Bridj

[Matthew]

Seems that Bridj opened up a new route from Allston -> Copley -> Financial District -> Seaport.

I actually heard this from a neighbor first, someone who started using it. So much for the twitters.

He said the ridership has varied from like 6 people to 20 people sometimes.

They made some deal with the T to use the bus stop. They can sit there for 3 minutes and then they have to leave. Before that they circle around thru a parking lot or something.

 

[cden4]

Bridj could end up being a great pilot bus route program for the T. If Bridj tries a route and it does well, the T could create that route the next time it has some money for extra buses.

 

[Shepard]

I don't see what's so "innovative" about Bridj? Private minibuses plying high-demand commuter routes are standard in places like sub-Saharan African cities, Brazilian cities, etc.

Is it the WiFi? Or the fact that they have a twitter account?

Not saying that Bridj doesn't provide a useful service, but I'm tired of the hackneyed trope that every new business serving a millennial crowd needs to be a "tech company"... even if it isn't.

 

[Finn]

I don't see what's so "innovative" about Bridj? Private minibuses plying high-demand commuter routes are standard in places like sub-Saharan African cities, Brazilian cities, etc.

Because instead of operating at a thin, profitable margin, they operate at a big venture-funded loss?

 

[MBTAddict]

I think it's that none of the routes are technically fixed - they want to be able to respond to demand.

 

[Matthew]

Totally agree Shepard. It's jitney service. Welcome to the state-of-the-art in transit, 1850s-style.

To be fair, the Bridj blog seems to have an article or two about jitneys. They're not completely unaware. Their relentless use of the word "innovation" seems to be just marketing-speak.

 

[HenryAlan]

I don't see what's so "innovative" about Bridj? Private minibuses plying high-demand commuter routes are standard in places like sub-Saharan African cities, Brazilian cities, etc.

Is it the WiFi? Or the fact that they have a twitter account?

Not saying that Bridj doesn't provide a useful service, but I'm tired of the hackneyed trope that every new business serving a millennial crowd needs to be a "tech company"... even if it isn't.

Well, you know, they use BIG DATA!!!! So far, this has resulted in fairly obvious routings. I suspect you are right about WiFi and Twitter, along with the data analysis claims. They are an old fashioned jitney service with some new fangled marketing tactics.

 

[winstonoboogie]

Well, you know, they use BIG DATA!!!! So far, this has resulted in fairly obvious routings. I suspect you are right about WiFi and Twitter, along with the data analysis claims. They are an old fashioned jitney service with some new fangled marketing tactics.

They seem to think the jitney/bus regulations shouldn't apply to them, even though the services they are running so far are fixed routes, with designated stops, charging a fare.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/b...n=Feed:+bizj_boston+(Boston+Business+Journal)

 

[JohnAKeith]

Early returns show a lack of enthusiasm on the part of one rider.

Bridgj began its South Boston to LMA route this past Monday. The service would probably make sense for you if you live at Dorchester Street and Broadway and work at 355 Longwood Ave. Otherwise, you're better off taking the #9 and the #39.

It starts across from Magoo's Pizza at Dorchester Street and Broadway, goes up Dorchester Street to West First, hooks a left, goes down to D Street, turns right, goes all the way to Seaport Boulevard, hooks a left, makes two stops (200 Seaport Boulevard (WTC) and 368 Congress Street), then goes down Congress, turns right on Atlantic Ave, left on Pearl to 100 Pearl St stop, up to 28 State Street, stops, then goes up State Street to Tremont Street (at Government Center), then right on Park Street up to Beacon Street, turns left, then goes down Beacon Street to Clarendon Street, right onto St James and then Huntington Ave up to Longwood Ave, hooks a right.

For my buddy, it's ridiculous, because he has to walk 16 minutes from 407 D Street up to Dorchester St, then the bus comes back down here, drives right by our apartment, then spends 40 minutes navigating downtown traffic, then goes up Huntington Ave right past his office at the Museum of Fine Arts and then on to LMA. No, they won't let you get on and off wherever you like, at least not yet.

There is free wi-fi, but it wasn't working the first 2 days. Terry didn't use it yesterday or today even though he bought a weekly pass. They apparently had a bit of trouble yesterday (don't know what) so they rebated everyone $6 for the trouble.

