East Bay Bus Rapid Transit

Next Steps

After collecting community input and working more closely with City staff of Oakland and San Leandro, AC Transit will be conducting preleminary engineering and design over the next year, and will begin construction in 2014. The system should be fully operational by April of  2016.

TransForm will continue to work with the community in facilitating input on final BRT station and vehicle design, parking mitigations, business support strategies during and after construction, and service planning.

BRT UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED AT OAKLAND  AND SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCILS!

At nearly 11PM on Tuesday night, July 17th, the Oakland City Council joined the City Council of San Leandro in  unanimous support of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with dedicated lanes. The route will improve reliability and frequency, and will reduce overall transit time for most of the 1/1R routes by an estimated 30%. BRT will also reduce operations costs, resulting in more service for less funding. The Oakland City Council motion to adopt was made by Councilmember Pat Kernighan and seconded by Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente.

With over 30 organizations in support of the project (see a list below), and dozens of residents showing up to speak, some of the last minute concerns were ensuring that businesses along the corridor would recieve appropriate support during construction and mitigations for loss of parking in certain spots along the corridor, and that the estimated 300 construction jobs would go to as many Oakland residents as possible, given limitations to the application of Oakland's Local Hire policy on Federally funded projects. Some minor ammendments were made by the City Council to the staff recommendation that emphasized AC Transit addressing these issues as the project moves forward.

Some of the most vocal supporters of BRT at the council meeting were the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, Oakland Community Organizations, Walk Oakand Bike Oakland, Causa Justa Just Cause, Youth Uprising, the Sierra Club, the Alameda County Building and Construction Trades Council, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192, ACCE / Riders for Transit Justice, The First UU Church of Oakland's Earth Justice Associates, the National Association of Minority Contractors, Urban Habitat, and the League of Women Voters. Supporters outnumbered opponents by more than 3 to 1. The project would not have passed without the residents and organizations that showed up or spoke out in support last night, and the ongoing, demonstrated support of the additional groups listed below.

Reasons for supporting BRT included sorely needed improvements to the frequency and reliability of the transit service along International Blvd. (routes 1 and 1R), the jobs that the construction of BRT would create, bringing over $150M of investment in public infrastructure, and helping to attract TOD to the corridor. Another popular reason for support was because of the increased lighting and security features that will help reduce crime along the corridor, as well as the improved pedestrian and bicycling facilities that will come with BRT, including improved cross-walks, bike lanes and bike parking.  A small business owner and leader, Aristeo Zambrano of Bay City Alternators also came out in support and in representation of small businesses in the Elmhurst neighborhood district, emphasizing that the corridor is in sore need of investment.

Human Impact Partners did a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the proposed BRT project, and reported that the project would result in an improvement to public health along the corridor for a number of reasons, including improved access, more safety from crime and traffic. The report can be seen on their website.

Oakland's vote came on the heels of the San Leandro City Council adopting the BRT project running in center lanes for buses only along a small portion of the route and "curbside BRT" for a majority of the route along E.14th St. (from the Oakland border) to the San Leandro BART station.

The project is unique in the Bay Area as being the first BRT system to be implemented in a dense, relatively narrow corridor. It will be a game-changer for International Blvd., and will serve as a model to the counry on how to "do more with less".

East Bay BRT is officially / formally supported by over 30 community groups and organizations:

Alameda County Building and Construction Trades Council
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Riders for Transit Justice
Amalgamated Transit Workers Union Local 192
Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
AYPAL
Bay Localize
Causa Justa / Just Cause
Communities for a Better Environment
East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation
East Bay Bicycle Coalition
East Bay Housing Organizations
East Bay Young Democrats
Ella Baker Center
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Oakland's Earth Justice Associates
Genesis (a Gamaliel affiliate)
Greenbelt Alliance
HOPE Collaborative
The League of Women Voters
Movement Generation
National Association of Minority Contractors
Oakland Rising
Oakland Community Organizations
RAMP (Regional Asthma Management and Prevention)
Sierra Club (Northern Alameda County Chapter)
Street Level Health Project
The Rose Foundation / New Voices Are Rising
TransForm
Urban Habitat
Walk Oakland / Bike Oakland (WOBO)
Youth Uprising

Since the release of the DEIR and even in the last few weeks,  the project has changed in the following ways, including THE ADDITION OF TWO NEW STATIONS and the shifting of three proposed station locations to better meet the needs of transit riders and stakeholders along the route:

