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83-543: [REDACTED] The El Monte Busway (also known as the I-10 ExpressLanes ) is a 12-mile (19 km) shared-use express bus corridor ( busway ) and high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes running along Interstate 10 between Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and Interstate 605 or El Monte Station in El Monte, California . Buses also make intermediate stops at Cal State LA station and LA General Medical Center station . The busway opened in January 1973 to buses only, three-person carpools were allowed to enter in 1976, and

166-621: A "BHLS" (stands for Bus with a High Level of Service ). The term transitway was originated in 1981 with the opening of the OC Transpo transitway in Ottawa , Ontario , Canada. Critics have charged that the term "bus rapid transit" has sometimes been misapplied to systems that lack most or all the essential features which differentiate it from conventional bus services. The term " bus rapid transit creep " has been used to describe severely degraded levels of bus service which fall far short of

249-527: A BRT system to 35,000 passengers per hour. The single-lane roads of Istanbul Metrobus had been frequently blocked by Phileas buses breaking down, causing delays for all the buses in a single direction. After focusing on Mercedes-Benz buses, capacity increased to 45,000 pph. Light rail, by comparison, has reported passenger capacities between 3,500 pph (mainly street running) to 19,000 pph (fully grade-separated ). Island platform The historical use of island platforms depends greatly upon

332-425: A conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes roadways that are dedicated to buses , and gives priority to buses at intersections where buses may interact with other traffic; alongside design features to reduce delays caused by passengers boarding or leaving buses, or paying fares . BRT aims to combine the capacity and speed of a light rail transit (LRT) or mass rapid transit (MRT) system with

415-432: A disaster, journey times increased by 20 to 30 minutes as speeds on the busway dropped from 65 mph (105 km/h) to 20 mph (32 km/h) which was slower than the general-purpose lanes of Interstate 10 where speeds also dropped from 25 mph (40 km/h) to 23 mph (37 km/h). The change generated over 1,000 complaints to government agencies from bus riders and prior carpoolers. Solis at first defended

498-799: A few points. Westbound entrances are at I-605 (from Interstate 10), Santa Anita Avenue (from Interstate 10), El Monte Station (buses only), Del Mar Avenue (ramp from street level), Fremont Avenue (from Interstate 10), and I-710 (buses from southbound I-710 only). Westbound exits are at Santa Anita Avenue (to Interstate 10), Fremont Avenue (to Interstate 10), US 101 , and Alameda Street Eastbound entrances are at Alameda Street, Fremont Avenue (from Interstate 10), and Rosemead Boulevard/SR 19 (from Interstate 10) Eastbound exits are at I-710 (buses to northbound I-710 only), Fremont Avenue (to Interstate 10), Del Mar Avenue (ramp to street level), Rosemead Boulevard/SR 19 (to Interstate 10), El Monte Station (buses only), and I-605 (to Interstate 10). As of August 2022,

581-590: A flyover ramp near Interstate 710 moves the lanes north of Interstate 10 to a station near California State University, Los Angeles . Just west of the Cal State LA station , the westbound busway lanes crossover the eastbound lanes, reversing the normal placement of the lanes. The reversed lanes allow buses to serve a single island platform station at the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center but prevent vehicles from entering

664-428: A low-noise, low-emissions "hush mode" (in which the diesel engine operates but does not exceed idle speed ) when underground. The need to provide electric power in underground environments brings the capital and maintenance costs of such routes closer to those of light rail, and raises the question of building or eventually converting to light rail. In Seattle, the downtown transit tunnel was retrofitted for conversion to

747-607: A new side platform opening in December 2022. Some stations of the Glasgow Subway have one island platform and one side platform ( Hillhead , Buchanan Street , and Ibrox ). In Wellington , New Zealand, unused sides can be found at two stations on the Hutt Valley Line : Waterloo and Petone . Waterloo's island platform was reconfigured to be the down side platform when the station was extensively rebuilt in

