clifton corridor plans announced— it's going to be light rail =[ (Atlanta: appointed, to live)

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JPD

What good would it do to run a bunch of busses on roads that are already congested? That would only make the traffic situation worse.

How about longer multi-segmented buses? Or double-deckers? The number of passengers per square foot of roadway would be far higher than the number of passenger cars required for the same people.

[cabasse]

marta's dept of bus maint total was 65M for 2010. office of railcar maint total was 28M. note that this does not factor in road maintenance.

http://www.itsmarta.com/uploadedFile...BudgetBook.pdf

BRT may theoretically have a higher capacity, but real world evidence shows that rail carries more people - the general public prefers rail over bus.

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by scpatl4now

I think my point about BRT has just been manifest...and so quickly.

you have a good point about express busses being called BRT, but gtcorndog was suggesting regular buses. (neither of the former)

marta's clifton corridor alternative list is for true grade seperated BRT vs the same LRT, but the cost difference is quite close: 988M vs 873M.

[cqholt]

marta's dept of bus maint total was 65M for 2010. office of railcar maint total was 28M. note that this does not factor in road maintenance.

Buses do not last as long as rail cars. Tires need replacing, while steel rail wheels will last longer. Also, Bombardier in Alpharetta are building the downtown streetcars, so why not use LRT and have them built in the Atlanta Metro, adding jobs to the region.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

How about longer multi-segmented buses? Or double-deckers? The number of passengers per square foot of roadway would be far higher than the number of passenger cars required for the same people.

You also have to take stops into consideration. Some bus routes have a LOT of stops, which would bring traffic to even more of a crawl.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by JPD

What good would it do to run a bunch of busses on roads that are already congested? That would only make the traffic situation worse.

How so? If there are truly 5,300 people that will use mass transit, since most people drive one to a car, you're taking 5,300 cars off the road through that corridor. If an typical bus holds about 50 people, you're adding 100 buses. I'd say +100 buses - 5,300 cars = less congestion, wouldn't you?

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by JPD

You also have to take stops into consideration. Some bus routes have a LOT of stops, which would bring traffic to even more of a crawl.

So make it a limited-stop route, with stops only at the 10 or so stations that are proposed for the light rail system.

[cqholt]

The LRT will run along the CSX corridor in an valley thru the area. Not on surface streets.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JPD

You also have to take stops into consideration. Some bus routes have a LOT of stops, which would bring traffic to even more of a crawl.

Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of express buses. Like from the Cumberland Mall to the Perimeter Mall. Still stop and go traffic, but at least a person could read and relax instead of get annoyed at the brake lights.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

How so? If there are truly 5,300 people that will use mass transit, since most people drive one to a car, you're taking 5,300 cars off the road through that corridor. If an typical bus holds about 50 people, you're adding 100 buses. I'd say +100 buses - 5,300 cars = less congestion, wouldn't you?

No, because speed is a factor. 100 cars going 45 mph is faster than 50 cars going 25 mph.

You also have to take into consideration that not everyone who rides a bus (or train) owns a car. So you can't just say each person (or family) on the bus equals one less car on the road. It's not that simple.