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My objection was to you only wanting to count gold standard BRT but leave out bronze and silver. The ranking system itself is valid but only including gold for the purposes of this thread is completely arbitrary.
I never said this was about rail transit. I asked about rapid transit plans. The only thing I did say was only include Gold Standard BRT systems which are on par with rail transit. Otherwise, it's just a bus and everybody has them.
Eh I don't think that is true about the Orange Line.
It's certainly faster than the 750 Rapid Bus along Ventura Blvd (Rapid Buses definitely shouldn't count in this thread but are something not every city has), which parallel's the Orange Line route, just to the south along Ventura Blvd. So while it isn't on-par with LRT, it is really, really close and probably more efficient than some of the more streetcar-like LRT systems, and definitely more efficient than actual streetcars (which for some reason do count for points even though they are far from rapid transit).
My objection was to you only wanting to count gold standard BRT but leave out bronze and silver. The ranking system itself is valid but only including gold for the purposes of this thread is completely arbitrary.
How? Have you actually looked at the ratings? You may want to glance at them. Anything less is just a bus. Also, nobody has Gold as of now so I don't even know what this is about. We don't know if the Montgomery County System will reach Gold.
Yeah it's pretty stupid to only include "Gold Standard" rated BRT as some of the bronze systems are very rail like and more rail like that some actual rail transit like streetcars or surface street LRT. If you think some of these bronze rated lines are "just as bus" you might want to take a closer look at how they actually operate.
All of these BRT lines in the US lose points for not being part of a large comprehensive BRT network yet most of them supplement a rail network, which is even better than BRT.
Or lose points for not having peak fares? So they lose points for not trying to discourage people to use their BRT line during peak hours? Lol
Eh I don't think that is true about the Orange Line.
It's certainly faster than the 750 Rapid Bus along Ventura Blvd (Rapid Buses definitely shouldn't count in this thread but are something not every city has), which parallel's the Orange Line route, just to the south along Ventura Blvd. So while it isn't on-par with LRT, it is really, really close and probably more efficient than some of the more streetcar-like LRT systems, and definitely more efficient than actual streetcars (which for some reason do count for points even though they are far from rapid transit).
Those are buses either way. Also, I included streetcars because of their ability to attract development which is the main reason people can live without cars around them. Buses are added to service people living in developments. Streetcars along with light rail creates development for people to use the streetcar. Heavy rail, light rail, streetcars, and BRT all have those attributes. An empty field will be developed into a town center because of these modes. Buses don't do that for the most part.
I think instead of focusing on what these lines do, you guys may want to focus on what they don't do so you can see what the issues are.
Yeah it's pretty stupid to only include "Gold Standard" rated BRT as some of the bronze systems are very rail like and more rail like that some actual rail transit like streetcars or surface street LRT. If you think some of these bronze rated lines are "just as bus" you might want to take a closer look at how they actually operate.
All of these BRT lines in the US lose points for not being part of a large comprehensive BRT network yet most of them supplement a rail network, which is even better than BRT.
Or lose points for not having peak fares? So they lose points for not trying to discourage people to use their BRT line during peak hours? Lol
They lose points for WAY more than that. These lines are losing 30-50 points each. You're talking about 4-7 points.
They lose points for WAY more than that. These lines are losing 30-50 points each. You're talking about 4-7 points.
No kidding, I was obviously just providing an example of some of the stupid things they lose points for.
So what exactly makes the Orange Line "just a bus"? I mean it's average speed is higher than your average speed for light rail and I'm sure streetcar as well. I don't think you really understand how rail like some of these lines are.
How? Have you actually looked at the ratings? You may want to glance at them. Anything less is just a bus. Also, nobody has Gold as of now so I don't even know what this is about. We don't know if the Montgomery County System will reach Gold.
That's ridiculous to say. Why would they have Silver and Bronze levels to be distinguished if everything else is just a bus?
No kidding, I was obviously just providing an example of some of the stupid things they lose points for.
So what exactly makes the Orange Line "just a bus"? I mean it's average speed is higher than your average speed for light rail and I'm sure streetcar as well. I don't think you really understand how rail like some of these lines are.
It's not about them being fast which people seem to think makes them rail like. An express bus route with dedicated lanes is fast and rail like. This is about a standard BRT point system all lines should strive to achieve. The requirements really aren't hard. Americans are just stuck in their ways. How about bikes lanes integrated into the bus lanes? What about the stations? How about elevated median separated bus lanes?
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