830-449: A result, less forced ventilation will be required in tunnels to achieve the same air quality. Another alternative is to use electric propulsion, which Seattle 's Metro Bus Tunnel and Boston 's Silver Line Phase II implemented. In Seattle, dual-mode (electric/diesel electric) buses manufactured by Breda were used until 2004, with the center axle driven by electric motors obtaining power from trolley wires through trolley poles in

913-455: A shared hybrid-bus and light-rail facility in preparation for Seattle's Central Link Light Rail line, which opened in July 2009. In March 2019, expansion of the light rail in the tunnel moved busses back to surface streets. Bi-articulated battery electric buses cause no problems in tunnels anymore but provide BRT capacity. A BRT system can be measured by a number of factors. The BRT Standard

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996-457: A single island platform instead of two side platforms. Island platforms allow facilities such as shops, toilets and waiting rooms to be shared between both tracks rather than being duplicated or present only on one side. An island platform makes it easier for disabled travellers to change services between tracks or access facilities. If the tracks are above or below the entrance level, the station needs only one staircase and (if disabled accessibility

1079-419: A static map, featuring services like trip planning, live arrival and departure times, up-to-date line schedules, local station maps, service alerts, and advisories that may affect one's current trip. Transit and Moovit are examples of apps that are available in many cities around the world. Some operators of bus rapid transit systems have developed their own apps, like Transmilenio. These apps even include all

1162-480: A total daily ridership), in the developing world this capacity constraint (or rumor of a capacity constraint) was a significant argument in favor of heavy rail metro investments in some venues. When TransMilenio opened in 2000, it changed the paradigm by giving buses a passing lane at each station stop and introducing express services within the BRT infrastructure. These innovations increased the maximum achieved capacity of

1245-535: A week. Metro and Foothill Transit offer a reciprocal fare program where pass holders may ride either J Line or Silver Streak buses between Downtown Los Angeles and the El Monte Station. The El Monte Busway is also used by Metro Express 487 and 489 along with Foothill Transit 490, 493, 495, 498, 499, and 699. Metro Express 487 operates all-day, seven days a week; the rest only run during weekday peak periods. The El Monte Busway has four stations served by

1328-526: Is a pair of island platforms, with slower trains diverging from the main line (or using a separate level on the railway's right-of-way ) so that the main line tracks remain straight. High-speed trains can therefore pass straight through the station, while slow trains pass around the platforms (such as at Kent House in London ). This arrangement also allows the station to serve as a point where slow trains can be passed by faster trains. A variation at some stations

1411-586: Is a risk of a dangerous gap between bus and platform , and is even greater due to the nature of bus operations. Kassel curbs or other methods may be used to ease quick and safe alignment of the BRT vehicle with a platform. A popular compromise is low-floor buses with a low step at the door, which can allow easy boarding at low-platform stops compatible with other buses. This intermediate design may be used with some low- or medium-capacity BRT systems. The MIO system in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, pioneered in 2009

1494-585: Is less complex than rail maintenance. Moreover, buses are more flexible than rail vehicles, because a bus route can be altered, either temporarily or permanently, to meet changing demand or contend with adverse road conditions with comparatively little investment of resources. The first use of a protected busway was the East Side Trolley Tunnel in Providence , Rhode Island . It was converted from trolley to bus use in 1948. However,

1577-489: Is necessary) one elevator or ramp to allow access to the platforms. If the tracks are at the same level as the entrance, this instead creates a disadvantage; a side platform arrangement allows one platform to be adjacent to the entrance, whereas an island platform arrangement requires both tracks to be accessed by a bridge or underpass. If an island platform is not wide enough to cope with passenger numbers, typically as they increase, overcrowding can risk people being pushed onto

1660-406: Is not a problem on a new line under construction, it makes building a new station on an existing line impossible without altering the tracks. A single island platform also makes it quite difficult to have through tracks (used by trains that do not stop at that station), which are usually between the local tracks (where the island would be). A common configuration in busy locations on high speed lines

1743-764: Is to have the slow and fast pairs of tracks each served by island platforms (as is common on the New York City Subway ; the Broad Street Line of Philadelphia ; and the Chicago Transit Authority 's Red and Purple lines). A rarer layout, present at Mets-Willets Point on the IRT Flushing Line , 34th Street – Penn Station on the IRT Seventh Avenue Line and 34th Street – Penn Station on