1.    Reduced scope of the project to stop at 20th St. @ Broadway (parallel bus service can continue to connect North Oakland with 14th St. and maybe even Jack London Square)

2.    Reduced parking impacts with dual-side boarding buses allowing for combined inbound / outbound BRT Stations

3.    Maintaining on-board fare payment for those who have safety concerns over handling money at ticket machines while waiting on platforms

4.    Improving traffic routing on International Blvd. from Fruitvale Ave. with new and improved traffic signals on Fruitvale Ave. and E. 10th St. and at Derby St.  nd E. 12th Sts., which will reduce the amount of traffic on International Blvd. through the Fruitvale District

5.    Adding a BRAND NEW station in the vicinity of 63rd Ave. to reduce distance in station spacing

6. Shifting the proposed BRT station from 65th Ave. to be directly in front of Lockwood-Havenscourt Campus at 67th Ave., improving access and safety with a new pedestrian / traffic signal for students of those schools, and removing the dedicated lane from right there in front of the school to minimize traffic

7. Shifting the proposed BRT station even closer to Allen Temple Arms (at 82nd Avd.) from where the inbound 1/1R station is located now

8.    Creating a new parking lot at 85th Ave. to reduce impacts to parking at Allen Temple Baptist Church on Sundays during church services   

9. Adding a BRAND NEW station at 90th Ave. to reduce distance in station spacing.

10. Shifting the proposed BRT station from 104th Ave. to 103rd Ave. to be closer to Allen Temple Gardens (btwn 101st and 102nd)

11. A commitment to maintain and integrate the existing landscaped median

12. A commitment to repave the entire street, curb to curb

East Bay BRT Passes Through Oakland Public Works Committee!

With 21 ferverent supporters, 4 opponents and one neutral speaker, BRT has just passed through the Oakland Public Works Committee with Councilmembers Nadel, Schaaf and Kaplan in support. Councilmember Larry Reid abstained from the vote. 

Most of the speakers were transit riders who reflected on how sorely needed and long over-due this project is. Two opponents expressed concerns about the impacts of construction on small businesses, and two other opponents (who were also transit riders) were just not confident in the proposed improvements.

Special thanks goes to Oakland's First Unitarian Universalist Church, The Alameda County Building Trades Council, Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO), Oakland Community Organizations (OCO), the East Bay Young Democrats,  New Voices Are Rising, and the National Association for Minority Contractors  for turning folks out!
 

AC Transit Board of Directors Certify East Bay BRT FEIR, Moving the Downtown Oakland to San Leandro (DSOL) Option Forward Toward City Council Approvals!

Transit in Oakland and San Leandro took a huge step towards a much better future on April 25th, thanks to the efforts of its visionary leadership on the AC Transit Board of Directors. With 6 of the 7 Directors present, they unanimously certified the FEIR and adopted the Downtown Oakland to San Leandro alternative for BRT!

Over three dozen speakers came out in support of the plan, and emboldened the AC Transit Board of Directors to vote the way they did. They were also able to see a video advocating for BRT proudly produced by Youth Uprising (which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKUHj9hapaU

This would not have happened without the broad support from youth, labor, environmental, social justice, and environmental justice groups as well as "just regular  residents" who were represented by 45 supporters at the AC Transit Board of Directors meeting on April 25th, 2012..

Many thanks to the 22 groups that have signed on to the coalition letter (see below)  and all the support that has been demonstrated leading up to this point. Their engagement has been paramount to moving such a progressive project forward.

The East Bay BRT project has the HIGHEST rating for a transit project in the nation, according to the FTA. It promises to deliver the most efficiency for the least amount of money spent on transit improvements. Once implemented, Oakland and San Leandro will truly have a world-class transit system. Despite the affordability, it will create over 300 local construction jobs, improve air quality, allow for the purchase of better designed, cleaner vehicles, make streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, while at the same time creating a truly reliable transit system that people can truly depend on to come frequently and reliably.

Bringing Bus Rapid Transit to Life

For the past six years, TransForm has worked in Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro to build community awareness of AC Transit's proposed East Bay Bus Rapid Transit project with the goal of supporting the cities and AC Transit in ensuring that the East Bay gets a model BRT system that delivers world-class transit service and meets the community's needs.

Traveling along Telegraph Avenue, International Boulevard, and East 14th Street, BRT is proposed to reduce current trip times along this corridor by 30%, and will attract over 9,000 new daily passengers.  AC Transit's BRT service will also reduce operating costs while increasing ridership, enabling the transit agency to better support the rest of the system.

