What is BRT?
BRT uses recent technological advances to significantly increase
the speed and convenience of bus service. These features often
include:
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Dedicated bus lanes
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Priority at traffic signals
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Pre-paid ticketing
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Boarding platforms
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Fewer stops
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Real-time bus arrival information
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Safer and more comfortable stops
For more information on BRT in general, please see our report,
Revolutionizing Bay Area Transit…on a
Budget: Creating a state-of-the-art rapid bus network.
A BRT system for the Bay Area
TALC has proposed a BRT network for the Bay Area as the
fastest, lowest-cost way to improve the speed and quality of
public transit in our region. For details on our vision, read our
report,
Revolutionizing Bay Area Transit…on a
Budget: Creating a state-of-the-art rapid bus network.
BRT – Coming soon to the East Bay
One of the first of the proposed BRT lines is
currently being planned for the East Bay. It will
bring much faster, more frequent, and more
convenient bus service to the corridor running
from Bayfair BART in San Leandro, up East 14th
Street, along International Boulevard, through
downtown Oakland, up Telegraph Avenue, and into
downtown Berkeley. With grants from the Evelyn and
Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and the East Bay Community
Foundation, TALC is working with the East Oakland
community to make sure residents are fully
informed about the new BRT line and are able to
help shape it to fit their needs.
BRT is coming to
East Oakland
BRT means much faster buses and
superior service all along International Boulevard. BRT will
give East Oakland communities access to more jobs, schools,
health care, shopping and services, opening up new
opportunities! The proposed BRT line would run from Bayfair BART
in San Leandro, up East 14th Street, along International
Boulevard, through downtown Oakland, up Telegraph Avenue, and
into downtown Berkeley.
Right now, TALC is helping to
inform the East Oakland community about this new BRT line.
There are important opportunities coming up for community members
and stakeholders to
help shape BRT in East
Oakland. There are also
important questions that still need to be answered about how the BRT
will work. To help shape the future of BRT and of your
neighborhood, please see the Get involved! section below.
According to AC Transit, the proposed BRT
line will improve current bus service with many of the following
features:
- giving the
bus its own traffic lane so it can run faster
- giving it
priority at traffic signals so it doesn’t get stuck
waiting for red lights
- providing
real-time information to riders about when the next bus
is coming
- increasing the frequency of buses to dramatically
reduce waiting times
- building
state-of-the-art bus stations to enhance safety and
comfort
- selling
tickets in advance at bus stops, which will reduce the time
the bus spends at each stop
In the end, East Oakland’s BRT systems will run just as quickly,
conveniently, and comfortably as a light rail line, but it will
be in place a great deal sooner and at a fraction of the cost.
For more details on BRT in East Oakland,
read our brochure and
list of frequently asked questions.
Get Involved!
Do you want to help shape the future of BRT and your
neighborhood? If so, please join with TALC and get involved
in our East Oakland BRT campaign!
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Sign up to be notified of important developments in the
BRT planning process, including official public comment
meetings where you can share your opinions directly with
those planning the project.
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Have a TALC staff person make a presentation on BRT at
your organization’s next meeting.
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Tell us what you think! Contact us to discuss changes
you would like to see, or concerns you have about BRT in East
Oakland.
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Receive materials to distribute to your community or
organization, or have a TALC staff member table at events.
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Sign on to the
endorsement statement. Your endorsement
will help us lobby local, state, and federal transportation
agencies to fully fund the East Oakland BRT corridor.
For all these ways of getting involved, please contact Joel
Ramos at
brt@transcoalition.org
or (510)
740-3150.
Over the next year or so, BRT supporters must also find the
remaining funding needed to complete the $350 million project. In
2003, TALC worked with East Oakland community groups to build
support for BRT and for Regional Measure 2, which set aside $65
million to fund BRT in the East Bay. Regional Measure 2, along
with $23 million from Alameda County’s Measure B, has allowed AC
Transit to proceed with the planning for this new line and to
prepare the Environmental Impact Report. More funds are still
needed.
Get Informed!
Other BRT projects around the country:
Miami-Dade, Florida
Orlando,
Florida
Los Angeles, California:
BRT,
Metro Rapid,
San Francisco, California (Geary
Blvd.)
Eugene, Oregon
Questions?
Please contact TALC
for more information,
brt@transcoalition.org or (510) 740-3150 |
