GuestView Why bus rapid transit for the I-287 corridor? BY KATE SLEVIN

GuestView
Why bus rapid transit for the I-287 corridor?
BY KATE SLEVIN

Westchester business leaders and so-called transit advocates like Maureen Morgan should consider the facts before they continue their push for rail as the only transit option that will work in the Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 corridor.

In a May 21 article in the Westchester Business Journal, “TZ conference irks task force,” Morgan called my organization, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, “arrogant” for organizing a symposium on bus rapid transit, saying we are shoving bus rapid transit down people’s throats. It is not the campaign’s mission to support one mode of transit over another. But in the case of the Tappan Zee corridor, facts indicate that bus rapid transit, or “BRT,” may be the right fit for the corridor, even though it is the lesser-known form of mass transit of those being considered. The symposium will explain and discuss this relatively new transit option that might be appropriate for the I-287 corridor. To call us arrogant for doing so is just silly.

Given the I-287 corridor’s suburban land uses, the commuter rail option comes with a host of problems. For example, once riders disembark at stations in Westchester, how will they get to their final destinations? Jitneys into office parks could help, but every transfer reduces the likelihood that a commuter will choose transit service over the convenience of a car. Many of Westchester’s destinations are scattered, making them difficult to walk to. Rail works best when the destination is a dense urban area, like Manhattan, where walking is practical. Development around transit can attract more riders, but not every municipality in Westchester and Rockland is interested in increasing density near future stations. For those who do want transit-oriented development, BRT can offer a variety of station sizes, layouts and designs.

As Marsha Gordon of The Business Council of Westchester County has stated, the goal of transit service is to reduce congestion on the bridge. We agree and offer the data below as some food for thought.

Since the single greatest share of travelers going across the Tappan Zee Bridge in the morning start in Rockland and end in Westchester, the transit service that attracts the most cross-corridor trips will do the most to reduce congestion on the bridge. The analysis of alternatives released by the Tappan Zee environmental review study team last year shows that BRT would attract by far the highest cross-I-287-corridor-transit ridership of any alternative, with 42,000 rides a day across the corridor. Commuter rail would serve 22,400 and light rail would serve somewhere from 22,000 to 28,000.

The study also shows BRT is the cheapest transit alternative. Net cost per rider, which takes into account capital, annual operating costs and potential farebox revenue, is $5 per rider for BRT and $18 per rider for commuter rail.

The estimates make sense because BRT’s flexibility allows it to serve areas with a variety of land uses, whether those are bedroom communities in Rockland County or city blocks in White Plains. Buses can circulate through neighborhoods and office parks and still use bus-only lanes along I-287. BRT systems also require less-expensive tunneling, while commuter rail, given the corridor’s rugged topography, would require complex feats of engineering and miles of tunnels in Westchester.

It’s not surprising business groups have a knee-jerk reaction to buses. For years, bus systems have had an image problem. But BRT systems are different. They have dedicated lanes to speed buses through traffic, technology to tell riders when buses will arrive, and often employ very low emissions and extremely modern buses that provide smooth and comfortable rides. Where it is done well, BRT is equal, or even more successful, in attracting desired development near stations.

Ridership and cost numbers matter because competition for federal transportation dollars, to help pay for transit system construction, is fierce. More and more cities across the country want new transit systems, and they are looking to the federal government for money. The federal government looks at cost per rider as one of its criteria when considering which transit projects to fund, so cheaper projects with many riders are more likely to get funding.

We believe conversations about future transit service for our region cannot take place in a vacuum, separated from realities of cost and feasibility. That is why we have invited a variety of stakeholders to participate in our symposium on June 8. For details, please call us at (212) 268-7474.

Kate Slevin, an urban planner, is associate director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit group that works for more transit, cycling and walking in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

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