1. The A Line: A Look Back
Shawn Combs Walding - Project Engineer Metro Transit – Minneapolis/St Paul
NCITE/ITS MN Joint ITS Committee – April 4,2017

2. From initial plan to first rides
Arterial BRT Quarterly Update - March 2014
From initial plan to first rides
PLAN
PROJECT
PERFORMANCE

3. The plan: 11 “rapid bus” / arterial BRT lines
Move customers % faster than local bus
Bring transitway station experience to 160,000 riders
Serve 1 in 3 Twin Cities jobs
$500 million program, largely unfunded
A Line
(Snelling Avenue)

4. Arterial BRT, done our way
Specialized vehicles with wider doors, open layout & other amenities
Fully off-board fare payment & random fare checks
Enhanced stations at half-mile spacing with all the features of light rail
Curb extensions for in-lane stops, year-round maintenance & all-door boarding
Transit signal priority
Fast, frequent & all-day service

5. A Line: Project scope 10 miles 20 stations 4 cities
2 light rail connections
13-bus fleet
$27 million project cost
Proven frequent service corridor with 4,000 rides before improvement
Forecast: 8,700 rides by 2030

6. From the beginning to launch day
2012
2014
2016
From the beginning to launch day
Early 2015
Construction plans complete
March 2015 Environmental documentation complete
2012
Snelling named
first rapid bus line
Planning begins
Mid-2014
Station sites approved
Funding secured
February 2016
Opening day announced
July 2015
Construction
notice-to-proceed
June 2016
Service begins at 10:00 a.m. June 11
Late 2013
Engineering
contract award
December 2015
Civil construction complete
2013
2015

7. 2015: Major Construction Each platform took 4-6 weeks
Construction coordinated with 3 other projects
Pilot Station
7th & Olson
PHASE 3
Sep.-Dec.
Coordinated Project:
Snelling Avenue
Street & Bridge Work
(MnDOT)
May–November 2015
PHASE 1
Jul.-Oct.
Coordinated Project:
Minnehaha Avenue
Reconstruction
(Hennepin County)
April–August 2015
PHASE 2
Oct-Dec.
Coordinated Project:
Ford Parkway
Reconstruction
(Ramsey County)
June–October 2015

8. One corridor, many contexts
ALX Open Forum –
One corridor, many contexts
Medium-rise,
high traffic
Colleges &
Universities
Suburban expressway
big box center
Rail station /
transit center
Low-density
residential
Neighborhood
commercial
nodes

9. Multiple jurisdictions
MnDOT Trunk Highway 51 – Snelling Avenue
Ramsey County Road 42 – Ford Parkway
Hennepin County Road 46 – 46th Street
Minneapolis traffic signals
Ramsey County traffic signals
MnDOT traffic signals
Saint Paul traffic signals

10. Full suite of new & unique features
Top cap beacon
Roof-Mounted
Heaters & Lights
Destination Sign
Security camera
Station ID
Information & Maps
Real-time NexTrip monitor
Emergency Phone
Foundation Wall
Transitway station experience
4’ Clear Zone
Real-time annunciator button & speaker
Detectable warning edge
Near-level platform height

11. The pylon: Consistency where it’s critical
Backlit branding &
“beacon” bus arrival indicator
Stands 13 feet tall
Security camera
Clear station name
Custom messaging
Real-time arrival information
Audio speaker
Braille station identifier
Audio push-button

12. The green seconds: Nearside/Farside
Objective: Position station platforms at appropriate location relative to intersection to achieve balance of speed, safety, and space
Strategy: Start with farside location paired with TSP at signal
Benefits:
Reduces red light dwell
Removes vertical elements from cross traffic sightlines
Pulls loading zones away from intersection ped ramps
Challenges
Adjacent property owner concerns
Concerns of intersection clearance
Proximity to high rider locations
Result:
Developed “framework of comfort”
25% of platforms are nearside – Dense urban environments constrained
Visibility concerns at nearside configurations
This inch’s/second’s importance:
Speed and reliability
Safety – vehicle, bus and rider
Visibility
Who is the everyone?
MnDOT – Traffic Safety
Cities/Counties – TSP
Property Owners
Metro Transit
When to engage?:
Introduce at
Environmental review
TSP concept of operations
Finalize at Preliminary design