I don't know. What do you think? I was under the impression that eventually the routes will go closer to your start and destination points, but I don't see that happening.

The trip took Terry an hour and 20 minutes from door to door; the trip itself took 40 minutes. Usually, door to door, it's 45 minutes.

Yes, you have a dedicate seat. Yes, you have free wi-fi. Yes, no one smells.

Worth it?

 

[Shepard]

That's frustrating, because there's such a simple direct route: Depart --> Dorchester -->Southampton --> Melnea Cass-->Tremont/Columbus --> Tremont Mission Hill --> Arrive

 

[dwash59]

Interesting that Bridj has essentially been underselling the T ($70/month vs. $75/month for a Link Pass)

http://www.betaboston.com/news/2015/12/15/boston-bus-operator-bridj-drops-its-monthly-pass-option/

I was surprised at the number of full buses I would see; I am now less surprised.

Obviously, you could get more out of a monthly T pass than monthly Bridj, but I always assumed commuting on Bridj was 2x commuting on the T; for people who only use transit for commuting, Bridj gave both a more direct route and was less expensive.

 

[whighlander]

Don't be surprised if in 5 to 10 years a ZipCar like all-electric car arrives just after you call it with their ap

You open the door with your phone get inside

Plug in your chipcard, or scan, or, something to take control and pay for the service [per trip or per mile or per min?]

Drive it to your destination

Get out lock the door and go to your meeting, appointment, home, etc.

The car then drives off to the next connection

Stopping to recharge like a Roomba when its low on juice and a juice port is nearby and there are no paying passengers on board

 

[dwash59]

What whighlander describes is what many expect from Uber in the future due to their raiding of the Carnegie-Mellon autonomous driving research team.

Interestingly, Uber is currently experimenting with Bridj's current model of fixed routes on a fixed schedule in a larger vehicle with per passenger pricing. It is being labelled UberHop and has launched in Seattle and Toronto over the last week.

http://newsroom.uber.com/seattle/2015/12/meet-uberhop-a-new-way-to-commute/

http://newsroom.uber.com/toronto/2015/12/meet-uberhop/

Kind of the opposite of on-demand, door-to-door service at the moment.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Don't be surprised if in 5 to 10 years a ZipCar like all-electric car arrives just after you call it with their ap

You open the door with your phone get inside

Plug in your chipcard, or scan, or, something to take control and pay for the service [per trip or per mile or per min?]

Drive it to your destination

Get out lock the door and go to your meeting, appointment, home, etc.

The car then drives off to the next connection

Stopping to recharge like a Roomba when its low on juice and a juice port is nearby and there are no paying passengers on board

Driverless cars that pick you up so you can drive them has as much relevance to a private bus service like Bridj as a sequence of random pictures of Christmas pies.

Here...let's begin:

Now don't we all feel infinitely better-educated about the sharing economy's impact on inner-city transit?

 

[whighlander]

Driverless cars that pick you up so you can drive them has as much relevance to a private bus service like Bridj as a sequence of random pictures of Christmas pies.

Here...let's begin:


Now don't we all feel infinitely better-educated about the sharing economy's impact on inner-city transit?

F-line --nice pies

In the spirit of the season -- I only suggest that you do a little research whose scope carries beyond the arrival of electric propulsion of what were essentially horse drawn cars rolling on rails that were set on the mud of the 19th Century roads

We've move on and Computers and Communications will revolutionize transportation the same way they have warehouses and product distrubution -- for many applications fixed routes are passe

As a hint [perhaps the plum in the pudding] you might Google [Kiva Systems now part of Amazon]

 

[citylover94]

The whole point of mass transit is that it allows for large numbers of people heading to the same general area to all get there quickly and efficiently with limited congestion and the system you mentioned above does not come anywhere close to being able to achieve that. Bridj doesn't even achieve that as effectively as actual public transit but it does a little better job.

I think driverless subways, light rail, and buses are the bigger thing to focus on than a newfangled version of PRT using self driving cars.

 

[fattony]

The whole point of mass transit is that it allows for large numbers of people heading to the same general area to all get there quickly and efficiently with limited congestion and the system you mentioned above does not come anywhere close to being able to achieve that. Bridj doesn't even achieve that as effectively as actual public transit but it does a little better job.

