Detachable Grip High Speed Gondola for Vancouver

Vancouver's TransLink is studying the feasibility of a high speed detachable grip gondola from Production Way - University SkyTrain station to Burnaby Mountain to improve transit reliability, travel times, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed Burnaby Mountain Gondola Transit Project would serve SFU students, faculty and staff, residents and businesses of UniverCity, and visitors.

A planning study (which includes a business case) is being completed to determine the costs and benefits of the project and identify whether proceeding with detailed planning and procurement is justified. The planning study will be completed in the summer of 2011.

The latest project information can be found in the Burnaby Mountain Gondola Document Library.

Chicago's I-55 corridor gets "bus-on-shoulder" program to spur transit times

August 11, 2011 - Orland Park, IL – Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation creating a “bus on shoulder” pilot program through Chicago's I-55 corridor to improve public transportation transit times.

The new law, sponsored by State Rep. Bob Rita (D-Blue Island), will permit public transit buses, operated under the authority of the Rapid Transportation Authority and Pace, to ride on a designated roadway shoulders at locations and times by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“This program aims to create a quicker and safer public transportation system,” Rita said. “By allowing transit buses to ride on a roadway shoulder in specifically designated areas we can help commuters reach their destinations both swiftly and securely.”

Under Rita’s measure, IDOT along with the RTA, Pace and the Illinois State Police will establish the five-year pilot program. Additionally, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority will also input for highways under its jurisdiction.

“Idling buses waste commuters time and money and waste taxpayer money on fuel,” Rita said. “This program changes that by allowing transit buses to safely and swiftly ride on roadway shoulders.”

The expressway shoulders will only be available when traffic is slower than 35 mph. Buses will be restricted to traveling no more than 15 mph over the top traffic speed in the mainline lanes, never greater than 35 mph.

The new law requires IDOT to issue a report to the Illinois General Assembly on the effectiveness of the pilot program after two years of operation.

New Research on Bus Use of Highway Shoulders

Major cities across the nation experience severe traffic congestion. New ideas are needed to safely move more people using existing resources. Many severely congested roads have 10- to 12-foot wide shoulders that could be used by transit buses to bypass the congestion with little or no infrastructure improvements. The operation of buses on shoulders (BOS) is necessary because of the limited right-of-way and the high costs associated with creating new infrastructure. BOS concepts could also be applied to planning new infrastructure.

Buses traveling on shoulders can deliver a consistently reliable schedule to passengers, regardless of the traffic conditions along the route. Transit agencies could use shoulders for service, such as bus rapid transit, express, or fixed routes, along certain congested roads. Experience has provided encouraging results. On congested roads, BOS can support cost-effective multimodal transportation choices, improve bus schedule reliability, potentially reduce operational costs, and attract more automobile drivers to buses. 

Questions asked by agencies regarding the potential introduction of BOS systems include 

•  What are the quantitative ridership benefits associated with BOS and how can project design maximize these benefits?
•  What are the quantitative bus running-time and reliability benefits resulting from BOS operations?
•  What is the safety history of BOS operations and how might the design of BOS applications minimize safety risks?
•  How have BOS systems employed multi-agency teams to plan, design, and implement projects?
•  How were the BOS projects championed? What are the legislative or regulatory frameworks? Has there been federal involvement? Was enabling legislation required, or statutes?

Research is needed to assist in answering these questions and others associated with BOS systems.

The objective of this research is to develop a decision-making guide for operational planning and functional design of BOS operations on heavily congested roads. The primary focus of this research is to develop recommended measures to safely move more people through congested roads. In addition, the research will (1) identify conditions under which shoulders can be used for bus travel, including design and operational criteria; (2) identify the advantages and disadvantages and the cost/benefit potential of BOS operations programs; and (3) identify procedures and strategies that may be used by various stakeholders (such as state and local transportation and transit agencies) to successfully implement a BOS project. This research will build on the information presented in the draft final report for TCRP Synthesis Topic SD-03, Bus Bypass Use of Shoulders (anticipated to be published in May 2006 as TCRP Synthesis 64, Bus Use of Shoulders), which summarizes existing practice on the use of roadway shoulders by transit buses to bypass traffic congestion.

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Commuter Rail: Balancing Freight Clearance with Level Boarding and ADA Accessibility Requirements

Freight locomotives pass 23 inch RiverLINE platforms with no problems

Federal regulators and passenger railways are both concerned about passengers with mobility impairments that limit their abilities to use stairways. Toward that end, federal policy and railway practice strongly encourages developing services that allow for level boarding and alighting from commuter rail trains without using stairways.Beyond benefiting individuals that have trouble using stairs, level boarding can also lead to significant improvements in service delivery for the rest of the public by reducing unproductive station dwell times, improving safety and creating opportunities improve crew efficiency
.

One principal obstacle to level boarding has been the concerns of freight railroads that operate over (and often own) trackage shared with the passenger trains. The freight operators wish to maintain a full horizontal clearance envelope allowing unrestricted operations. These concerns often limit the close door/platform interface necessary for level boarding.

This paper summarizes current FTA policy on level boarding, discusses the benefits of level boarding, reviews the tension between freight clearance concerns and level boarding and reviews the state of the practice in serving passengers with mobility impairments. Based on the industry review, it highlights three innovations that have been implemented or considered to expand the scope of level boarding among North American commuter railroads. Finally it provides recommendations for further research.

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