1 Bus Rapid Transit Strategic Plan May 2009

2 BRT Strategic Plan Evaluate feasibility and effectiveness of six BRT corridors Establish framework for project implementation Gain consensus on service elements and goals Serve as vehicle to engage cities and stakeholders Establish a brand identity for VTA’s BRT system Develop action, funding, and phasing plans for BRT implementation Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives Jan. Industry Review Corridor Assessment Branding Concept Service Elements, Costs Development Plan April Stakeholder Input Oct.Dec.Mar Bus Rapid Transit

3 External Partner Meetings #DateMeetingTopic 1February 14, 2008VTA TACBRT State of the Industry 2February 14, 2008VTA PACBRT State of the Industry 3February 21, 2008VTA TP&OBRT State of the Industry 4August 14, 2008VTA TACCorridor Evaluation 5August 21, 2008VTA TP&OCorridor Evaluation 6November 17, 2008 City staff: Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Santa Clara Status Report, Input 7January 20, 2009Caltrans, Highway Planning StaffStatus Report, Input 8January 22, 2009Caltrans, District 4 StaffStatus Report, Input 9February 10, 2009South Bay Transportation OfficialsStatus Report, Input 10February 23, 2009City staff: Santa Clara, CupertinoStatus Report, Input 11February 25, 2009City staff: San JoseStatus Report, Input 12March 5, 2009Downtown East Valley PABFinal Plan Input 13March 12, 2009VTA TACFinal Plan Input 14March 17, 2009City Staff & Council members: Palo AltoFinal Plan Input 15March 18, 2009Grand Boulevard Task ForceFinal Plan Input 16March 19, 2009VTA TP&OFinal Plan Input 17April 8, 2009VTA CACFinal Plan Input 18April 9, 2009VTA TACFinal Plan Adoption 19April 9, 2009VTA PACFinal Plan Adoption 20April 15, 2009American Public Works AssociationStatus Report, Input 21April 16, 2009VTA TP&OFinal Plan Adoption 22April 27, 2009Alum Rock Public WorkshopAlum Rock Zoning & BRT 23May 7, 2009VTA Board of DirectorsFinal Plan Adoption

4 VTA Service Design Guidelines Two Tiers of BRT Service Frequent all-day service Branded service, specialized vehicles Operates in mixed-flow lanes Transit priority (bus signal priority, queue jump lanes) Enhanced stations BRT 1 VTA 522 Operates in dedicated right-of-way Arterial bus lanes, at-grade busways, grade-separated busways Rail-like stations, enhanced amenities Off-board fare collection Coordinated land use planning BRT 2 Eugene EmX Bus Rapid Transit

5 VTA BRT Branding Must be different but also align with the overall VTA organization and brand Communicates to customers the value of the service: Fast Modern High Tech Appealing Green Vision of VTA BRT Brand: Bus Rapid Transit “A great brand taps into emotions. Emotions drive most, if not all, of our decisions. A brand reaches out with a powerful connecting experience.” Scott Bedbury, Starbucks

6 Branding Early Branding Preference from Outreach Efforts Bus Rapid Transit

7 Corridor Evaluation Six potential corridors studied (identified from VTP 2030 and COA) (map highlighting the six corridors for study) Bus Rapid Transit Strategic Plan Corridor Evaluation Six Potential Corridors Studied (identified from VTP 2030 and COA): Santa Clara- Alum Rock King Road Monterey Highway Stevens Creek Sunnyvale - Cupertino El Camino

8 Transit Sustainability Policy Project Origin Project Implementation Analysis/Assessment Staff Recommendation = Implementation City Action VTA Board Action Near-term Implementation Santa Clara/Alum Rock El Camino Real Stevens Creek Long-term Implementation Monterey Highway King Road Sunnyvale-Cupertino

9 Map of the two BRT corridors: 522 (including local 22) and 523 (including local 23) Most Promising Options Objective: 30% Travel time savings over local service

10 Daily Ridership Daily Demand: 70,000 – 84,000 riders

11 Daily Ridership Increase of 10,000 – 24,000 riders 21,688 11,218 4,379

12 Total Operating Cost Estimate Projected Annual O&M Cost: $58 – $71 million Increase of $12 – $24 million, annually

13 O&M Cost/Passenger Operating Cost per Passenger measures system efficiency

14 Capital Costs Range from $500-$570 million Capital Improvement Analysis: Major Findings Major Capital Components Type of Transitway (Mixed Flow vs. Bus Lane) Valley Fair/Stevens Creek Segment –Reversible Lane –Elevated Viaduct Vehicles (60’ Hybrid BRT vehicles & Right Side Doors) Stations (Split Platform Design, TVMs, Real Time Info) Traffic Signals & Corridor Communications Maintenance/Support Facility Upgrades (Chaboya/Cerone) Capital Cost by Corridor Santa Clara- Alum Rock $129M El Camino $209M Stevens Creek $65M

15 Provide bus lanes in problematic segments –Intersection performance (LOS) –Perceived congestion impact on operations/reliability Separate bus lane and mixed flow lanes Maintain same number of through traffic lanes Remove curbside parking instead of lanes Acquire ROW at median station locations only Design Principles Based on VTA Service Design Guidelines

16 Photosimulation – Alum Rock at King Road Today

17 Photosimulation – Alum Rock at King Road Future

18 Photosimulation – Alum Rock at 28 th Street Today

19 Photosimulation – Alum Rock at 28 th Street Future

20 Corridors Stevens Creek Bus Rapid Transit

21 Stevens Creek

22 Stevens Creek Reversible Lane vs. Aerial viaduct at Valley Fair/Santana Row

23 Corridors El Camino Bus Rapid Transit

24 El Camino

25 Santa Clara Alum Rock Santa Clara – Alum Rock BRT Bus Rapid Transit

26 Alum Rock – BRT Cross-Sections** Santa Clara-Alum Rock Project Concept

27 VTA Committee Comments Policy Advisory Committee –Approved Staff Recommendation Market analysis determining when a corridor merits BRT? When does ridership make LRT a better investment? Technical Advisory Committee –Approved Staff Recommendation Concern about on-street parking removal Do not want Plan to serve as City commitment Want balance between transit and city objectives Citizens Advisory Committee –Agreed With Staff Recommendation (Committee Of Whole) Concern about removal of on-street parking When is corridor converted to Light Rail? Downtown East Valley Policy Advisory Board –Consider naming service VRT – Vehicle Rapid Transit Transit Planning & Operations Committee –Recommended adoption Asked staff to highlight outreach work Vehicle offers modern and attractive alternative

28 Next Steps Work cooperatively with partners: –Service Options –Routing –Vehicles –Design Alternatives Santa Clara-Alum Rock Preliminary Engineering –Start: Summer 2009 –Service: Winter 2012 El Camino BRT Conceptual Engineering –Start: Summer 2009 –Service: Winter 2013 Stevens Creek BRT Conceptual Engineering –Start: Summer 2011 –Service: Winter 2015