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ColumbusLocalNews.com wrote
COTA considers bendy buses to cope with busier routes
By KATHLEEN L. RADCLIFF
Published: Monday, July 21, 2008
As gas prices continue to climb, more Central Ohio residents are using the Central Ohio Transit Authority to get from point A to point B. Ridership is up 8 percent for 2008, resulting in some of the transit authority’s busiest routes — No. 1 Cleveland Avenue, No. 2 High Street and No. 10 Broad Street — experiencing overcrowding, and, in some instances, being forced to leave passengers behind.
To help alleviate the problem, COTA officials looked to Ohio’s lakeshore. Representatives from the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority drove one of its newest fleet acquisitions — a 62-foot hybrid articulated bus — giving COTA employees and officials a test ride Thursday, July 17.
Articulated buses are also known as bendy buses, accordion buses or jointed buses, said Dan Liggett, COTA media and public relations manager . In order for these longer buses to safely navigate streets, they are fitted with an extra pair of wheels and a flexible joint, usually located slightly behind the midpoint of the bus.
Comments
- itinerantfoodie: Not one mention of Huntington Park or their sparse advertising. (Seriously
- Liz Samuelson: Why can't they just pay someone to do it versus a contest? I really like t
- RichLauro: Awesome! Good for Justin and best wishes!!
- Liz Samuelson: @jpizzow – Thank you for the compliment, yes lots of potential and lots o
- Taz Devil: Oh, and it should be finished soon considering that they work late into the
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COTA considers bendy buses for busier routes
By: Walker
Related Posts:
1 Bendy Bus vs 2 Regular Buses
- Both have a capacity of 120 people
- One bendy bus costs a little bit less than 2 regular buses
- Bendy requires only one driver, which means lower operating costs and staffing required to haul more people
They may not be a giant leap forward, but it sounds like the minor improvements could send some waves through the rest of the system as it would free up staff, money, and resources to grow other routes.
I endorse the bendy buses. ;)
I like saying “bendy buses.”
- Both have a capacity of 120 people
- One bendy bus costs a little bit less than 2 regular buses
- Bendy requires only one driver, which means lower operating costs and staffing required to haul more people
They may not be a giant leap forward, but it sounds like the minor improvements could send some waves through the rest of the system as it would free up staff, money, and resources to grow other routes.
I endorse the bendy buses. ;)
Don’t forget the new bendy buses (if I am remembering the radio report I heard about them correctly) get 5mpg for 120 people (600 rider miles/gal) vs 4 mpg for 60 people (240 rider miles/gal).
Significant improvement IF fully loaded.
The value of “bendy buses” is that you can aim them at the heaviest ridership routes and free up individual buses for the secondary and feeder routes. If you’ve ever seen two #2′s following each other on High Street, you see the logic in replacing them with one bendy bus.[/b]
Ahem. I have. I talked about looking into upgrading the bus fleet in Columbus in the original “streetcar” thread. The busses pictured above are part of the rapid transit system in Bogata.
This is an example of a “bendy bus” that they are using in Asia:![]()
http://www.transitoptions.com/bus/images/max_at_night.jpg
Also, these busses do not have to run on diesel; they can be converted to natural gas or biofuels.
Maybe they can’t get Columbus behind starting a streetcar system, but a major overhaul of COTA would be more than welcomed.
This is an example of a “bendy bus” that they are using in Asia:![]()
http://www.transitoptions.com/bus/images/max_at_night.jpg
That’s Las Vegas.
a) If I saw a big bus, I almost always would get a seat.
b) It was fun to sit in the middle, because it’s like sitting on a merry-go-round when you go around turns!
I was just about to post the same exact thing.
I was already planning on trying to ride one in a few days when I’m in Chicago.
Advice if they ever get these in Columbus though, the seats in the bendy part are not nearly as fun when you are drunk as compared to when you are sober.
This is an example of a “bendy bus” that they are using in Asia:![]()
http://www.transitoptions.com/bus/images/max_at_night.jpg
That’s Las Vegas.
more info on las vegas’ max bus rapid transit here:
http://www.nbrti.org/media/evaluations/Las_vegas_final_report.pdf
I have a feeling that if these buses come into service and are successful, then the public may see these as a much cheaper alternative to streetcars. Its just my opinion, but I see these buses as a replacement rather than a stepping stone to streetcars. That being said, maybe increased ridership on these buses could lead to a push for commuter rail, which obviously can’t be so easily substituted by these sorts of busways for a number of reasons.
This is an example of a “bendy bus” that they are using in Asia:![]()
http://www.transitoptions.com/bus/images/max_at_night.jpg
That’s Las Vegas.
Whoa! :oops: My very, very bad. I made an assumption about an unlabeled photo.
But even better! If city council can find examples of modernized bus rapid transit here in the U.S., rather than just Europe and Asia, they’ll have an easier time selling it to the voters.
I’d think they would be more in competition with regional Light Rail systems rather than Streetcars.
Streetcars are intended to serve smaller routes (2 to 5 miles) on shared Street lanes.