Some of the reasons why residents who we have spoken to support BRT are as follows:

AC Transit Releases the Final Environmental Impact Report for their East Bay Bus Rapid Transit Project!

In compliance with CEQA guidelines, AC Transit has worked with community stakeholders to address comments made to them about the East Bay BRT project as defined in the DRAFT Environmental Impact Report, released around this time last year.

The Final Environmental Impact Report (or FEIR) includes a project that runs from Oakland to San Leandro BART, bringing bike lanes, new stations with lower impacts to parking, more landscaped median and other changes that we feel are for the better for local stakeholders, and which reduces the total cost of the project to reflect the funding that is currently available.

AC Transit recently held seven community meetings along the route and will now take the project to the AC Transit Board of Directors and the City Councils of Oakland and San Leandro over the next several weeks, seeking their approval to continue on with the final engineering of the project.

Response to Frequently Asked Questions (BRT FAQ's)

Distance between stops: BRT stations combine local service and Rapid service, and will be spaced 1/3rd of a mile apart, on average;

BRT Stations will be closer together than "1R" stops but spaced further apart than then "1" stops today.  The BRT stations will be located where transfers to other lines happen, and where 90% of current passengers take transit from now. However, about 10% of passengers may need to walk to a different place where a new BRT station will be located nearby. On average BRT stations will be less than 1/3 of a mile apart. If right between two BRT stations, one may need to walk about 1/6th of a mile, equivalant to 880 feet, which is the distance one must walk now to get to City Hall from the currently existing 1/1R bus stop on Broadway between 13th and 14th Streets (see the Google map here: http://g.co/maps/kj4ur)

Curbside BRT:  Some people are calling for "Curbside BRT", which would have BRT lanes running down the side of the street, with BRT stopping at "bulbout stations". This idea was not supported by AC Transit because it has several fatal flaws;

1. Curbside BRT still gets stuck behind double parked-cars, cars making right-hand turns or parallel parking, as the Silver line does in Boston and as BRT gets stuck behind traffic in Santiago Chile, losing much of the time-saving benefits gained by level, all-door boarding. The SFMTA recently decided against this model of BRT on Van Ness for this very reason.

2. Curbside BRT is less safe for passengers and pedestrians. whereas one would be required to cross the full width (at least two lanes of mixed flow traffic) of the street twice to get to any destination and back. Center running BRT, with platforms in the middle of the street require passengers to cross only one lane of mixed flow traffic at a time (at signalized crosswalks, of course) to get to the platforms or pedestrian refuges. It also becomes safter to change direction mid-route, eliminating the need to cross any streets if simply going the other direction (if one misses their stop or decides to reverse direction).

3. Curbside BRT removes the potential for platforms to serve as pedestrian refuges, as tney would in Center-Running BRT, where pedestrians, particularily people who need more time to cross the street, can pause at the BRT platform in the middle of the street and safely wait for the next signal phase before they cross the rest of the street (see graphic attached below)

4. Curbside BRT stations are proposed by some to be 1/2 mile apart (w/ less local service between stations), and would require higher operating costs along the corridor to provide service.

5. Curbside BRT stations would be more narrow in width, making it more difficult for wheelchairs to pass each other on the platforms. Even though the stations would be built parallel to the sidewalk, to be level with the floor of the buses, they would need to be elevated from the sidewalk itself or at a sloped angle that may be difficult to negotiate for people with limited mobility.

Why not use BRT Funding for improvements throughout the system instead?

The funding that has been earmarked for BRT is available for captial projects only. By law, it cannot be used for operations. The funding that  was possibly availble for operations (CMAQ funds) has already been shifted away from the project to reduce service cuts two years ago. If AC Transit does not use this money for BRT, it will lose the great majority of it. Some of it (previous Regional Measure 2 funds) would still be available for operations and maintenance of Rapid Bus lines (like the 1R and the 72R).

Funding Sources

1. Regional Measure 2 (RM-2) – $43.4 million for Construction. RM-2 includes $3 million annually to operate the system.
2. Alameda County Measure B, – $5.5 million for construction.
3. Federal Small Starts – $75 Million (Anticipated).
4. State Transportation Improvement Program – $40.0 Million
5. Federal Section 5309 Bus - $3.1 million for construction
6. AC Transit bus procurement program funds - $4.9 million for vehicles

East Bay BRT Status: City by City

In May 2010, San Leandro and Oakland supported the study of creating dedicated BRT lanes.  This gave the green light for AC Transit to move forward in looking at the impacts and benefits of a full BRT system with dedicated lanes, stations, proof-of-payment system, and other amenities that will greatly improve service along the heavily used 1/1R line.

