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Bus-Only Lanes Needed for Entire Route
RECEIVED Tue., April 24, 2012
Dear Editor,
I’m delighted that Cap Metro is using federal funds to improve bus service [“FTA 'New Start' Funds MetroRapid Buses,” News, April 20]. Using larger buses and having bus-only lanes Downtown is a smart move. I just wish they would use these new buses to their full potential and provide bus-only lanes for the full length of the routes. In Mexico City, buses on a north-south street, Insurgentes Avenue, carry more than 400,000 passengers a day on two bus-only lanes running the length of the city. Admittedly Mexico City is 20 times as big as Austin, but if Austin achieved the same proportion of riders, that would be 20,000 riders a day.
Transit authorities always say that you can’t get people out of their cars. By not providing bus-only lanes for the entire route, they are missing a great opportunity to test that assumption. If you look at a map you’ll see that there are more than 100 north-south traffic lanes between MoPac and Ed Bluestein. Using just two of these lanes to establish efficient bus service doesn’t seem to be asking too much.
I’m delighted that Cap Metro is using federal funds to improve bus service [“FTA 'New Start' Funds MetroRapid Buses,” News, April 20]. Using larger buses and having bus-only lanes Downtown is a smart move. I just wish they would use these new buses to their full potential and provide bus-only lanes for the full length of the routes. In Mexico City, buses on a north-south street, Insurgentes Avenue, carry more than 400,000 passengers a day on two bus-only lanes running the length of the city. Admittedly Mexico City is 20 times as big as Austin, but if Austin achieved the same proportion of riders, that would be 20,000 riders a day.
Transit authorities always say that you can’t get people out of their cars. By not providing bus-only lanes for the entire route, they are missing a great opportunity to test that assumption. If you look at a map you’ll see that there are more than 100 north-south traffic lanes between MoPac and Ed Bluestein. Using just two of these lanes to establish efficient bus service doesn’t seem to be asking too much.
Philip Russell