A squib from Jack Bog about Lars Larson and the federal budget ignited a raging debate in the comments to the post about light rail and bus service. The debate came to focus on whether it's faster to take MAX or to drive. One person said that drive time needs to include the time to park the car downtown, and another said that MAX and bus time needs to include the time to walk to and from the train or bus stop. At comment 18, Kai Jones said: "I did a paper on it for a class last spring, and for example on the eastside, actual transit time for MAX from Gresham to downtown was 49 minutes or an average speed of 14.5 mph, and was comparable to a non-express bus route, while car speed on the Banfield during the same years was 27 mph (Oregon Transportation Institute)."
Three comments later, Larry said, "As far as comparing compute times go, I agree that a bus sitting in traffic sucks. But what about the idea of dedicated busways? This way you get the speed you need, without the cost of sinking rails. Another nice benefit is that when 1 bus breaks down, then ALLLLLLL the other busses behind it don't get stuck for hours, as happens with max. And if the routes ever need to change, which can never happen with rail, you can use the busways for normal traffic. Or even for bike paths, for that matter, if that sounds better to Portlanders."
On occasion when Sunset Highway is jam-packed I've parked in the Sunset Transit Center and taken the train downtown. From Cedar Hills to downtown, it's faster to drive if Sunset is not jammed, but it's faster to take the train, and much less stressful, if Sunset is packed solid with cars. Traveiling by bus is always slower, because the bus is subject to the same traffic pressures that slow cars, and has to make frequent stops for passengers.
TriMet is proposing to interweave cars, buses, and trains on Fifth and Sixth Avenues in downtown Portland. Opponents say that this will be dangerous; the cars will get in the way of the buses and trains, and the trains and buses will slow down each other. What if the cars weren't there? Then it occurred to me: the trolley shares the road with cars and the occasional bus. We wouldn't want MAX sharing its track with cars, but what about with buses? Sections of the existing MAX rights-of-way could easily be modified to accommodate buses as well as trains, which the buses could use during peak hours as express lanes. Picture, for example, the MAX track between the Gateway Transit Center and Lloyd Center modified to take buses also, to serve as an express lane during rush hour. The section from 12th Avenue in Hillsboro to the Beaverton Transit Center could also take express buses with the addition of a few traffic lights at the grade crossings. And any future expansions of MAX should provide for shared bus use on suitable portions of the route.
Under my concept, the buses would not stop at the intermediate MAX stations (that's the job of the trains) but would use the lanes to bypass traffic jams. It's an easy way to maximize the use of the train rights-of-way and make the commute faster for bus riders also.
Recent Comments