TransForm applauds Oakland and San Leandro's City Councils for their efforts to help find a way to improve the comfort, safety, frequency, reliability, and affordability of bus service.

Check out the details on the 2010 decisions made in each city:

• Berkeley
• Oakland
• San Leandro

Ongoing Community Planning

TransForm is currently reaching out to community groups, residents, businesses and other stakeholders in an effort to ensure that their concerns about BRT are being addressed by AC Transit by time the final proposal. So far, our efforts have resulted in better parking mitigations, station location, and pedestrian infrastructure improvements.

Additionally, BRT will be the catalyst in the International Blvd. Transit-Oriented Development Plan, which creates more walkable communities along International Blvd.

Resources:

Learn more about the project during this three-minute AC Transit video and at AC Transit's BRT website.

Questions about TransForm's work to shape and win Bus Rapid Transit in the East Bay?  Want to get involved?  Contact Joel Ramos.

You can make TransForm an even stronger advocate in 2013 by donating now.

East Bay BRT illustrations courtesy of FMG Architects and Cambridge Systematics.

Santa Clara County Bus Rapid Transit

A reliable, comfortable, and convenient transportation option is coming to Santa Clara County

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is revolutionizing bus service around the world with its dedicated transit lanes, state-of-the-art buses, and rail-like stations. Now, Bus Rapid Transit is coming to Santa Clara County, with over 30 miles of BRT projects  planned along the Valley's most heavily utilized transit corridors.

TransForm is engaging community leaders and other stakeholders to ensure that BRT in the Valley provides a high quality transportation option while meeting community needs and improving safety for all users, including bicyclists and pedestrians.

For more information and to get involved, contact Chris Lepe.

Benefits Bus Rapid Transit can bring to Santa Clara County 

• Fast and frequent transit service: Each BRT line will operate at a minimum of ten minute frequencies and run at least 30% faster service than local buses. BRT vehicles will have traffic signal priority and dedicated bus lanes in some areas.
• Fewer cars on the road and a lower carbon footprint: Local bus service running along the planned Alum Rock, El Camino, and Stevens Creek BRT corridors already serves one out of every five VTA bus riders, and BRT is expected to result in 40% more transit use along these routes. 4,555 metric tons of greenhouse gases will be removed annually just along the El Camino corridor due to a reduction in over 5,000 vehicles miles traveled per year.
• Safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists: In areas where bus-only lanes are adopted, VTA can include pedestrian improvements such as bulb-outs (sidewalk extensions), additional signalized intersections, and bicycle safety improvements such as painted bike lanes.
• Job creation and access: BRT has been shown to spur economic development and job growth, and VTA estimates that the El Camino Rapid could generate 4,780 jobs if exclusive bus lanes are pursued. Furthermore, BRT will speed up the commute for VTA’s existing transit riders, resulting in greater access to economic opportunity for all, including low-income families and students. 
• Modern and innovative transit facilities: BRT will include more functional transit stations with real-time bus arrival information and ticket vending machines. New low-floor vehicles with diesel-electric hybrid technology will feature wireless internet access and comfortable seating configurations.

What we're doing to shape Bus Rapid Transit in Santa Clara County

• TransForm is engaging businesses, neighborhood groups, and other stakeholders so that VTA's Bus Rapid Transit plans are truly rapid and integrate community preferences and priorities. 
• We are also partnering with pedestrian and bicycle advocates to ensure that BRT plans integrate best practices in bicycle and pedestrian safety and that safe routes to the future BRT stations are planned for and financed. 

Learn more and get engaged

• Learn more about proposed transportation and land use planning efforts underway in Santa Clara County and how you can get involved, including the Alum Rock, El Camino Real, and Stevens Creek Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors.
  • Check out our interactive Google Map to see what's going on in your community.
  • Visit VTA’s Valley Rapid website to find out about upcoming public meetings and additional project information.
  • "Like" our Friends of Silicon Valley BRT Facebook page.
• Contact TransForm's Silicon Valley Community Planner to join other Santa Clara County residents in advocating for rapid transit service that creates vibrant complete-streets for all.