бұрын

I mean, that's basically just live delay information. I don't know about Sound Transit specifically, but a ton of bus operators (also in the US) _already_ provide these data feeds, and so exact arrival times already show up in systems that use those feeds, like Google Maps. I'd say that the only remaining issue there is that getting access to those feeds can be inconsistent and difficult, and so building something for your own community is hard.

@CityLifeinAmerica

2 ай бұрын

Transit app, Apple Maps, or your agency’s own app.

@Bookslayer10

2 ай бұрын

This already exists and I have the app, but the problem is it requires internet connection and I don't have data XD

@laurencefraser

2 ай бұрын

Around here they've taken to building display screens into the more substantial stops that give live updates of when the busses that stop there are expected to arive (it's something like the next 10 arrivals). Of course, stops here vary a lot depending on the number of lines and the number of passengers they serve, ranging from 'sign on a streetlight pole' through 'actually set up with multiple platforms and a fully enclosed building rather than just a shelter (though, to be fair, aside from the main interchange I think there's only one or two that have full buildings like that, and it's mostly a side effect of needing to put a major hub stop in a heavily built up area so the options were 'use a retail space in the existing building' or 'demolish the existing building to make room for a larger footpath and bus shelter'. The former being Vastly cheaper and providing much better service to the passengers made the decision pretty obvious). Still, most stops that are served by multiple routes warrent those screens and at least the standard shelters. Some of them get even nicer shelters. Request stops that only serve a single route and don't see a lot of passengers Usually manage to at least get a bench and a case on the pole with the route map and time table (basically a pair of the paper ones you can pick up at the exchange and other places, so you can see both sides, sometimes cut up and rearanged to fit better). Stops that are just a sign and nothing else are pretty rare in the city now, so far as I know. (though the routes that travel out to other towns do have a lot of 'sign on a post and nothing else' stops.)

the METRO Orange Line in Minneapolis is a great example of what is effectively freeway-heavy BRT.

The Twin Cities have a pretty good median highway bus system. I'd love to see it expanded, but I'm happy to see it as it is!

LA Metro has the Silver Bus line that does well with your concept Reece!

@Geotpf

2 ай бұрын

This busway was one of the first of it's kind in the country, possibly the first, and was opened in 1973, long before Los Angeles had any light or heavy rail systems.

@codymontgomery5746

2 ай бұрын

@@Geotpf thanks!

@blores95

Ай бұрын

LA Metro would do well to add more freeway express routes. The 460 is the easiest way to get from Norwalk Station to DTLA, basically combines the C/Green Line and the J Line with no transfer. The 577 from El Monte to CSULB is also great but stupidly only runs on the weekend, so there's no way to go North on the East side of LA County without going all the way through DTLA and back around. Especially if/when they extend the C/Green Line to the Metrolink and increase Metrolink frequency, you'd shave like 1.5 hours going from San Bernadino to Orange County.

I’m in the greater Seattle area and I’m so glad you touched on this. I didn’t know about that new Stride line. I think busses using the interstates are a huge step into getting us less car dependent.

It is very common here in Brazil for buses to use the highways, whether on regular or express lines. Here in Rio de Janeiro, in addition to several municipal and metropolitan lines that use the highways, since March we've also had a BRT corridor in the middle of the city's main stretch of highway.

@taleseylad1249

Ай бұрын

It's like that in my small city in Mexico. You can take a bus to other cities, even some of the big ones or you can take a luxury bus to a big city

Great take - don't think I've ever seen a video examine both transit and highways through the lens of complementary radial/orbital layouts :)

@LouisChang-le7xo

2 ай бұрын

Wish more cities could just hurry up and build these things

Another quality videos from Reese ! Very interresting concept to the external suburbs (exurbs).

Excellent new video! Buses are essential components of transit systems and are hardly ever the either/or proposition opposed to rail that they are often presented as. They can and should compliment each other. Using buses (and coaches) to take advantage of North American cities’ very well developed freeway systems is low-hanging fruit. Having modern and comfortable highway buses can help people change their attitudes towards buses positively.

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

The modern and comfortable point is so key!

@kms1.62

2 ай бұрын

@@RMTransit Indeed, coach style seating, good heating and cooling, and space are essential. Double deckers help all of that. Modern and comfortable also applies to waiting areas as well, especially when frequency can’t get below 15 minutes. In the northwest shelter from rain, and in the sunbelt shelter from sun and humidity are really important. At intermodal stations (and possibly at just regular stops too) it’s possible to have climate controlled interior waiting areas with commercial space too. Importantly, if building a stop alongside a highway, having some protection from the sounds and fumes of the highway is also a consideration.