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1826-459: Is today over 18.5 miles long. The OC Transpo BRT system in Ottawa , Canada, was introduced in 1983. The first element of its BRT system was dedicated bus lanes through the city centre, with platformed stops. The introduction of exclusive separate busways (termed 'Transitway') occurred in 1983. By 1996, all of the originally envisioned 31 km Transitway system was in operation; further expansions were opened in 2009, 2011, and 2014. As of 2019,

1909-570: The BRT Standard promoted by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and other organizations. Compared to other common transit modes such as light rail transit (LRT), bus rapid transit (BRT) service is attractive to transit authorities because it does not cost as much to establish and operate: no track needs to be laid, bus drivers typically require less training and less pay than rail operators, and bus maintenance

1992-735: The Capital Line and Metro Line used island platforms until NAIT/Blatchford Market station opened in 2024, the only station with side platforms as of 2024. The Valley Line Southeast uses low-floor LRT technology, but uses island platforms on only one of the 12 stops, Mill Woods . Almost all of the elevated stations in Singapore 's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system use island platforms. The exceptions are Dover MRT station and Canberra MRT station , which use side platforms as they are built on an existing rail line, also known as an infill station . The same follows for underground stations, with

2075-672: The IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway , uses two side platforms for local services with an island in between for express services. The purpose of this atypical design was to reduce unnecessary passenger congestion at a station with a high volume of passengers. Since the IRT Seventh Avenue Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line have adjacent express stations at 42nd Street, passengers can make their transfers from local to express trains there, leaving more space available for passengers utilizing intercity rail at Pennsylvania Station . The Willets Point Boulevard station

2158-624: The Indonesian capital city . Bus rapid transit is a mode of mass rapid transit (MRT) and describes a high-capacity urban public-transit system with its own right of way , vehicles at short headways , platform-level boarding, and preticketing. The expression "BRT" is mainly used in the Americas and China; in India, it is called "BRTS" (BRT System); in Europe it is often called a "busway" or

2241-937: The MIO in Cali since November 2008, Metrolinea in Bucaramanga since December 2009, Megabús in Pereira since May 2009. This design is also used in Johannesburg 's Rea Vaya . The term "station" is more flexibly applied in North America and ranges from enclosed waiting areas ( Ottawa and Cleveland ) to large open-sided shelters ( Los Angeles and San Bernardino ). A unique and distinctive identity can contribute to BRT's attractiveness as an alternative to driving cars, (such as Viva, Max, TransMilenio, Metropolitano, Metronit, Select) marking stops and stations as well as

2324-761: The Metro ExpressLanes . The Silver Line began operations on December 13, 2009, with Metro planning to refurbish the aging stations along both corridors over the coming years. The eastern section of the El Monte Busway, between Interstate 710 and El Monte was restriped to create two HOT lanes in each direction. The electronic toll collection equipment for the HOT lanes on the Harbor Transitway went into service on November 10, 2012. The El Monte Busway's HOT lanes opened on February 22, 2013. By 2010,

2407-525: The Metro J Line , the Silver Streak and is also served by Metro Express and Foothill Transit buses. The stations from west to east are: Bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit ( BRT ), also referred to as a busway or transitway , is a trolleybus , electric bus and public transport bus service system designed to have much more capacity , reliability , and other quality features than

2490-765: The Newport PATH station has the same configuration as Bowling Green—one side platform and one island platform. On the Tokyo Metro , the Ginza Line has a side platform and an island platform at Nihombashi . Likewise, the Namba and Minami-morimachi stations on the Osaka Metro have similar configurations. On JR East, the Yokosuka Line platforms at Musashi-Kosugi feature a similar setup following

2573-862: The Werribee Line , Ardeer , Caroline Springs on the Ballaarat Line , Glen Iris , Holmesglen , Jordanville and Syndal on the Glen Waverley Line , and Watsonia and Heidelberg on the Hurstbridge line . In Toronto , 29 subway stations use island platforms (a few in the newer stations on the Bloor–Danforth line , a few on the Yonge–University line and all of the Sheppard line ). In Edmonton , all 18 LRT stations on