I think driverless subways, light rail, and buses are the bigger thing to focus on than a newfangled version of PRT using self driving cars.

Largely agreed. Non-privately owned self-driving cars are more akin to taxis than to public transit. They will play an essential role in our transportation network someday, but they are in no way a replacement for mass transit.

They aren't as stupid as PRT schemes though. Driverless cars will use existing infrastructure. And assuming they become less expensive than a conventional taxi w/ driver, they will take a larger mode share than taxis do today and will make a car-free lifestyle easier to maintain in areas with poorer transit service (compared to what is possible today).

Bringing this all back to Bridj - the only reason Bridj exists is because of poor/slow transit planning and implementation. If there is demand for express routing between areas that are dense enough to support such a route, there is no reason for public transit not to provide it. Even before Bridj, we've had private shuttles serving Kendall, LMA, and the Seaport. Why not the MBTA?

If it weren't for the long-term existence of so many private shuttles, I would say Bridj's days are numbered. It is a service that shouldn't work at all. In cities with better buses (e.g. Chicago) I think Bridj falls flat.

 

[CantabAmager]

Bringing this all back to Bridj - the only reason Bridj exists is because of poor/slow transit planning and implementation. If there is demand for express routing between areas that are dense enough to support such a route, there is no reason for public transit not to provide it. Even before Bridj, we've had private shuttles serving Kendall, LMA, and the Seaport. Why not the MBTA?

If it weren't for the long-term existence of so many private shuttles, I would say Bridj's days are numbered. It is a service that shouldn't work at all. In cities with better buses (e.g. Chicago) I think Bridj falls flat.

For the sake of debate, I'll offer a different spin on it. The MBTA cannot serve every single travel pattern, even in cases where there's is a substantial amount of suppressed trips. The 66, the 47, the 70, the 86 - all cater to varying travel pattern overlays, they'll never be able to offer the targeted service Bridj can. Bridj cannot compete with mass transit writ-large or rapid transit, but it does have an advantage in these more narrow trips.

And that's a good thing I think. There's this annoying habit in a lot of the techblogs, tech media, and even in more well-rounded outlets (looking at you Atlantic) of latching on to that "disruptive" moniker - disrupt the old inefficient industry yatta yatta - or latching on to the notion that these transit upstarts are in competition with traditional transit authorities. I've seen no factual evidence of that, however; ridesharing apps have made a deeper market penetration in Boston than any other major American metro and yet the core rapid transit services and the core bus routes aren't hurting (yet, granted).

I think Bridj might actually end up being a useful compliment to the system. People that take Bridj are just trying to get from A to B according to various metrics (convenience, comfort, speed, whatever), who's to say that they're trading the MBTA for Bridj, who's to say that they'd make the trip at all without Bridj as a service. If Bridj is tapping into formerly car-based discretionary riders and tapping into suppressed trips, that's a win in my book. It's not a win at the expense of the MBTA - shit, if the MBTA plays it's cards right that can make use of the formerly suppressed trips that Bridj is rustling up.

We need data I guess to make a full comparison. But I'm wouldn't be so quick to say that the MBTA needs to respond in a competitive manner - hell, why not Bridj do the heavy-lifting and see what can be gleaned from their work.

 

[dwash59]

As a hint [perhaps the plum in the pudding] you might Google [Kiva Systems now part of Amazon]

What similarities are there between Kiva Systems and personalized transit beyond extremely superficial similarities like optimization and solving integer linear programming problems for scheduling? Honestly, there aren't any similarities beyond the similarities between Kiva Systems and a cellular network. I would actually argue Kiva shares more similarities with a cellular network than with any personalized transit operating on existing roads.

 

[JeffDowntown]

What similarities are there between Kiva Systems and personalized transit beyond extremely superficial similarities like optimization and solving integer linear programming problems for scheduling? Honestly, there aren't any similarities beyond the similarities between Kiva Systems and a cellular network. I would actually argue Kiva shares more similarities with a cellular network than with any personalized transit operating on existing roads.

Kiva Systems robots operate in a total "walled garden". Safe inside a warehouse, with people segregated from the allowed robot pathways.

Their capabilities are nowhere close to the safety systems required for open road operations in mixed vehicle, people, bike traffic.