Can we address congestion
issues in Metro Vancouver by
creating a transportation
system that makes more
efficient use of our road space?
November 7, 2012
Produced by Dillon Consulting Limited for TransLink
Outline
• Metro Vancouver Congestion
• Transport 2040
• Solutions to Congestion: Public Transit
• Transit Priority Measures and Success Stories
• Transit Priority Bus Lane Network Expansion
Feasibility Study
• High Potential Corridors
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Metro Vancouver Congestion
• Communities
– A recent Service Rationalization Initiative has streamlined
transit service to focus on areas that need it most
– Urban and suburban growth and intensification will
continue to put pressure on the transit system
– Growth of 1.1 million people by 2041 in Metro Vancouver
“Better transportation leads
to better communities.”
Lois Jackson, Metro Vancouver Chair
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Metro Vancouver Congestion
• Environment and Health
– Greenhouse gas emissions
– Adverse health effects (cardiovascular and respiratory
problems)
Changing our transportation choices and behaviours
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will generate
spin-off benefits, including a cleaner environment, a
more globally competitive economy, less congestion,
safer roads, more complete communities and better
health. (Transport 2040)
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Metro Vancouver Congestion
• Infrastructure
– Complete communities
– Frequent Transit Network
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Transport 2040 Goals
1. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are
aggressively reduced, in support of federal, provincial and
regional targets.
2. Most trips are by transit, walking and cycling.
3. The majority of jobs and housing in the region are located
along the Frequent Transit Network (frequent, reliable
services on designated corridors throughout the day, every
day).
4. Travelling in the region is safe, secure, and accessible for
everyone.
5. Economic growth and efficient goods movement are
facilitated through effective management of the transportation
network.
6. Funding for TransLink is stable, sufficient, appropriate and
influences transportation choices.
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Transport 2040 Strategies
• Strategies
– Make early investments that encourage development of
communities designed for transit, cycling and walking
– Optimize use of the Regions’ transportation assets and
keep them in good repair
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
The Solution to Congestion
• Public Transit
– Road space
– Greenhouse gas emissions
– Health benefits
• However, average commuting time by car is 25 min compared
to 48 min by public transit for Vancouver
• “In larger Canadian metropolitan areas, public transit users
were more likely than car users to be dissatisfied with their
commuting times (23% versus 18%). Public transit users’
higher level of dissatisfaction was primarily due to the fact it
took them longer on average than car users to get to work”
Stats Can, Commuting to work: Results of the 2010 General Social Survey
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
TransLink Successes
• Olympic Transportation Legacy Project
– Olympic bus lanes were part of the solution:
• 600,000 people to/from Downtown per day
(45% more than normal)
• 30% reduction in private vehicle traffic in peak hour
• Create an expanded, permanent network of bus priority
lanes and measures to maximize their effectiveness
Source: Inside Vancouver
Source: J. Hood
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Transit Priority
• Benefits:
– Meets Transport 2040 goals
– Addresses congestion
– Improves speed and reliability
– Attracts passengers
Source: BC MOT
• Measures:
– Transit signal priority
– Dedicated bus lanes
– Queue jump lanes
Source: BC MOT
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Transit Priority Success Stories
• Select Bus Service - New York City
• Metro Area Express – Kansas City
• Quality Bus Corridors – Greater Manchester, United
Kingdom
• Santa Clara County BRT – Santa Clara
• Healthline – Cleveland
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Shaping the Community - NYC
• Valuable Green Corridors – Janette Sadik-Kahn,
Commissioner, New York City Department of
Transportation
• Customer Satisfaction – New York City
– Transit signal priority and dedicated bus lanes
– Travel time improved by 17%
– 6% increase in ridership
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Source: PlaNYC, City of New York
Transit Lanes and GPS - Kansas
• Metro Area Express (MAX) in Kansas City
– Global Positioning System technology
– Transit signal priority at 31 intersections
– Exclusive transit lanes
Bus –Only
’ Lanes
Only’
Real-time
information at all stations
– 9 minute peak hour headways
– 20%+ Available
reduction in travel time
Capacity
our ‘Bus Only’ Lanes
Source: National Bus Rapid
Transit Institute
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Quality Bus Corridors - UK
• Important bus routes using:
– Bus lanes
– Signal priority
– Bus ways
– Traffic management
• Results:
– On-time performance improvements
– Faster travel time with less variability
– 19% reduction in collisions
– Public realm improvements