I think your background in urban planning really shines through in videos like these, which highlight practical and efficient transit solutions. Great video!

This is great. Was just talking to people here in Dallas about an idea like this. Thanks as always for the great content. 👍

@crowmob-yo6ry

Ай бұрын

I live in Dallas and we could really use more highway bus routes. I'm guessing many people just don't see regional buses as necessary when we have a decently large rail transit system already, but the 237 and 239 bus routes are a good model to follow!

Every freeway needs to have BRT running on them in cities. We have a freeway bus system called RAPID, I wish it ran all day instead of just serving 9-5. It’s a perfect setup too, there’s left exits the buses use, and they allow for suburb to suburb transport.

I love highway buses!! Great in SoCal and could be used so much more!

Love it! I always get a kick out of zooming past highway traffic on the light rail

San Diego has rapid bus services on the 15 and 805 freeways that use dedicated carpool lanes into the suburbs of Chula Vista in the south and Escondido in the north.

I admired the bus-interchange-stops on the I-405 around Seattle when I first saw them in the 80s ... I started calling for what's become the 555 in Vancouver at about the same time. It's been gratifying to see it come into play, finally. Needin gmore... always.

The San Francisco area could really learn from this. Its regional highway buses have poor ridership compared to BART (which runs heavily in highway medians). What are otherwise great regional and intercity bus routes like the Solano Express Blue Line have been slashing service to as little as twice a day.

The M2 busway in Sydney was (maybe still is? I'm not sure if it still exists) a great example of a lot of these things. Various local bus routes would join bus lanes in the middle of a freeway and provide a trunk route into the city. There were bus stops along the freeway receiving high-frequency service that were island platforms, so buses would cross to the "wrong side" of the road to set down and pick up.

MARTA is building a grade-separated BRT system up and down Georgia 400, which I’m looking forward to. Original plan was HRT but NIMBYs killed that…but since MARTA will own the right-of-way, maybe rail can come in the future. Really wish they’d do something on I-285!

Wow Reece I think this is the first urbanism video I’ve seen take a positive spin on freeways! Well done! Good thoughts! A lot of potential there!

Transpo agencies that tout “new and innovative” technologies are really missing the mark, imo. Take existing infra and better utilize it - as illustrated in this wonderful video.

Great video. Thank you for posting!

From Seattle and didn’t even know about the Stride! Great video

The Grand Central Parkway runs past LaGuardia airport, and then under the N line at the Astoria Boulevard station. It would make a massive amount of sense to branch off from the N line there to run the subway to the airport. This was actually a proposal in the 1980s (or maybe a few years prior), but the NIMBYs killed it. It makes so much more sense than the proposed, but now dead air train to Willets Point (in the WRONG direction to a very busy 7 train, or an under served Port Washington Branch stop). Doing something similar to the JFK AirTrain with the line running above the median of the highway would work. Adding in a few stops for the local areas would also be beneficial as it’s an area not served by the subway.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong part of the 9 freeway has bus lanes on the outermost lane, effective 7:30 am to 9am daily. When the bus lane is effective, exits along the bus lane are closed to all traffic. The truth is, even if rush hour is over and the bus lane is open for all traffic, so many bus routes use the lane its pretty much still a bus lane

London does have a few express buses and coaches, but they aren't as well advertised as they're not run by TfL. An example is the Greenline which runs from central London, stops along the way through the northern suburbs before taking the M1 non-stop to Luton airport or the town. It also works as a great backup for me to get home in case the railway line is rendered unusable for whatever reason. It's still very much a radial offering though, so suburb to suburb is still tricky. There's potential to use the M25 but I can't think of any bus routes that use that.

These are some awesome ideas. Northern Virginia has taken these concepts and applied them to commuter buses, with them running on tolled express lanes to skip traffic. They just need to apply this concept to local routes and getting to and from DC would be one hell of a lot easier for me.

Ive been saying this myself for years, about the 401 here in Toronto, after seeing bus stops built similarly to how truck weighing stations are at the side of Autoroute 20 in the suburbs of Montreal

@FullLengthInterstates

2 ай бұрын

One of the biggest mistakes of US highway planning is how rest stops are blocked off from local communities. If rest stops, weigh stations and the like were designed for local pick ups and drop offs, and maybe even tourist parking, it would greatly speed up intercity bus service, and also reduce traffic on local streets.

