EmX: report shows... "Bus Rapid Transit Systems typically successful when population exceeds 750,000...

Register Guard-- link outdated

A 2003 authoritative report, "Bus Rapid Transit" issued by the Transit Corporate Research Program, which reports on 26 case studies of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, volume 1 and a Guide to Implementation of BRT, volume 2, offers a guide to doing BRT right, or deciding not to do it at all, emphasizes that where and when to build BRT systems must be based on a demonstrated need, and not on preconceptions..

The need for BRT in Eugene could reasonably be questioned. The report by the Transit Cooperative Research Program which was jointly prepared by industry and government, notes, "In the United States and Canada, BRT is typically most successful when the urban population exceeds 750,000 and employment in the central business district is, at a minimum, between 50,000 and 75,000."

Need relates to cost. While 80% of the funding for EmX was supplied by the federal government (taxpayers), it is not likely to shield Eugene/Springfield residents and businesses from the large tax burden for maintaining equipment, infrastructure, and operating costs over the years to come. [businesses and self-employed individuals already pay a yearly LTD tax]
Issues that need to be addressed are problems such as reduced parking, obstruction to pedestrian traffic, and impact on traffic in general.

a little bit of history
The US Department of Transportation's Federal transit administration awarded a $2,297,297 grant to the Lane transit District (LTD) for the design and construction of the EmX Project Springfield Station for the 4 mile corridor between Eugene in downtown Springfield. [MS Excel] --[FTA news and events]--

And finally, why EmX?
According to LTD, the EmX BRT project in part is due to federal and state mandates.

In the early 1990’s, the new federal Clean Air Act amendments and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Equity Act (ISTEA), federal transportation funding legislation, required communities our size to adopt transportation plans that would reduce auto-related air pollution. Given that half of the air pollution in Oregon is auto use-related, the State of Oregon adopted Transportation Planning Rule Goal 12. This law required communities our size to develop and implement a transportation plan that produced no increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 10 years, reduced VMT’s by 10 percent after 20 years, and reduced VMT’s by 20 percent after 30 years. In the 1994 Strategic Plan Retreat, the LTD Board of Directors challenged the District to be far more creative in its efforts to expand bus ridership and respond to the community’s desire to increase alternative travel modes. Historically, the number one reason that people have given for not riding the bus is that they perceive bus riding is too slow, relative to comparable auto trips in our community. BRT allows transit to be directly competitive with auto trips, and maybe even faster in some cases.

in short, another plan to get you out of your car.

A question I would like to put out there is with the EmX expanding to the new hospital in Springfield along Pioneer Parkway, what is going to happen when both buses and cars try to navigate through that crazy and dangerous roundabout in Springfield?
there aren't any traffic lights, that was the whole idea for the roundabout.