Stragglers were still filing into a Hartford conference room last month when a symposium kicked off on newfangled bus systems.
The reason? Some of the attendees had gotten stuck in traffic.
If a common refrain for tardiness at events throughout Connecticut, the Hartford conference hoped to board supporters for bus rapid transit, which urban planners hope can get commuters to leave their cars in the garage ”“ if such routes can actually be established in Connecticut, that is.
Bus rapid transit systems use dedicated lanes to speed vehicles along, giving them priority at traffic signals and forcing riders to pay before they board to ensure the vehicle promptly boards passengers. Vehicles are roomier, and stations include systems to provide updates on bus arrival times as well, a key criterion for commuters.
“Buses for a couple of decades have gotten a pretty bad rap,” said Kate Slevin, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, which sponsored the Hartford symposium. “Rail is a wonderful part of our infrastructure, but we really need buses to supplement it.”
Bus ridership in Connecticut rose 5 percent between 2007 and 2008 to 34 million riders, closing ground with the 38 million riders on Metro-North”™s New Haven line, which was up 3.9 percent during the same period.
Planners hope to improve on that mark in the next economic cycle, in part through incentives to encourage the construction of housing near rail and bus stations; and in part through bus rapid transit systems, which area already in use in New York City, Boston, Cleveland and other cities.
“”˜Bus,”™ in some areas, is a four letter word,” said Joe Calabrese, CEO of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority, which attributes a bus rapid transit system there to helping spur $4 billion in new commercial and residential developments along the route.
The Southwest Regional Planning Agency has studied the feasibility of a bus rapid transit lane for points between Greenwich and Norwalk, and the Connecticut Department of Transportation has applied for federal money to create a 10-mile bus way between Hartford and New Britain, which DOT estimates could carry as many as 15,000 riders daily.
Stamford is creating shuttle bus lanes in its South End to transport workers and residents to and from the city”™s Metro North train station. The planned “jitney” minibuses, however, will not be prioritized at traffic lights.
Some are pressing for Stamford to consider a light rail connection from downtown as far north as the Merritt Parkway, an expensive proposition they think would ultimately pay for itself through increased commercial and residential development.
Toni Boucher, a state senator from Wilton, said that in the most recent business cycle it was difficult to get the state to focus on mass transit, given a booming economy that gave residents ample disposable income. With the state trying to “reintroduce individuals to ”¦ urban centers,” in Boucher”™s words, sophisticated busing systems could be among the most important tools to allowing for growth while limiting sprawl.
That means not just improving bus and rail, but also pedestrian rights of way and bike routes and storage space.
“Connecticut faces enormous transportation challenges, so we need to look at how Connecticut can improve its transit system and use an intermodal approach to getting riders where they need to be,” said Karen Burnaska, the Monroe-based coordinator of Transit for Connecticut, in a written statement. “An affordable, available, and reliable state system is critical to our economic recovery.”
