Comment 116681

By Haveacow (registered) | Posted March 01, 2016 at 09:13:49

Although the article is essentially correct, Waterloo's BRT is really a "BRT Lite System". This is a phenomena that has taken over much of the BRT planning in North America. Where it is really an express bus that has been given a marketing name and really nice high tech bus stops, spaced further apart than the normal stops on the route. They might have a few of BRT other features as well. Unfortunately, the system's actual capacity is also very "lite" compared to true BRT. In K-W its given names such as "Adaptive Bus Rapid Transit" where there might be a bus lane here or there as well as a few signal controlled intersections. But not a truly segregated right of way with designs that actually facilitate true BRT capacity and BRT service. Its professionally frustrating to see these so called "BRT Lite" systems called BRT because it makes proposing real BRT, that much more difficult. It's one thing for a politician to call them a bus system that runs like an inexpensive LRT line but if your transit experts start saying that, more than once and truly believe it, run for the hills! True BRT is a very different animal than LRT and can do things that most LRT systems simply just can't do. Also, BRT should not operate like a railway most of the time if you want it to succeed. The illusion that BRT and LRT look similar and therefore operate similarly, is just that, an illusion. Anyway my rant is finished now, have a great day!

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