91原创 and Maple Ridge are set to get one of the first three new bus rapid transit (BRT) lines in the province. Those of us who care about quality public transit should be pushing our provincial and federal representatives to figure out how to fund this.
Because if you like SkyTrain, then you'll love BRT, which is fast buses in separated lanes on busy routes. And if you hate SkyTrain, then you'll also love BRT.
First, for the SkyTrain boosters, BRT is the perfect accessory to SkyTrain.
SkyTrain is fast and efficient and environmentally friendly, but to make full use of it, people who don't live within walking distance of a station need a way to get there. BRT, planned to link up SkyTrain stations, park and rides, and other transit hubs, is that connection.
BRT not only puts more people within reach of a SkyTrain station, it expands the menu of locations a transit user can access once they get off SkyTrain.
Now, for the SkyTrain critics 鈥� BRT is great, because it does a lot of what SkyTrain is intended to do, but at a fraction of the cost. It's SkyTrain lite.
BRT won't be as fast as SkyTrain, it won't have the extensive reach of a network we've been building since the mid-1980s.
But it's faster than existing buses. BRT units with signal priority and dedicated lanes can zip through rush hour traffic.
One of the big questions we face is how to get people out of their cars and onto transit. Watching a bus pass every day, while you sit in gridlock, might be just what some drivers need to make the switch.
Most importantly, compared to other modes of transit, BRT is (relatively) cheap. It's just buses and asphalt and some changes to signal lights.
Arguments over cost-versus-utility led to the whole lengthy battle over at-grade rail versus SkyTrain related to the Surrey-91原创 extension. Well, BRT is the return of the discount option. A BRT line combines the efficiency of an at-grade trolley system with the flexibility of a bus service.
Services like SkyTrain and the West Coast Express have their place. If we could build more of them for free, we'd definitely do that.
Unfortunately, it's not possible. We should remember that perfect is the enemy of good. BRT is looking pretty good.