How does the highway bus model allow for positive transit oriented development. I am very familiar with the section of I-405 that the stride busses will run on and the "walk shed" seems very similar to that of a poorly planned median metro station. Do we ignore that since we are going from zero rapid transit to some rapid transit that may have flaws but is better than nothing? I think the section on SR522 will be very successful because cities like Bothell and Kenmore have started increasing their multi use housing/retail development and providing a direct connection to the link will be super valuable

@oliviastratton2169

Ай бұрын

I mean, usually Express buses connect to local buses that run in residential areas. Although, I'm lucky enough to live within walking distance of an Express bus route.

I would love to see cities in the US and around the world build something like the Ringbahn in Berlin. It is a system that allows for people to get from on suburb to another without having to go through city center. Ring railroads for all!

Buses are very underrated. I commute from Everett to Seattle every day. There's a commuter train and a commuter bus that leave the station at the same time. The bus actually gets me to work faster, it's cheaper, and it has higher frequency.

Nice. Always love it when Seattle gets such a a shout out

You definitely make great points that we could even listen to in Europe. In Copenhagen where I'm from we really only have a single bus route that predominantly uses highways and that's the 150S bus. A radial, frequent semi-express line that runs every 5-10 minutes from Nørreport in downtown to Gl. Holte, and then every 5-20 minutes up to the end in Kokkedal north of the city. It is also the busiest of all the S-bus lines in the city which form the orbital and radial backbone of the region across 8 lines. The 150S carried 4.54 million passengers in 2023. The 150S has also had a BRT conversion with highway centre bus lanes proposed along with 2 other S-bus lines, 200S and 400S. But while those 2 did get national funding for a BRT conversion (though theirs hang by a thread since the national government allow the municipalities to get loans to bypass a spending ceiling to pay for their share of the construction cost that the funding was stipulated by) the 150S didn't get national funding. So instead a scaled back proposal has been put forward for BRT-lite for the route, with shoulder bus lanes and smaller interventions elsewhere which would cost 1/3rd of the full BRT proposal. But because of the nature of that, it would mean the project would be piecemeal and not a cohesive all in one project that could be funded all at once.

NJ Transit system has the best example for it because most of the interstate bus routes actually use interstate highways to reach New York City or Philadelphia. On the Garden State Parkway the 319 bus buses 125 miles of it from exit 129 Interstate 95 where it joins Coach USA 100 bus New Brunswick to Midtown Manhattan to Exit 4 Wildwood uses MCI D4500CT. The northern section of I-95 NJ Transit bus routes from New Brunswick to Secaucus which includes the ones coming in from Union County like 114 111 115 112 113 switch over to the Lincoln Tunnel bus line once they reach exit 16E. Another option would be building bus stops right on the HOV lane themselves which is what Los Angeles and San Diego did for some of their interstates. MTA NYC Express buses on the interstate freeway

@97nelsn

2 ай бұрын

Route 100 from New Brunswick to NYC was my go-to bus route when I interned in the city during my college days. It was quick and close to my old apartment. During my last internship, which started every Monday, what I would do when I was home for the weekend was take the bus into the city and once I was done with my internship for the day, take Route 100 and be in New Brunswick for the rest of the week. The XBL is great for bus commute but it should also be utilized for rush hour trips leaving the city as well.

@EpicThe112

2 ай бұрын

@@97nelsn I agree and speaking of the 100 bus Princeton New Brunswick New York Port Authority Bus Terminal if there is no train service in New Brunswick they add extra frequencies to it to accommodate those passengers

They are supposedly studying BRT on I-285 but i haven't heard anything in a while

I spent the summer of 1987 in England and used their Badger bus line to go all over the country. It was so easy to use. I'm not sure it's still in existence.

I know LA has the El Monte Busway and the Harbor Freeway where buses have a dedicated ROW for express services but there’s also the Rapid 10 from Big Blue Bus in Santa Monica which goes from SM to DTLA utilizing I-10 which is something they should expand beyond rush hour as a way to encourage more people to ride the bus, though the E train does exist (but can be slow due to it being a local).

The Orange Line in Minneapolis is an interesting, decent attempt at this concept, but corners were cut in so many parts of it which are really frustrating. But I'd definitely agree that more BRT services should be built to Seattle's standard on I-394, I-494, MN-200, MN-36, at a minimum.