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Impact to Businesses
• Santa Clara County California survey for merchants
along bus rapid transit line
Merchant support of Santa Clara BRT
oppose BRT
3%
are neutral
28%
• Healthline in Cleveland
support BRT
69%
Source: Sasaki.com
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Other Benefits
• Transit time savings have different impacts depending on the
magnitude in minutes per trip/corridor:
 < 2.5 - results in passenger time savings only
 2.5 and 5.0 - results in reduced fleet requirements and
reduced operating costs
 5.0 and 8.5 - affects modal choice (towards transit)
• The relationship between parking
availability and ridership is an
elasticity of -0.77 (e.g. a 10%
decrease in the ratio of parking
spaces per unit of development
would result in an increase of 7.7%
in ridership)
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Source: S. Rees
Transit Priority Research
• The critical parameters to justify bus lane evaluation are the
number of buses in the peak hour and the transit ridership – TCRP 83
• Thresholds:
– Exclusive Bus Lanes - 25 buses/hour during peak
– Transit Signal Priority
• Congested conditions (volume to capacity ratio 0.8 to 1.0)
• Level of Service/ Delay between D and E
• Potential savings:
– 15% reduction in bus travel time
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Bus Lane Network Expansion
Feasibility Study
Four elements were considered:
• Demand
• Impacts
• Costs
• Benefits
Source: BC MOT
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Demand
• Existing
– Examined bus frequencies (bi-directional average of
scheduled buses per hour for AM and PM peaks):
• 15 buses/hour
• 20 buses/hour
• 25 buses/hour
– Transit exchanges
• Future
– Land use/ population growth
• Municipal equity: corridors identified in several areas
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Impacts
• Road right-of-way
• Availability of adjacent alternative corridors
• Prohibition of traffic movements (i.e. turning
movements)
• Decrease in on-street parking
• Perceived impact on commercial uses due to loss of
parking
• Community willingness to support public transport
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Costs
• Implementation Costs:
– TransLink prior work to determine Transit Priority costs
– Regional Transit Priority Plan and Implementation
Strategy report
– Supplemented with research and recent project
experience
Type of Measure
Transit Signal Priority
Bus Lane Paint Delineation
Bus Lane Construction
Overhead Signage for Bus Lanes
Queue Jump within Right Turn Lane
Queue Jump without Right Turn Lane Available
Pavement Marking and Signage
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Cost
$60,000
$30,000
$4.0M
$25,000
$70,000
$260,000
$5,000
Unit
Per signal
Per lane-kilometre
Per lane-kilometre
Per lane-kilometre
Per queue jump
Per queue jump
Per approach
Benefits
• Increased transit mode share
• Fewer resources to provide the same service
• Increased service provided by the same resources
Transit Line Analysis
Variables
Description
A
B - "faster"
C - "farther"
D - "fewer"
D
One way distance (km)
20
20
22.5
20
S
Operating Speed (km/h)
30
34
34
34
t0
Operating time, One-way operating time (in minutes)
40
35
40
35
tt
Minimum terminal time, time spent by each transit unit at
each line terminal (i.e. driver change, driver break, usually
in minutes)
10
10
10
10
T'
Minimum cycle time, round trip time for one cycle
100.0
90.6
99.4
90.6
h
Headway, time interval between 2 successive transit units
passing a fixed point (in minutes)
10
9
10
10
10.0
10.1
9.9
9.1
NTU
November 7, 2012
Fleet Size
TransLink Transit Priority Study
High Potential Transit Corridors
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Travel Time on Corridors
• Time-space diagrams:
Slow bus speeds and areas of variability = opportunities
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Corridor Ranking
• Quantitative
• Qualitative
– Number of ‘Problem Areas’ – Land Use & Area Served
– Length of Corridor
– Streetscape
– Cost & Type of TP Measure – On-Street Parking
– Travel Time Savings
– Alternate Corridors
– Benefit-Cost Ratio
– Corridor Continuity
– Corridor Location in Region
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
Sample Corridor Analysis
Corridor
Transit
priority
corridor
cost
Travel Estimatime
ted
delta
corridor
time
savings
(mins)
Bus
Corridor
frequency benefit
(buses/hr
during
peak)
Benefit/
Cost
Ratio
4
Granville Street
$595,000
3
2
80
$4,020,000
6.8
15
Willingdon Avenue
$305,000
7
2.3
33
$1,905,750
6.2
7
41st Avenue
$966,250
16
5.3
35
$4,620,000
4.8
22
Surrey/White Rock
$240,000
9
1.4
25
$843,750
3.5
16
Willingdon/Second
Narrows
$720,000
7
2.3
35
$2,021,250
2.8
1
Marine Drive
(N.Vancouver)
$420,000
13
1.9
23
$1,110,469
2.6
10
West Richmond
$360,000
15
2.3
15
$843,750
2.3
3
East Hastings Street
$2,610,000
12
5.5
40
$5,520,000
2.1
2
Davie Street
$180,000
3
0.7
21
$354,375
9
SE Marine Drive
(Vancouver)
$728,500
4
1.3
34
$1,122,000
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study
2
1.5
Conclusion
• Transit Priority:
– Leads to more efficient and reliable transit service
– Addresses congestion
– Improves quality of life
– Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
– Enhances our communities
– Benefits our economy and personal lives
November 7, 2012
TransLink Transit Priority Study