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Smart buses will whisk passengers at record speed from Dublin and Pleasanton to Livermore
LIVERMORE, Nov 23, 2009 (Tri-Valley Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Tri-Valley bus riders can expect a shorter commute time on one route, thanks in part to buses that will be able to communicate with traffic signals.
The Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority broke ground Monday on the $22 million Bus Rapid Transit project. It is expected to create a more efficient route that
will reduce commute times by 20 percent and eliminate the need for a projected 400,000 vehicle trips per year.
The route, which ultimately will have 27 stops, is a modification of the current #10 route that runs from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory through Dublin to Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton.
"The Rapid" is expected to begin service in early 2011 and features 14 new hybrid buses equipped with special sensors that communicate with traffic lights to keep them green longer if a bus is approaching. It is similar to the technology used with police and fire vehicles.
"(The Rapid) is critically important because (Interstate) 580 is an important corridor," said Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton. "The BRT can relieve some of that congestion and improve the quality of lives for more residents."
The current #10 route transports more than half of LAVTA's riders -- the system provides 2.2 million rides per year. When complete, The Rapid is expected to provide about 1.5 million rides per year, Paul Matsuoka, LAVTA's executive director.
McNerney was credited for helping the project to fruition
by securing $11 million in federal funding. He began working three years ago to secure the funding and secured $8 million in 2008 and $3 million this year for the project. None of the federal funding secured is related to the stimulus money that was, and is now being distributed.
The remaining project money was secured through local and state agencies, said Jerry Thorne, LAVTA board chair.
In addition to the traffic signal prioritization technology, fewer stops along the route and buses every 15 minutes during peak commute hours are expected to trim the commute time from 70 to 56 minutes. The current #10 route has more than 70 stops and takes over an hour to go from Lawrence Livermore to Pleasanton.
There are no current plans to increase the current bus fees -- $2 for adults and students.
Construction -- which will employ about 160 people -- on new stops, complete with benches, trash and recycling bins, bicycle parking and information signs, is expected to begin later this year. LAVTA will also install sensors in all the traffic signals along the route to sync the buses with the signals.
"It's important to provide more transportation routes in the Tri-Valley," said Thorne. "We are hoping this will lure people off the freeway to ease congestion."
Robert Jordan covers Dublin and Pleasanton, reach him at 925-847-2184.
To see more of Tri-Valley Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/. Copyright (c) 2009, Tri-Valley
Herald, Pleasanton, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information
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