Instead Of Light Rail, Why Not Improve Bus Services?

As someone who strongly opposes a very expensive light rail system, let me offer some more points on why I oppose it and what else Kansas City can do.

In regards to transportation and dealing with high gas prices, there is already a good solution – riding the bus. Now, I know it is not as shiny and big as light rail, something you supporters like about it. But it serves its purpose.

A recent story in the Johnson County Sun shows how "The Jo" is attracting more riders because of high gas prices.

When Johnson County began its public transportation system to the downtown Kansas City metropolitan centers of Kansas and Missouri in 1980, many people laughed and shook their heads as they watched empty buses drive past.

No one is laughing these days.

With the price of gasoline hovering at $4 a gallon and expected to go higher, those once-empty buses have become the place to be for early morning and late-afternoon commuters.

In fact, many of the buses leaving from the park-and-ride locations are standing-room only. Drivers, who used to strategize the best time to leave home to beat rush-hour traffic on the highway, now adjust their departure in order to jockey a good seat on The JO.

See? Americans are smart – they adjust to the market and become more involved in public transportation.

Another item worth discussing on the bus system: range and coverage. According to this 2006 report from Kansas City, Mo., there were over 14 million bus riders overall. I could not find any more up to date statistics for KCMO. Would light rail be easily accessible to accommodate that amount of people? Bus routes cover a hell of a lot more ground than light rail can dream of.

For those interested in just the speed portion of it, there is a far cheaper solution to it: bus-rapid transit. Basically, it is a much cheaper light rail alternative and much quicker bus system.

The Bronx in New York City recently began implementing their own bus-rapid transit system.

One of the biggest time savers is the reduced boarding times. With automatic ticket machines, riders swipe their MetroCards or pay their fares at Select Bus stations and receive a receipt. Passengers can then board through any door of the bus. The line uses a proof-of-payment system, where ticket inspectors randomly show up to enforce the payment of fares.

Dedicated lanes painted in red will be in effect on weekdays from 7 to 7, but the buses will not have cameras mounted in the front to snag violators like they do in London. The city will have to rely merely on NYPD to ensure that the bus lanes are only for public transit. At a few intersections, there will be signal priority, where the traffic lights will hold the green for a bus, or speed up the red light when a bus is waiting at the intersection.

The Select Bus Service only cost $10 million, which is much cheaper than implementing an entire rail line. An estimated 25,000 daily passengers will use the service, and this number is expected to grow.

Granted, it is still not the big, shiny solution that message board posters, liberals, suburbanites and self-important city council members believe in. However, it is a better solution than implementing a massive light rail system.

I am not sure I would support a big tax increase for a bus rapid transit system, but it would be easier on the taxpayer – that is for sure. And plus, if you have a desperate Congressman or other political candidates, you could receive funding from it through earmarks.

The Kansas City Star (!!!) recently reported light rail costs have increased more dramatically than leaders initially thought it would.

Transit planners today priced a starter light rail line for Kansas City at roughly $727 million, or at least $140 million more than what a starter line was originally expected to cost.

Engineers hired to study the city’s light rail options presented their cost estimates this morning to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s Board of Commissioners.

The costs cover an 11.7-mile line that would run from Vivion Road and I-29 in the Northland through North Kansas City on Burlington Street. It would cross the Missouri River, cutting through downtown along Grand Avenue and picking up Main Street on its way to the Country Club Plaza.

Wow, a nine-figure increase in price? What stops more increases from coming? It would just drain the wallet and increase the economic burden on residents even more.

If you really want to overhaul transportation, Kansas City, Mo., should look at bus rapid transit. This is not an endorsement – if a hypothetical proposal would come in at too much dollars or would be seriously flawed, I would vote against it. However, since less construction and less maintenance would be required with busing, it would be a guaranteed bargain compared to light rail (or light-wallet rail).