"just plain nice"... That describes Reece and RMTransit in a nutshell.

Toronto should absolutely copy this with the 407 bus lanes all the way up to Oshawa 7:05

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

For sure

@andrewcanuck6417

2 ай бұрын

I think that's valid Vette1. I don't see why ALL highways can't have a dedicated bus lane, for regional transit.

Wasn't there a plan for this in New York as well but it didn't work out nicely because the buses were not separated from the interchange congestion traffic criss crossing? Seattle is doing a great job at this 👍. Existing highways could also just "loose" a lane for the rapid bus transit. A bus every 10 minutes would be a lot of buses in the end and they need space. I think that justifies repurposing one lane considering most highways are giant with +5 lanes going each direction. Thank you for the video 😊

Rail daddy been blessing us with content all year consistently

Chicago actually has fairly few opportunities for effective orbital bus transit. The problem is that the highways were specifically sited away from major destinations. Where highway bus transit is seen is for radial routes serving areas away from the traditional rail network, notably Plainfield and other locations down the I-55. The one radial corridor that partially works, in that is hits some destinations and connects with existing radial transit, is Lagrange/Mannheim road. This route is however signifiantly slower than the tri-state interstate that bypasses the area.

@fbfree1

2 ай бұрын

Oh, and the one area with frequent highway traffic, Lake Shore Drive, directly competes with the rail system, especially on the South Side.

Excellent analysis RM

Chicago actually has a serious problem creating new bus stops in the city, because the city has sold all future revenue of the parking metres until 2083 to investors. The contract is very bad for the city. If the city wants to convert parking spots along a street into bus stops or even a new bus lane, the city has to compensate the investors for the loss of revenue.

@yungrichnbroke5199

2 ай бұрын

Chicago should just cancel the contract. The owners are from Abu Dhabi. What are they going to do about it?

@skyscraperfan

2 ай бұрын

@@yungrichnbroke5199 They would sue the city and they would get their right. A contract is still a contract. If the US do not honor contracts, they will scare away businesses and they could even be sanctioned by the WTO.

@smnbrgss

Ай бұрын

And it’s very quickly paid dividends for the company that owns those rights

Highway 407 pretty much already serves this purpose in the Toronto area. I just wish the Mississauga transitway was better connected to the 407. They should extend the Mississauga transitway north alongside the 410 till it reaches the 407. Plus 407 ETR needs to re-work the on/off ramps at Bramalea. That way buses have direct access to Bramalea GO station via the highway.

The Twin Cities have been developing a lot more BRT capacity including a line on 35W runs in the center of the highway and has stops connected to major bridges crossing the highway and one running from the eastern suburbs to downtown St. Paul that is going to have its one right of way adjacent to the highway itself.

I expected you to make fun of the MBTA Silver Line.

For decades I’ve though Vancouver should have a highway bus from Deep Cove to Surrey. Stopping at Taylor Way, Capilano, Westview, Lonsdale, Phibbs Exchange, Kootney Loop, Boundary, Lougheed, and a the skytrain in Surrey. All those stops are key points on the bus network, but getting between any two of them can take up to an hour or two. A highway bus could connected them all to each other within minutes.

@maroon9273

2 ай бұрын

Great since Burnaby is growing and is right now to the highway.

I was very impressed with the bus+highway infrastructure in Minneapolis

Buses are a passable temporary measure to achieve usable non-radial transport, but this type of transport should also eventually be done by rail, which doesn't generate rubber tire particles, is easier to electrify, and uses less energy per passenger in the first place.

15 years ago on Phoenix I would drive to the park and ride next to the interstate, hop on an express bus, transfer to another bus and arrive at work downtown arriving in 90 minutes instead of the 45 minutes it would have taken if I had just driven past the park and ride and continued on to work. Not to mention I had to leave work at specific times in order not to miss the bus, and all the wait time that accumulates when traveling this way. Now there is zero commute with work from home.

@pinang1

Ай бұрын

I don't understand this whole idea of driving to the bus stop to catch a bus. You already in your car. I hate driving and I use buses whenever I can but driving to be able to bus seems like some kind of extravaganza to me. If I'm in my car already I would save time and stress of transferring and continue in my car for few more minutes. Does anyone actually use that?