Bus-Rapid-Transit uses dedicated lanes for right-of-way (similar to most light rail routes) to move people further distances.
I’d be interested to see some information about funding for BRT systems. I can’t imagine it could be too inexpensive to create dedicated road/highway lanes (good luck getting people to want to give up an existing highway lane around here) compared to using existing and underused rail lines for Light Rail.
If we are to get these I expect 2 things:
1) Ultra Modern design with comfortable interior
2) Must run on an alternative form of energy other than regular gas
If these two things are met, I could see ridership go up and these being a success story; but I never see these as being a complete substitute for streetcars/light rail.
I’d think they would be more in competition with regional Light Rail systems rather than Streetcars.
Streetcars are intended to serve smaller routes (2 to 5 miles) on shared Street lanes.
Bus-Rapid-Transit uses dedicated lanes for right-of-way (similar to most light rail routes) to move people further distances.
I’d be interested to see some information about funding for BRT systems. I can’t imagine it could be too inexpensive to create dedicated road/highway lanes (good luck getting people to want to give up an existing highway lane around here) compared to using existing and underused rail lines for Light Rail.
BRT comes in many shapes, sizes, and costs. The cheapest systems – usually just with upgrades for vehicles, stations, and signal priority – can be as low as $2-3 million per mile.
The FTA has a “small starts” program for projects under $30 Million that is simpler than the “new starts” program. You can basically tailor the scope of your project to be less than $30 Million and avoid a lot of hassle.
We should be following the KC model. KC also voted down light rail, and then started building MAX as an alternative to light rail. Travel times are down and ridership is way up. They are now looking at light rail as well as multiple MAX lines.
http://www.kcata.org/maps_schedules/max/
ٍSo that´s why Euclid was all torn up. You do have development like the Avenue District going up in the downtown core.
Maybe with gas prices reaching new highs buses will have more pull in attracting development, assuming they’re well-implemented. Still hard to beat rail though. Keep in mind that this 4 mile BRT line broke ground in 05/ 2004 and is due to be complete in 10/2008. It’s 4 years for a 6 1/2 mile BRT route. I’ll take the ~3 mile streetcar that will take just a year to build. The problem with Euclid is that it’s wide (exactly as wide as Broad if I’m not mistaken). Could you imagine if the Short North were on a street like Broad? What a pain in the ass that would be. Hopefully they’re going to take measures to make it easy and safe to cross.
I have ridden on these before. Great news. I hope Cols. has them by the time I return.
ٍSo that´s why Euclid was all torn up. You do have development like the Avenue District going up in the downtown core.
Maybe with gas prices reaching new highs buses will have more pull in attracting development, assuming they’re well-implemented. Still hard to beat rail though. Keep in mind that this 4 mile BRT line broke ground in 05/ 2004 and is due to be complete in 10/2008. It’s 4 years for a 6 1/2 mile BRT route. I’ll take the ~3 mile streetcar that will take just a year to build. The problem with Euclid is that it’s wide (exactly as wide as Broad if I’m not mistaken). Could you imagine if the Short North were on a street like Broad? What a pain in the ass that would be. Hopefully they’re going to take measures to make it easy and safe to cross.
I need to double-check my notes (at work), but I’m pretty sure construction on Euclid started in late 2006. Some minor work on St. Clair and Superior was done before Euclid, so buses could be re-routed during construction. Also keep in mind that Euclid was/is a full street reconstruction. As much of the cost would have been for infrastructure improvements (utility relocation, burying overhead wires, reconstruction all sidewalks, filling vaulted sidewalks, etc…) as the actual transportation components.
Euclid has a right-of-way (that includes sidewalks, bulding line to building line) of 99 feet. It was formerly two lanes in each direction with an average daily traffic volume (ADT) of 16,000 vehicles per day. It’s now one car lane and one bus lane in each direction, new ADT not yet known. Measuring on Google aerials, Broad appears to be wider downtown and narrower east of I-71 and west of the river. I would endorse some type of BRT on Broad though.
COTA is short on drivers, they’ve begun aggressively recruiting for these $12.86/hour jobs. I’m told drivers can start w/o a CDL and that a completely clean background check isn’t required. I agree with that policy, drug related or other non-violent conviction shouldn’t automatically exclude applicants. COTA offers decent bennies, so if you know any job seekers who might be wonderful COTA drivers, send ‘em over there.
The other day at Broad/High I saw a lady bus driver make an extraordinary effort to return a personal item to a retarded fellow who’d gotten off the bus without it. I just stood there, stunned at the beautiful humanity of her gesture.
Glad we’re trying to catch up to Albuquerque by adding some much needed capacity on these routes!
I’ve been down here for a week and these things are everywhere. Pretty impressive for a city half the size of Columbus.
Also…these are about the same size as streetcars. Why aren’t people complaining about the gridlock they’ll surely cause? :twisted:
As long as rubber meets the road, it seems no one cares.
I agree. I bet the public would support a BRT system even if it were more expensive and took longer to develope.