Research for the AASHTO Standing Committee on Public Transportation. Task 21. Cost/Benefit Analysis of Converting a Lane for Bus Rapid Transit

Existing freeway systems are at capacity with very little room to expand. Additional freeway lanes are either cost prohibitive or physically not feasible. Without additional freeway capacity, congestion will increase. In some urban areas, e.g., San Francisco, we are in critical dispute with local entities about how to manage our state system. Locals want bus rapid transit (BRT) on state system, even if it means taking a lane. The State, relying on existing design and operations standards, oppose taking a lane, causing strife with partners. To get to increasing people throughput, new criteria is needed for when it is appropriate to take a lane, even if it causes some congestion of vehicles in mixed flow, which is anathema to Caltrans policy. The goal of this of this research is develop a tool to help practitioners analyze the effectiveness and public feasibility of converting an existing lane to a High Occupancy Vehicle Lane or other means of providing increased people throughput. The objectives of this research are to: (1) locate and assemble documented information on best practices; (2) learn what practice has been used for solving or alleviating the problems; and (3) learn what problems remain largely unsolved.

• Record URL:
  http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2470

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $50000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-65, Task

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Chisholm-Smith, Gwen

• Performing Organizations:

  ICF Incorporated LLC

  9300 Lee Highway
  Fairfax, VA  United States  22031
• Principal Investigators:

  Savage, Karen

• Start Date: 20080408
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20090401
• Source Data: RiP Project 18672

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Best practices; Bus lanes; Bus rapid transit; High occupancy vehicle lanes; Highway capacity; Public transit; Traffic congestion
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01464406
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-65, Task
• Files: TRB, RiP, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 3 2013 2:41PM