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2656-556: The high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT) are a 24/7 service . Solo drivers are tolled using a congestion pricing system based on the real-time levels of traffic. For two-person carpools, they are charged the posted toll during the peak hours between 5:00 am and 9:00 am, and between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm; no toll is charged during off-peak hours. Carpools with three or more occupants are not charged. All tolls are collected using an open road tolling system, and therefore there are no toll booths to receive cash. Each vehicle using

2739-435: The 15,000 to 25,000 range. Research of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) shows a capacity ranking of MRT modes, based on reported performance of 14 light rail systems, 14 heavy rail systems (just 1-track + 3 2-track-systems "highest capacity") and 56 BRT systems. The study concludes, that BRT-"capacity on TransMilenio exceeds all but the highest capacity heavy rail systems, and it far exceeds

2822-537: The El Monte Busway and Harbor Freeway as they had before. After the very successful launch of the Orange Line (now G Line), a new busway in the San Fernando Valley, Metro decided to rebrand the county's other busways in an attempt to increase awareness. In March 2006, Metro decided that the Harbor Transitway would be colored bronze and the El Monte Busway would be colored silver on Metro's maps, and

2905-614: The El Monte Busway to operate between Downtown Los Angeles and various points in the San Gabriel Valley and Pomona Valley , as well as the San Bernardino County city of Montclair . Two bus rapid transit routes utilize the El Monte Busway: the J Line , operated by LA Metro and the Silver Streak , operated by Foothill Transit . These routes offer frequent service, 24 hours a day, seven days

2988-689: The El Monte Station has become one of the busiest bus terminals west of Chicago, with 22,000 boardings daily as of 2010. Starting in 2010, the old station was demolished and replaced in October 2012 with a new station capable of handling up to 40,000 passengers per day. In January 2015, the Cal State LA and LA General Medical Center stations were temporarily closed for one month for refurbishment and stairway and light replacement. Transit Access Pass (TAP) card ticket vending machines were added to most stations in early 2017 to support all-door boarding on

3071-511: The HOT lanes is required to carry a FasTrak Flex transponder, with its switch set to indicate the number of the vehicle's occupants (1, 2, or 3 or more). Solo drivers may also use the FasTrak standard tag without the switch. Drivers without any FasTrak tag will be assessed a toll violation regardless of whether they qualified for free. A mix of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Foothill Transit bus services utilize

3154-486: The Santa Anita Avenue terminus would open later on July 14, 1973. The eastern section is located in the median of Interstate 10, with only paint lines separating traffic on the busway from the general-purpose lanes. Railroad tracks are also located in the median, separated from vehicle traffic with concrete barriers. The western segment has a unique design that took longer to build. Traveling from east to west,

3237-506: The Silver Line. Pre-payment of fares and all-door boarding reduces the time buses need to remain stopped at stations. On November 1, 2020, a new transitway was opened on the south side of Patsaouras Transit Plaza to serve Union Station, funded in part by Metro ExpressLanes toll revenue. The station was originally scheduled to open in 2015, but project delays had pushed the opening back. El Monte Busway can only be entered and exited at

3320-661: The United States, BRT began in 1977, with Pittsburgh's South Busway , operating on 4.3 miles (6.9 km) of exclusive lanes. Its success led to the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway in 1983, a fuller BRT deployment including a dedicated busway of 9.1 miles (14.6 km), traffic signal preemption , and peak service headway as low as two minutes. After the opening of the West Busway , 5.1 miles (8.2 km) in length in 2000, Pittsburgh's Busway system

3403-548: The agency's busiest line. The Silver Streak used higher-capacity vehicles and eliminated many of the off-freeway deviations and minor stops on Line 480. Metro returned to its plan for a dual-hub route in 2009, proposing a new bus rapid transit service called the Silver Line (now J Line) utilizing both the El Monte Busway and the Harbor Transitway. The new higher frequency service would be funded by converting both corridors into high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, to be branded as

