cybah
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2012
- Messages
- 278
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- 1
I'm really losing track of how this would be different from any old bus. I'm not a huge fan of the SL in general because I think it represents abdication of responsibility on behalf of leaders who didn't have what it takes to build at least light rail. But with something like this, the line becomes totally blurred. Should we change all the Inner Express buses to Silver Lines?
I agree. The lines have become blurred. It's this whole mode change along a line. It needs to be consistent or near 90 % of the entire line. Taking a bus that ran in its own lane for over a mile, then switch to mixed traffic is just.. dumb.
This is why I only support a ROW solution for extending the SL3 beyond Market Basket. It needs to be in its own ROW. Its the only way to really make BRT effective. The minute you switch to non-segregated bus lanes and into mixed traffic, forget it. It becomes a bus.
As far as your light rail comment, I agree to a point. That applies to the SL5 Washington Street. I'm a fan of BRT, but SL5 is just a joke and really is a branded bus and nothing more. And yeah, Light Rail *should* have been used way back when, but you know the T has such a issue with building rail anything.
But as far as the South Boston Transitway, as it has been heavily discussed on here, Light Rail would be nearly impossible without a third harbor tunnel for the tracks. You'd be hard pressed for the FTA to allow light rail in the Ted Williams Tunnel.
I understand how powerful BRT is; but weirdly branding some routes as a "line" and including them deceptively on our rapid-transit map isn't getting serious. We need dedicated rights of way or at least bus lanes, signal priority, the works. I don't care if they're all yellow or all silver or whatever. The whole enterprise is a half-ass job.
BRT actually meets several levels of standards to differentiate it from a bus. Mainly its how the stops & intersections are, and the level of frequency, but if you need a refresher, you can click here.
And yes parts of the Silver Line meet these standards. Mostly SL1,SL2,SL3 as they meet "Gold" Standard. If the SL3 had off fare boarding on the new busway, it would be almost "Silver" standard. (Silver is as high as you can go).