Express/Rapid Bus

1. Express/Rapid Bus Opportunities for Priority Bus Transit in the Washington Region Sponsored by National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board Chun Wong, PE Transportation Engineer City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation June 24, 2009

2. Project History • Public dissatisfied with slow bus service • Metro average bus speeds have declined by 12% since mid-1980s • LADOT found that 50% of the time a bus is in service it is stopped • Metro and LADOT formed Metro Rapid Program

3. Current Status • A total of 26 Metro Rapid lines fully operational as of Dec. 2008 • Approximately 400 miles of services provided • Average weekday boarding is 250,000 and close to the combined ridership of Metro Rail lines (Red Line, Blue Line, Green Line and Gold Line) • High customer satisfaction Page 3

4. Primary Attributes Expansion Attributes Metro Rapid (BRT) Attributes 1. Frequent Service 2. Transit Priority Systems 3. Headway-based Schedules 4. Simple Route Layout 5. Less Frequent Stops 6. Integrated with Local Bus Service 7. Level Boarding 8. Color-coded Buses and Stations 9. High Capacity Buses 10. Exclusive Lanes 11. Off-vehicle Fare Payment 12. Bus Feeder Network

5. Los Angeles Metro Rapid Page 5

6. Metro Rapid Station Refinement • Lower, flatter canopy • Smaller kiosk to fit on narrow sidewalks • Added seats to integrated lean-bars • Reduced power consumption

8. LADOTTransit Priority Systems (TPS) Street Embedded Bus Sensor Transponder Metro Rapid Bus iTRAQ Transit Priority Manager Transit Graphics Metro Orange Line Mobile Internet Passenger System Passenger Information System

9. Transit Priority Systems • Uses loops and transponders • Reduces bus delay and assists in maintaining bus spacing Page 9

11. Passenger Information • Real-time next bus information at stations • Real-time next bus information over the internet: www.rapidbus.net

12. i Transit Report And Query (iTRAQ) Web Interfaces

13. Less Frequent Stops • Local bus 0.2 miles • Limited stop 0.3 • Metro Rapid 0.7 • Orange Line 1.0 • LRT 1.0

14. Metro Rapid Local Bus Metro Rapid Local Bus Typical Station Locations

15. Local Bus Metro Rapid Metro Rapid Local Bus Typical Station Locations

16. Bus Signal Priority - Wireless

17. Bus Signal Priority - Wireless • Uses an onboard processing unit • Request transmitted via wireless communications technology

18. On-Bus Equipment Processing Unit, GPS & Communications Equipment Typical on-bus processing unit GPS/WLAN roof mount antenna

19. Program is a Success Reduced Passenger Travel Times Wilshire/Whittier Corridor – up to 33% Ventura Corridor – up to 25% Broadway Corridor – up to 35% Vermont Corridor – up to 40% Increased Corridor Ridership Wilshire/Whittier Corridor – 49% increase Ventura Corridor – 45% increase Broadway – 17% increase Vermont – 4% increase Attracted New Riders 1/3 of ridership increase are new riders to public transit Page 19

20. Metro Orange Line October 28, 2005 Over 83,000 people rode the line on opening day Page 20

21. Grade Crossings • 14 mile exclusive ROW • 14 stations • 6 park & ride lots • 8 miles of bike lanes • 80 acres of landscaping Page 21

22. Pedestrian Crossings Four Pedestrian Crossings Page 22

23. Station Layout

24. Orange Line is a Success 25,000 weekday boardings 1/3 of Orange Line customers are new riders to transit 77% of Metro customers who previously drove or carpooled indicated reduced travel times Safety record has improved significantly Page 24

25. The End Email Chun.Wong@lacity.org