Sydney Metro City is opening soon! I would love to see your opinion when it does

Great video, Reece! Can you talk about the “transit death spiral” that’s effecting cities like Chicago after COVID? And also bring attention to the fiscal cliff for TransLink in Vancouver? I think we are really going to need to rethink transit funding in a post-COVID world

This was a win win especially for NIMBY's and those that use cars that use the bus station exits as HOV/Toll lane entrance/exit ramps. They're also widening the HOT (high occupancy toll) lanes along the entire 405 corridor. Having BRT run on normal HOV lanes means it will get stuck in traffic just like everyone else. However the 405 has 3 general use lanes and 2 HOT lanes that rarely ever see significant congestion unless you're nearing I5 on the northern and southern ends (these are the parts that are being widened).

Train lines down the middle of the freeways or highways is the way to go like they do in Perth

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

I talked about that in a previous video!

@thatvietguyonline

2 ай бұрын

Train lines on 1 side of the Freeway (the side which have more connections/routes/ pedestrian way/many shope houses where traffic is slower is much better design i suppose (of course there will be pedestrian bridges to connect both sides)

@driverdoug2002

2 ай бұрын

The problem is the reduced traffic lanes during construction, especially if the rail is raised on an overhead rail.

@thatvietguyonline

2 ай бұрын

In suburb at southeast asia, overhead rails are prefered bcuz of the low investment and small funds of land

@bahnspotterEU

2 ай бұрын

Not really. Train stations in highway medians are disgustingly noisy and the air is full of pollution. The areas around the stations also suffer heavily, because usually nothing nice gets built right next to highways.

Many thanks for this excellent video on such an important topic, which - if bus managers have the vision - can unlock a whole extra world of passenger travel in cities - and even towns; I just watched it twice through to make sure I hadn't missed any of your points! Here in London UK we are just seeing the start-up of the 'Superloop' buses, but only a few routes run on highways ('dual carriage-way roads' in UK English), and - as yet - there are not many bus-lanes or other bus-priority measures. Even so, they appear to be popular and well used, despite the frequency being only every 12 minutes (when congestion allows): as you have pointed out in another video, it's important that frequencies across a network are harmonised and sufficient to attract people, who shouldn't have long waits at interchanges. The radial routes - mostly rail - that the Superloop connects with are mostly every 7/8 minutes or better.

I’ve lived in Cleveland for about 2 years, and I think they have a pretty decent bus system, but the problem like you said, is its speed and ease of use once you reach like 15-10 minutes of the city center. The highway system is here so well thought out, but I wish we had more frequent trains and busses with better routes. I also am just a big fan of trains and wish we had more.

Highways are basically BRT. A lot of cities successfully use highways for bus routes. My problem with highway buses is the complete lack of space inside buses. This is not a problem for dense cities that have feeder buses, but it is a problem when your stations just do not have the scale to support any sort of last mile system. What bikeshare is going to let me take the bike back to a suburban destination and let me keep it overnight? The biggest potential for suburban rail is because trains have cheaply expandable capacity, you can bring your bike on the train. The convenience level of biking ON a train is like merging onto a highway - when you get to your exit, just merge off, and continue to your destination in your personal vehicle.

I’ve said this for yrs. The beltway around Washington DC for example would be serviced so well with a BRT

My issue with anything bus related is BRT Creep the fact that service could eventually disappear. I think rail is always the better choice whilst it costs more to build it costs less to maintain.

I’d love to see more clips of Mexico’s transit if you can find any. I’m not from Mexico, but when I visit family in CDMX, we like to take the buses, which are abundant and often have their own dedicated lanes. I was easily impressed with even the smallest barriers they have on stroads that is not just paint.

Park and rides are great and I’m happy to see you supporting them.

@RMTransit

2 ай бұрын

They have their place

@Matthew-zv8qe

2 ай бұрын

@user-vo9wd6tx6c yeah but you can have feeder buses instead in many places. It ruins land use in many stations.

@jyutzler

2 ай бұрын

They indicate a policy failure. It means that the land is way too decentralized. Once you have to drive to an enormous parking lot, you've lost half the benefit of transit before you even get on the train.

@maroon9273

2 ай бұрын

They defiantly expanding there rail lines. Also, add a station next to the park and rides stops. Turn them into transit hub stops.

@yungrichnbroke5199

Ай бұрын

@@jyutzler it’s prohibitively expensive to run trains and busses into every nook and cranny of low density areas. Having a park and ride serve a 5 mile radius of low density is amazing as it gets cars off the road. The policy failure of low density housing is irreversible. The policy failure of total car dependence is reversible. P&R fix it.