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3486-419: The buses. Large cities usually have big bus networks. A map showing all bus lines might be incomprehensible, and cause people to wait for low-frequency buses that may not even be running at the time they are needed. By identifying the main bus lines having high-frequency service, with a special brand and separate maps, it is easier to understand the entire network. Public transit apps are more convenient than

3569-637: The busway from the general-purpose lanes of Interstate 10 in the eastbound direction. The LAC+USC Medical Center station was completed in November 1974, the four-mile western segment between Mission Avenue in Los Angeles and Interstate 710 was completed in January 1975, and the Cal State LA station was finished in February 1975. The entire 11-mile busway was dedicated on February 18, 1975. The El Monte

3652-530: The busways directly. Ahead of the 1996 opening of the Harbor Transitway, Metro staff studied how to operate its buses on the new facility. In 1993, they recommended the creation of a dual hub-and-spoke ("dual hub") system with a trunk route that served both the Harbor Transitway and the El Monte Busway and the El Monte Station and Harbor Gateway Transit Center serving as hubs. Ultimately, the Metro Board of Directors decided to continue running bus routes on both

3735-601: The center of major arterial roads, in 1980 the Curitiba system added a feeder bus network and inter-zone connections, and in 1992 introduced off-board fare collection, enclosed stations, and platform-level boarding. Other systems made further innovations, including platooning (three buses entering and leaving bus stops and traffic signals at once) in Porto Alegre , and passing lanes and express service in São Paulo . In

3818-605: The central part of the Transitway has been converted to light rail transit , due to the downtown section being operated beyond its designed capacity. In 1995, Quito , Ecuador, opened MetrobusQ its first BRT trolleybuses in Quito , using articulated trolleybuses. The TransMilenio in Bogotá , Colombia, opening in 2000, was the first BRT system to combine the best elements of Curitiba's BRT with other BRT advances, and achieved

3901-406: The centre platform, and extra width is required along the right-of-way on each approach to the station, especially on high-speed lines. Track centres vary for rail systems throughout the world but are normally 3 to 5 metres (9 ft 10 in to 16 ft 5 in). If the island platform is 6 metres (19 ft 8 in) wide, the tracks must slew out by the same distance. While this requirement

3984-545: The change, but by May, she supported Assembly Bill 769, which would rescind the change and restore the higher occupancy requirement during peak hours, which passed and took effect in July 2000. However, the lower two occupant requirement remained during off-peak hours and weekends. In the early 1990s, Caltrans built another busway in Los Angeles County, the Harbor Transitway from Los Angeles south to

4067-584: The concept while sketching on the back of an envelope. The town was designed around the transport system, with most residents no more than five minutes walking distance, or 500 yards (460 m), from the Busway. The second BRT system in the world was the Rede Integrada de Transporte (RIT, integrated transportation network ), implemented in Curitiba , Brazil, in 1974. The Rede Integrada de Transporte

4150-643: The exception being Braddell MRT station , Bishan MRT station , and a few stations on the Downtown line ( Stevens , Downtown , Telok Ayer , Chinatown and MacPherson ) and the Thomson-East Coast line ( Napier , Maxwell , Shenton Way and Marina Bay ) In southern New Jersey and Philadelphia , PATCO uses island platforms in all of its 13 stations, to facilitate one-person train operation . The NYC Subway's Second Avenue Subway features island platforms at all stations. Many other stations in

4233-468: The facility was converted to HOT lanes as part of the Metro ExpressLanes project on February 22, 2013. The El Monte Busway is used by two bus rapid transit routes: the J Line , operated by Metro and the Silver Streak , operated by Foothill Transit . It is also used by several Metro Express and Foothill Transit bus services, most of which only run during weekday peak periods. The busway now carries 16,000 bus passengers per day with 49 buses using

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4316-474: The feasibility of joint highway-bus operations and to increase the overall people-carrying capacity of freeway corridors. The project was built in a right of way located north of and in the median of the freeway that was owned by Southern Pacific Railroad who purchased it from the bankrupt Pacific Electric streetcar system. In exchange for giving up part of their property, Southern Pacific would get new tracks capable of handling heavier freight loads compared to

