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Bus Rapid Transit: The Next Opportunity for TOD

Can bus rapid transit help catalyze development?

Lessons from Shoreline, Washington, Cleveland, Ohio, and Los Angeles, California

2

Is Bus Rapid Transit … Light rail on rubber tires? Express buses in HOT lanes? Bus-only corridors or busways? Buses that, like magic, almost always hit green lights?

BRT vehicles in Las Vegas; Las Vegas RTC

3

Clockwise starting top right: Pittsburgh busways; interior of Orange Line bus, Los Angeles; 95 Express BRT in Broward County, Florida; EmX BRT Line in Eugene-Springfield, Oregon

YES!

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What is BRT? The Technical Definition …

A flexible, high performance rapid transit mode that combines a variety of physical, operating and system elements into a permanently integrated system with a quality image and unique identity.

Federal Transit Administration/National BRT Institute, 2009

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BRT: Like Building an Ice Cream Sundae

Areas Undergoing Innovation• Running ways or corridors• Stations• Vehicles• Fare collection• Intelligent Transportation System

technologies, including Transit Signal Priority

• Service and operations• Branding

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BRT and BRT TOD: The Emerging Opportunity

Light rail plans get the attention BUT metro areas big and small are also planning and building BRT systems BRT systems can go from plan to reality in just a few

years Age of austerity – BRT plans more likely to get built Opportunity to integrate workforce housing and

sustainability Rail TOD – lots of work has been done already BRT and land use? Lots of questions still to be answered