Not only were level boarding and reduced gaps not provided at existing stations which were heavily rebuilt or upgraded for Elizabeth Line service, but they were not provided at totally new platforms built in recent years, such as the Thameslink platforms at St. Pancras or the Overground platforms 1&2 at Stratford.

@Gfynbcyiokbg8710

Ай бұрын

Wrong video. And that's to allow for other trains to use the same platforms

I feel like the potential power of buses for rapid regional transit emphasizes the value of road tolls that keep highways relatively uncongested. That would unlock the potential of regional buses to be a fast alternative without having to build dedicated lanes and expensive interchanges.

@driverdoug2002

2 ай бұрын

Buses are so much cheaper than rail. I totally agree.

@maroon9273

2 ай бұрын

Also, great routes for rideshare and taxis.

The bus lanes entrances for the Champlain Bridge from the south shore are quite well done. This is version 2 of the bridge access and also the second variation of bus lane access. On the old bridge there was a traffic light that stopped car traffic to allow the buses to cross the lanes to access the reserved bus lane. Terrible solution but it is not required now.

In LA, my favorite train actually runs in the center of the highway. If we had trains on all the major highways, we'd have absolutely amazing transit. I love the silver line as well, which is a bus that runs on the 110, but it is lower capacity and less reliable

West Berlin had some bus lines running along autobahns including bus stops. They were established by the senate (=city government) to enable citizens to boycott the S-Bahn - which was the operated by the East.

Pittsburgh is currently working to take advantage of its highways. They already have express buses using the HOV lane on the parkway north, but the parkway east is being redesigned to allow regional buses to use the shoulder as they approach the city. They are also building special bus only exits/entrances to the highway that connect directly to our busway network, which is going to speed up commutes significantly for those coming from the east.

Mixed-flow lanes need to be converted to H.O.V., and more dedicated on- and off-ramps at multimodal terminals and other destinations would be helpful.

Thank you so much for a thoughtful video like this one. I love the idea of a fast, clean an efficient public transport system that allows for social justice to happen, Justice for those that need it the most like blind people who need public transit for mobility. As resource become scarce, people will be forced to use public transport, a healthy combination of buses, rails, pedestrian and bicycles is the best way to go. I truly hope there are more public transportation lines all throughout u.s. soon.

At 4:25 that station pictured i believe has Amazon Lockers where you can pick up stuff on the way. I wonder how much TransLink gets from that. On "cheap" land as you suggest, too. You know Vancouver well more than I do, but TransLink makes great use of their facilities. I live in Seattle area, and you feature us a lot. For what's good and what's bad, we each have things that we do better than the other and in turn areas we could improve.

over in Britain, people have chosen national express services over the past couple of years. This is because of a lot of strike action on the railways, and people who work in Manchester, know there is a dedicated coach station near Chinatown! (I gather coach services using the M62 have increased!)

I see this happening here in San Diego! Just recently SANDAG announced rapid buses will be using the shoulder to travel along I-805 and SR-94 during peak hours but I’ve been seeing Rapid Buses on highways specially on their way to the border!

I recommend having a look at busline 146 in Essen, Germany, which runs in the middle of A40 motorway between stations Wasserturm and Kiwittstraße resp. Kray Mitte connecting with the bus lines running along the crossing streets with several stops in the middle lane of the motorway.

i agree with that certainly, you've got bus routes in i think NYC & Toronto that accelerate on the highway the standard e.g. limited & express.

@EpicThe112

2 ай бұрын

I can help you with that what's the New Jersey Transit routes these are 107/108 to Essex County Coach USA 100 New York City metropolitan transit authority Express buses

As an Angeleno, I think that LA would benefit a lot from this kind of highway transit due to the grid of freeways in LA. It would also probably help out with connecting the hub and spoke format of the trains.

I agree. All it needs to have public transport/train planners to have the ability to think out the square thinking and planning skills in developing more efficient public transport/transit services, specially if the city and/or state has an 'open loop' tap & travel payment/ticket system with good public transport/transit schedule/travel information for all bus, rail, ferry and on-demand ride sharing systems/networks.

I like Brisbane's implementation where they put a busway running alongside the highway. It goes smoothly, faster than the traffic on the highway. There are other routes of buses that actually run on the highway and occasionally those ones get bogged down in traffic during the rush hour so the busway buses actually work better.