4399-656: The first BRT system in the world was the Runcorn Busway in Runcorn , England. First conceived in the Runcorn New Town Masterplan in 1966, it opened for services in October 1971 and all 22 kilometres (14 mi) were operational by 1980. The central station is at Runcorn Shopping City where buses arrive on dedicated raised busways to two enclosed stations. Arthur Ling , Runcorn Development Corporation's Master Planner, said that he had invented

4482-626: The flexibility, lower cost and simplicity of a bus system. The world's first BRT system was the Runcorn Busway in Runcorn New Town, England, which entered service in 1971. As of March 2018 , a total of 166 cities in six continents have implemented BRT systems, accounting for 4,906 km (3,048 mi) of BRT lanes and about 32.2 million passengers every day. The majority of these are in Latin America , where about 19.6 million passengers ride daily, and which has

4565-442: The following features: Bus-only lanes make for faster travel and ensure that buses are not delayed by mixed traffic congestion . A median alignment bus-only keeps buses away from busy curb-side side conflicts, where cars and trucks are parking, standing and turning. Separate rights of way may be used such as the completely elevated Xiamen BRT . Transit malls or 'bus streets' may also be created in city centers. Fare prepayment at

4648-599: The general-purpose lanes. The project was developed jointly by the California Department of Public Works, Division of Highways (a predecessor of today's Caltrans ) and the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD) (a predecessor of today's Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority ). The 53 million dollar project was paid with federal, state and SCRTD funding and was also intended to be an experiment testing

4731-662: The green phase or reducing the red phase in the required direction compared to the normal sequence. Prohibiting turns may be the most important measure for moving buses through intersections. The station platforms for BRT systems should be level with the bus floor for quick and easy boarding, making it fully accessible for wheelchairs, disabled passengers and baby strollers, with minimal delays. High-level platforms for high-floored buses makes it difficult to have stops outside dedicated platforms, or to have conventional buses stop at high-level platforms, so these BRT stops are distinct from street-level bus stops. Similar to rail vehicles, there

4814-648: The highest capacity and highest speed BRT system in the world. In January 2004 the first BRT in Southeast Asia, TransJakarta , opened in Jakarta , Indonesia. As of 2015 , at 210 kilometres (130 mi), it is the longest BRT system in the world. Africa's first BRT system was opened in Lagos , Nigeria, in March 2008 but is considered a light BRT system by many people. Johannesburg , South Africa, BRT Rea Vaya ,

4897-450: The highest light rail system." Performance data of 84 systems show More topical are these BRT data After the first BRT system opened in 1971, cities were slow to adopt BRT because they believed that the capacity of BRT was limited to about 12,000 passengers per hour traveling in a given direction during peak demand. While this is a capacity rarely needed in the US (12,000 is more typical as

4980-552: The line to a larger gauge, by moving the track away from the platform to allow the wider bodied continental rolling stock to pass freely while leaving the platform area untouched. Island platforms are a very normal sight on Indian railway stations. Almost all railway stations in India consist of island platforms. In Sydney , on the Eastern Suburbs Railway and the Epping Chatswood Railway ,

5063-478: The location. In the United Kingdom the use of island platforms on twin-track routes is relatively common when the railway line is in a cutting or raised on an embankment , as this makes it easier to provide access to the platform without walking across the tracks. Island platforms are necessary for any station with many through platforms. There are also advantages to building small two-track stations with

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5146-423: The most cities with BRT systems, with 54, led by Brazil with 21 cities. The Latin American countries with the most daily ridership are Brazil (10.7 million), Colombia (3.0 million), and Mexico (2.5 million). In the other regions, China (4.3 million) and Iran (2.1 million) stand out. Currently, TransJakarta is the largest BRT network in the world, with about 251.2 kilometres (156.1 mi) of corridors connecting

5229-462: The new Harbor Gateway Transit Center . Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) staff recognized that there was an opportunity to link the operationally similar Harbor Transitway and El Monte Busway, even suggesting to Caltrans that a direct connection be built between the two busways. In 1998, Metro studied the extension but found it expensive and technically challenging, and to date, there have been no further efforts to connect

