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Bus Priority Corridors Ahead of Third BRT Study

Dec. 4, 2012

Dear Council President Berliner:

The Action Committee for Transit is very interested in moving towards a Bus Rapid Transit network for the county. Recently, we learned of County Executive Leggett's proposal to appropriate an additional $1 million to study this. Meanwhile, there are two BRT studies already underway in the county. At this point, ACT believes it would be more cost effective to put funds towards WMATA’s proposed “priority corridors”: a BRT-like service along the highest-ridership routes. We have one example in the very popular limited stop J4 “Metro Extra” between College Park and Bethesda. Another will be the limited stop K9 “Metro Extra” in the New Hampshire Avenue corridor coming online December 31. (DC has implemented 5 priority corridors.)

The two BRT studies already under way are the Planning Board's Countywide Transit Corridor Functional Master Plan and MDOT's county-funded study of BRT on Veirs Mill Road, hence our reservations about undertaking yet another study. The Planning Board study is especially important because it leads up to a decision on whether the future rapid bus network will use existing road lanes or require highway widening. While ACT strongly favors existing lanes, both for cost reasons and to create better, more walkable communities, we also recognize that opinions on this question are far from unanimous. Thus guidance on this key policy question would seem to be essential before additional studies go forward.

Implementing more of WMATA’s “priority corridors” moves us toward our long-term goal, while offering immediate payoff to commuters. Introducing BRT into the suburban superblock environment of Montgomery County requires us to solve many practical questions that are much better resolved through trial and error rather than paper studies. As we see it, implementing some WMATA “priorities corridors”, plus the Veirs Mill BRT study, would accomplish more towards getting the kinks out and providing feedback for the future transformative transit network, than would a third study alongside these two already under way.

Some ACT board members have proposed a means of funding the priority corridors initiative. We respectfully suggest that the County Council write to MDOT and ask the state to reallocate $1 million of state aid currently budgeted for Ride-On and transfer it instead to WMATA with a commitment that it will be used for priority bus corridors in Montgomery County. The Council could then replace the state aid with the $1 million that Mr. Leggett would use for a study. This mechanism can be implemented rapidly and it will bypass the bureaucratic snafus that have delayed direct money transfers from MCDOT to WMATA (such as the Bethesda south entrance).

We look forward to working with the Council and other stakeholders toward the rapid transit system we all desire.


Sincerely,

Tina Slater, President
Action Committee for Transit


Note: For more details on priority corridors see WMATA's Priority Corridor Network Plan which describes these “BRT-like” bus services as “premium bus services that would speed bus travel by eliminating stops, including bus priority traffic treatments, and speeding boarding with low floor buses among other improvements. In addition, this service would be easy to understand due to well marked stops with special branding, improved schedule information, and real-time customer information as well. Additionally, the priority corridors will provide faster service for all routes in the corridor including local buses and community circulators.”