New Britain Herald / The Bristol Press, Wednesday, November 25, 2009

OPINION

Rail v. busway and the political realities of both

By RICHARD STOWE

SPECIAL TO THE HERALD/PRESS

Stowe: Have you been following the New Britain Busway proposal?

Transportation professional: Only somewhat. I know the basics.

Stowe: Is the proposal as designed a good idea?

Transportation professional: From what I've heard it's good, but not great.

Stowe:  Proponents cite estimates of 15,000 daily riders, but that’s only achieved by shifting 10,000 riders from existing buses to the busway!

Do you think New Britain, the 4th most densely populated city in Connecticut behind Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, should have a station stop on New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) rail service?

Transportation professional: There was some talk of that, but I think the bus project has been in the pipe line so long that everyone just wants it done.

Stowe: No doubt about that.  To carry 300 to 400 passengers you need ten buses, or four trains and buses produce twice as many pollutants as commuter rail per passenger-mile.

Transportation professional: I see your point. In theory, I think it would be better if New Britain had a rail station. In practice, I think this bus line has to move forward, if only because it's so behind schedule already. Also, if there bus line were a success, it would be easier to lobby for a rail stop.

Stowe:  The New Britain Busway utilizes the New Britain Secondary in its entirety and the the western half of the Amtrak corridor up to Hartford Union Station.  That’s the corridor needed to make a NHHS stop in New Britain possible.  Otherwise, rail service is limited to the Hartford-Waterbury corridor via Berlin.  The Berlin route is 202 percent longer (4.02 miles) than the New Britain Secondary.

By using the most direct railroad right of way to New Britain for NHHS and Hartford-Waterbury commuter rail service and replacing the busway with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on a corridor utilizing streets parallel to the New Britain-Hartford railroad right of way, boardings at both New Britain and Hartford train stations would increase and so would BRT ridership! 

That’s what Greater Cleveland RTA did with its Euclid Avenue BRT; it runs BRT between two rail stations!

Valley Metro Light Rail in Phoenix doesn’t use any railroad right-of-way; it uses city streets such as Central Avenue.

Transportation professional: What I was thinking was that there's a lot of political pressure to get the bus line done since, and while it would probably be better to have a rail connection, there are a lot of people who fear that if they ditch the bus line for rail, there's always a chance the rail line could get delayed or canceled later on. So I think the debate is between going for a less ideal bus line that's virtually a sure thing in the near future versus going all in for a train line that could take longer and runs the risk of not happening at all. In other words the bus line is lower-risk/lower reward and the rail line would be higher risk/higher reward.

When I spoke about the bus line making it easier for rail, I was thinking that long term, assuming the bus line was successful, they could replace it with rail using the argument that its higher capacity,

Stowe: That's a costly, indirect way to achieve a goal. Wouldn't including New Britain, the largest city (4th largest on NHHS corridor) in tri-state area without rail service, as an NHHS station strengthen the case for the NHHS corridor?

Fewer riders fall within the walkshed (one-third of a mile) of busway stations than at surface street BRT stops.  The busway compensates for that shortfall by providing parking lots at each station!

Transportation professional: I'm thinking about what's politically feasible here as opposed to what makes the most sense. I agree with your take on this issue, I just don't see a clear way through the political obstacles, given the history of the bus line.

Stowe: The busway is projected to cost $61 million per mile, Phoenix Light Rail cost $70 million per mile.  Euclid  Avenue BRT cost $30 million per mile.  The busway is too costly.

Transportation professional: You have a lot of good points on this issue. If you can figure out a way to really sell it, then it might be possible to push for a rail line. I just wouldn't know how to do that.

Stowe:  A 2008 Maricopa Association of Government commuter rail plan concludes that multi-corridor full commuter rail buildout yields the greatest number of passengers per dollar and the lowest operating subsidy.

The opportunity cost of siting the New Britain busway on a strategic rail corridor is clearly unacceptable. 

Mr. Stowe, who has never owned a car, was recently appointed to the Connecticut Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.  He is founder and director of Rail*Trains*Ecology*Cycling, a non-profit advocacy group promoting sustainable modes of transportation.  He may be reached at bike.rail.politics@gmail.com

His essays have appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Examiner, Hartford Courant, Danbury NewsTimes, Greenwich TIme, Stamford Advocate and New Haven Register.