5312-401: The occupancy requirement from three occupants to two for a 24-month experiment starting January 1, 2000, hoping it would increase carpool rates. Despite opposition from Caltrans , Foothill Transit and the Southern California Transit Advocates (a transit users' organization), the bill was passed the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Gray Davis in July 1999. The experiment was

5395-531: The old streetcar tracks. The project would also include a viaduct in El Monte to elevate Southern Pacific trains as they moved between the area near the east end of the busway to the mainline tracks near the present-day El Monte Metrolink station . The formal groundbreaking for the El Monte Busway took place on January 21, 1972. The El Monte Busway opened in stages, with the seven-mile eastern segment between Interstate 710 (then-signed as SR 7) and Santa Anita Avenue opening in January 1973. The El Monte station near

5478-693: The right side of the street. Groups of criteria form the BRT Standard 2016, which is updated by the Technical Committee of the BRT Standard. High-capacity vehicles such as articulated or even bi-articulated buses may be used, typically with multiple doors for fast entry and exit. Double-decker buses or guided buses may also be used. Advanced powertrain control may be used for a smoother ride. Bottleneck BRT stations typically provide loading areas for simultaneous boarding and alighting of buses through multiple doors coordinated via displays and loudspeakers. An example of high-quality stations include those used on TransMilenio in Bogotá since December 2000,

5561-724: The schedules and live arrival times and stations for buses that feed the BRT, like the SITP (Sistema Integrado de Transporte Público or Public Transit Integrated System) in Bogotá . A special issue arises in the use of buses in metro transit structures. Since the areas where the demand for an exclusive bus right-of-way are apt to be in dense downtown areas where an above-ground structure may be unacceptable on historic, logistic, or environmental grounds, use of BRT in tunnels may not be avoidable. Since buses are usually powered by internal combustion engines , bus metros raise ventilation issues similar to those of motor vehicle tunnels. Powerful fans typically exchange air through ventilation shafts to

5644-492: The station, instead of on board the bus, eliminates the delay caused by passengers paying on board. Fare machines at stations also allow riders to purchase multi-ride stored-value cards and have multiple payment options. Prepayment also allows riders to board at all doors, further speeding up stops. Prohibiting turns for traffic across the bus lane significantly reduces delays to the buses. Bus priority will often be provided at signalized intersections to reduce delays by extending

5727-404: The subway, and with the rear axle driven by a conventional diesel powertrain on freeways and streets. Boston is using a similar approach, after initially using trolleybuses pending delivery of the dual-mode vehicles that was completed in 2005. In 2004, Seattle replaced its "Transit Tunnel" fleet with diesel-electric hybrid buses, which operate similarly to hybrid cars outside the tunnel and in

5810-417: The surface; these are usually as remote as possible from occupied areas, to minimize the effects of noise and concentrated pollution. A straightforward way to reduce air quality problems is to use internal combustion engines with lower emissions. The 2008 Euro V European emission standards set a limit on carbon monoxide from heavy-duty diesel engines of 1.5 g/kWh, one third of the 1992 Euro I standard. As

5893-407: The system each hour at peak times and was described by the United States Department of Transportation as one of the most successful HOV facilities in the country in 2002. The El Monte Busway was conceived in 1969 as a way to allow travelers to avoid traffic on Interstate 10 (San Bernardino Freeway), promising an 18-minute trip between El Monte and Downtown Los Angeles, compared to 35–45 minutes in

5976-501: The system have the same layout. Sometimes when the track on one side of the platform is unused by passenger trains, that side may be fenced off. Examples include Hurlstone Park , Lewisham, Sydney and Yeronga, Brisbane . In New York City's subway system , unused sides are located at Bowling Green as well as every express station without express service, such as Pelham Parkway on the IRT Dyre Avenue line. In Jersey City,