13. The arrival minute: Beacon
Objective: Transitway station experience, strong and consistent branding, arterial BRT identity
Strategy: Install pylon beacon that pulses when bus is less than 1 minute from platform
Benefits:
Provides simple real time rider info at greater distance from platform
Capitalizes on vertical elements
Visually ties platform area to “enhanced service”
Challenges
New, vertical, lit roadside element for every road authority
Concerns of safety & driver distraction
Will it work??
Result: Soft implementation approach
Presence has become integral to unique BRT experience

14. Winter is for systems work

15. Documenting our precedent
Lessons Learned
Design Narrative
Spec Review
Arterial BRT Design Guide
Cost Calculators

16. Testing the “rapid” brand promise
Schedule targeted 8-9 minutes savings per trip (20% faster than existing service)
Early 2016: Several weeks of running time tests with signal priority in place & simulated customers
Multiple full-fleet tests for operations management
92% on time through August 2016

17. Active Headway and Schedule Management

19. A Line: Initial performance
Ridership
Up 35% over 2015
Strongest growth at rail connections, Rosedale Transit Center & on Fridays
Speed & reliability
Schedule targeted 8-9 minutes savings per trip (20% faster than existing service)
92.2% on-time performance through October
Strong customer response
2014
2015
2016 Pre-A Line
2016 With A Line

20. Pleasant surprises Customer behavior Ridership “Beacon” appreciation
Rear-door boarding is prevalent
Positive reactions from families, people with disabilities, seniors, students
Ridership
Up more than 35% over 2015
Strongest growth:
Rail connections
Rosedale Transit Center (shopping center)
Weekends
Fridays
Clear indications that branding and visibility matters

21. Takeaways When precedent is unavailable…..
“Take data seriously” – Christof Spieler
Walk hand-in-hand with road authorities- these are important inches and seconds, proceed with open eyes and open dialogue
Provide time to revisit design decisions during construction – recall original purpose and need to find solutions
Consistent, Data Driven Approach provides guidance when precedent unavailable

22. A great BRT product is more than stations & buses
Developed all-new standard operating procedures
Trained & certified operators on providing A Line service
Prepared extensive FAQ and training for all customer service representatives
Testing, testing, and more testing
Deployed custom information posters
Created online how-to-ride videos

23. Lessons learn (-ed / -ing)
Planning
Define the problem, and then use the right tools to solve it
Be consistent where it’s critical and flexible where it counts
Construction
Timing is everything (“Uncage the shelters!”)
Multiple sites meant challenges disproportionate to construction costs
If you think you have enough time for electrical connections, systems installation & integration, allow even more
Build resources into your plan for supporting systems after opening day
Nothing is more instructive than building the first project in a program

24. Lessons learn (-ed / -ing)
Since opening day
Finding balance between swift bus operations & top-notch customer service is challenging
The learning curve for new fare machines is real; transitioning customers to smart card is key
Build resources into your plan for supporting systems after opening day
Event congestion is challenging (For 12 days a year, it’d be nice to have a guideway)
BUT
A $27 million project built TODAY for the other 353 days is well worth the investment.
Investing in a better ride for today’s riders matters.

25. As the construction dust settles…
Design
Consistency
Visual discovery – sightlines
Systems reliability phase
Reliability
Additional bus purchased to ensure reliability
TSP working well anecdotally, more monitoring planned
Very positive customer comments, sum of inches and seconds felt strongly through regular/daily ridership
TSP implemented at >50% of signals

26. The story continues C Line New Challenges
Currently – preliminary design
2017 – Final Design
2018 – Construction
Opening 2019
New Challenges
Narrower right-of-way
Greater coordination with concurrent corridor projects
But…the learning curve softens

27. Shawn Combs Walding BRT Project Engineer shawn. walding@metrotransit
Shawn Combs Walding BRT Project Engineer