The proposal for a bus rapid transit service costing between $45 million and $60 million was released last week by the Oakland-based TransForm, formerly known as the Transportation and Land Use Coalition. The group is making a last-ditch attempt to persuade the BART board not to go to bid with the 3.2-mile long "people mover" rail extension that would connect BART's Coliseum station with the airport.

BART administrators recommend that the board borrow $150 million from the federal government to provide the last piece of public financing needed for BART to proceed to bid.

"We think our report makes a good case that BART should look at bus rapid transit instead of rushing ahead Thursday to commit more than $500 million for a project that will carry far fewer riders at a much higher cost than when it was planned a decade ago," said John Knox White, TransForm's travel choice program director. "We believe rapid bus transit can provide a good service for one-tenth the cost of rail."

So much money would be saved that passengers could ride the bus for free, he said, in contrast to the $6 one-way fare BART proposes for the rail tram.
BART currently charges $3 for the AirBART shuttle buses, which carry some 2,000 passengers to and from the airport.

While many AirBART shuttle users think the current service is good enough, BART officials and others say more people would ride BART to the airport if there was a faster, more reliable and convenient airport connector service.

TransForm said its express bus plan would be much cheaper than rail because the buses would use existing city streets instead of a new elevated travel route.
The large express buses would have extra doors for speedy passenger loading, White said.

For faster travel in traffic, the express buses would be permitted to use right hand-turn lanes along the route, and then zip through intersections. Stoplights would be modified to stay green for the buses. The bus trip would average eight minutes, TransForm said, and a total travel time of 15.5 minutes when the time waiting and walking to the airline terminal is added in. That's on par with the projected tram travel time, he said.

White noted that BART ridership projections for the airport rail tram have dropped along with a nationwide decline in commercial air travel. Seven years ago when the tram environmental report was approved, BART forecast 13,540 daily tram riders in 2020. Now BART forecasts 7,140 daily riders at most in 2020.

BART spokesman Linton Johnson said the elevated rail tram would attract more passengers because it would be more convenient and reliable.

"It (the rapid bus) is cheaper in the short term. No question. But you're still talking about squeezing a bus into traffic, where it can get stuck," Johnson said. "The point about BART is to stay out of traffic."

BART wants to move quickly to bid on the tram to avoid losing $70 million in economic stimulus funds that must be spent soon, he added.

Source: Mercury News

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