6059-428: The theoretical maximum throughput measured in passengers per hour per direction (PPHPD) for a single traffic lane is some 150,000 passengers per hour (250 passengers per vehicle, one vehicle every 6 seconds). In real world conditions BRT Rio (de Janeiro, BRS Presidente Vargas) with 65.000 PPHPD holds the record, TransMilenio Bogotá and Metrobus Istanbul perform 49,000 – 45,000 PPHPD, most other busy systems operating in

6142-605: The tracks. In some cases entry to the station is restricted at busier times to reduce risk. Examples of stations where a narrow island platform has caused safety issues include Clapham Common and Angel (rebuilt in 1992) on the London Underground , Union (rebuilt in 2014) on the Toronto subway , and Umeda on the Osaka Municipal Subway . An island platform requires the tracks to diverge around

6225-590: The twin tunnels are widely spaced and the tracks can remain at a constant track centres while still leaving room for the island platforms. A slight disadvantage is that crossovers have to be rather long. Examples in Melbourne include West Footscray , Middle Footscray , Albion and Tottenham on the Sunbury line , Kananook on the Frankston Line , Aircraft , Williams Landing and Hoppers Crossing on

6308-406: The two would be marketed as a "Combined Transitway Service." No changes were made in the operations of the bus routes operated on the lines. The changes were criticized as being difficult to understand for irregular and new riders. The first bus rapid transit route came to the El Monte Busway in 2007 when Foothill Transit introduced the Silver Streak . The line replaced Foothill Transit route 480,

6391-499: The use of dual buses, with doors on the left side of the bus that are located at the height of high-level platforms, and doors on the right side that are located at curb height. These buses can use the main line with its exclusive lanes and high level platforms, located on the center of the street and thus, boarding and leaving passengers on the left side. These buses can exit the main line and use normal lanes that share with other vehicles and stop at regular stations located on sidewalks on

6474-438: Was developed by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) to score BRT corridors, producing a list of rated BRT corridors meeting the minimum definition of BRT. The highest rated systems received a "gold" ranking. The latest edition of the standard was published in 2016. Other metrics used to evaluate BRT performance include: Based on this data, the minimum headway and maximum current vehicle capacities,

6557-566: Was extended to its present length of 12 miles in 1989 with the opening of a one-mile extension from Mission Road to Alameda Street adjacent to Los Angeles Union Station . The busway was opened to vehicles with three or more occupants during the 1974 Southern California Rapid Transit District strike, which lasted 68 days between August and October. In 1976, the busway was converted into a shared-use express bus corridor and high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, with carpools and vanpools with three or more occupants permitted during peak hours only. HOV access

6640-454: Was extended to weekends in 1977 and 24 hours a day in 1981. Opening the busway to HOVs had only minimal impact on bus running time and transit ridership remained stable. The requirement that vehicles must have three or more occupants left the El Monte Busway out of alignment with California's other HOV lanes, which generally required only two or more occupants. State senator Hilda Solis ( D - La Puente ) authored State Bill 63, which would lower

6723-503: Was inspired by the previous transport system of the National Urban Transport Company of Peru (In Spanish: ENATRU ), which only had quick access on Lima downtown , but it would not be considered BRT itself. Many of the elements that have become associated with BRT were innovations first suggested by Carlos Ceneviva, within the team of Curitiba Mayor Jaime Lerner . Initially just dedicated bus lanes in

6806-555: Was renovated to accommodate the high volume of passengers coming to the 1939 World's Fair . Many of the stations on the Great Central Railway in England (now almost entirely closed) were constructed in this form. This was because the line was planned to connect to a Channel Tunnel . If this happened, the lines would need to be compatible with continental loading gauge , and this would mean it would be easy to change

6889-669: Was the first true BRT in Africa, in August 2009, carrying 16,000 daily passengers. Rea Vaya and MIO (BRT in Cali , Colombia, opened 2009) were the first two systems to combine full BRT with some services that also operated in mixed traffic, then joined the BRT trunk infrastructure. In 2017 Marrakesh , Morocco, opened its first BRT Marrakesh trolleybus system (BHNS De Marrakesh) trolleybuses Corridors of 8 km (5.0 mi), of which 3 km (1.9 mi) of overhead wiring for operation as trolleybus. BRT systems normally include most of

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