Light Rail vs. Bus Rapid Transit (Battle of the Titans): Episode 2

Bus rapid transit in the U.S. is often touted as a cost-saving alternative to light rail. We cover the history and context of both systems in depth: light rail arose as a cost-effective way to reconstruct the rail systems of yore in a modern era of government. Bus rapid transit has a rockier history, starting in the U. S. but only really getting off the ground in South America; it then came back to the U. S. in cost-cut form. We explain what has gone wrong with modern American BRT and ask the raging question: should the competition between light rail and BRT even be a competition at all? CORRECTION: LRVs are in fact manufactured in the U.S., at the Siemens plant in Sacramento! Links and stuffs Merch:https://shop.trlpod.com/ Twitter:@TheRedLine_pod YouTube channel:The Red Line Podcast Spotify:The Red Line Podcast Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/theredlinepodcasters Email:[email protected] Website:https://www.trlpod.com/ Timestamps 00:00 Light rail vs. bus rapid transit, or should it even be a battle? 03:03 Theme song 03:33 Welcome & what we're talking about 04:24 Light rail transit (LRT) [3] [5] [6] 05:24 History of passenger rail 06:16 Modern light rail[4] 08:12 Success of light rail 09:04 Light rail vs. streetcar[10] 10:36 Ridership 11:14 Flexibility of light rail 12:48 Metro, if only 14:09 Characteristics of light rail 15:06 Capacity 15:52 Frequency 16:27 Stations & length 17:21 Bus rapid transit (BRT) [12] 17:59 What is BRT?[9] 19:08 Origins 20:00 Failures in ridership 20:42 Modern BRT (Brazil) 22:05 BRT enters the United States 23:06 Interests pushing for BRT[7] 24:07 South America loves BRT: TransMilenio 25:10 New York subway 25:50 Explosion of BRT, nothing wrong with excellent bus service 27:45 Flexibility of BRT 28:12 Iconic stations 28:58 Bendy buses, double-decker buses 29:53 Branded as different and faster than normal buses 31:06 LRT vs. BRT [8] [14] [16] [17] [22] [26] 31:26 Cost to build [25] 31:59 Vehicle cost, Made in America tax 32:52 Cost per mile 33:54 MBTA Silver Line[15] 34:50 Tracks aren't that expensive link 36:20 Long-term costs 37:20 Real-world operating costs[13] [23] 38:48 Vehicle replacement 40:59 Light rail is cheaper overall 41:29 Attracting development link studies 42:48 Real BRT isn't what's getting built [11] [19] [20] [21] [24] 43:57 BRT creep 44:39 Not a substitute for light rail 45:50 BRT in the U. S. is slow 47:05 Attracting ridership [1] [2] [18] 48:16 People want trains, qualitative factors 49:56 Meeting people from a fancy hotel 50:54 Car dependency 52:34 We are pro-improved bus service 54:02 Summary 54:18 Spotify, YouTube, website, Twitter, and Patreon plugs 54:53 Bye! References [1]Light Rail Now: Light Rail's Stunning Track Record in Meeting – and Exceeding – Ridership Projections [2]Light Rail Now: Light Rail's Besieged With Riders! This is a Problem? [3]USDOT Nat'l Transportation Library: Light rail transit systems : a definition and evaluation [4]Bloomberg CityLab: Out of Darkness, Light Rail! [5]Wikipedia: List of United States light rail systems by ridership [6]Wikipedia: Light rail § Revival [7]Dissent: Big Philanthropy Takes the Bus [8]Reason Foundation: Surface Transportation Innovations #97 [9]ITDP: What is BRT? [10]Greater Greater Washington: How to tell the difference between streetcars and light rail [11]Wikipedia: Bus rapid transit creep [12]Wikipedia: Bus rapid transit [13]The National Transit Database [14]Breakthrough Technologies Institute: Bus Rapid Transit and Transit Oriented Development [15]The Boston Globe: 'Little Dig' in danger [16]The Transport Politic: The Silly Argument Over BRT and Rail [17]Light Rail Now: Top "Bus Rapid Transit" Lobbyist Lobs Barrage of Baloney Against Rail [18]Light Rail Now: "BRT" - You Can Build it ... But Will They Come? [19]Greater Greater Washington: "BRT creep" makes bus rapid transit inferior to rail [20]ITDP: BRT Rankings [21]Greater Greater Washington: The US has only 5 true BRT systems, and none are "gold" [22]The Journalist's Resource: Bus versus rail: Costs, capacities and impacts [23]Calculations [24]"BRT creep" makes bus rapid transit inferior to rail [25]ITDP: BRT Planning Guide: Why BRT?: Costs [26]National Transit Database: National Transit Summaries & Trends Further reading Urban Review St. Louis: Metro’s New Battery Electric 60-Foot Articulated Buses Coming Soon To #70 (Grand) Route