RapidRide BriefingGrowing Transit Communities

East Corridor Task Force

January 31th, 2012

Ron Posthuma, Assistant Director

King County Dept. of Transportation

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What is RapidRide?• Very frequent service in high ridership

corridors

• Arterial, mixed traffic BRT model

• Primary service on each corridor

• Connecting riders to their community and the region

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Global examples of Global examples of BRT as High BRT as High Capacity Transit Capacity Transit (HCT)(HCT)

Quito, Ecuador

Australia

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Curitiba, Brazil

Curitiba, Brazil Curitiba, Brazil •The World’s First BRTThe World’s First BRT•Over 12,500 daily bus tripsOver 12,500 daily bus trips•2.3 million passengers per 2.3 million passengers per dayday•Curitibanos spend only 10% Curitibanos spend only 10% of annual income on of annual income on transportationtransportation

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REGIONAL BRTREGIONAL BRT

SWIFT

RapidRide

Pacific Highway S. (2010)

Bellevue/Redmond (2011)

West Seattle (2012)

Ballard/Uptown (2012)

Aurora Avenue N. (2013)

Burien/Renton (2013)

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RapidRide Corridors2010 - 2013

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RapidRide B Line Bellevue-Redmond

Why these alignments?

• Direct and easy to understand

• Connections to bus, light rail and other modes

• Speed and performance gains

• Opportunities to restructure existing service

• Potential for ridership growth

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Elements of RapidRide

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•Frequent Service

•Travel Time Savings

•Enhanced Bus and Passenger Amenities

•Uniquely Branded - “The Best of Metro”

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Buses

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A & B Line Performance

B Line Ridership Survey Highlights• 5600 average weekday boardings

• Overall satisfaction is high with 86% very satisfied or satisfied.

• 20% increase in rider satisfaction with how often bus runs in all time periods.

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BRT & Development Opportunities• Public investment can stimulate private development.

• Arterial BRT, like RapidRide and Swift, can serve as a catalyst for development at key nodes and throughout the corridors they serve.

• RapidRide and Swift support trips of all kinds—for shopping, school, medical appointments and recreation—as well as work commute trips.

• More riders over more hours of the day create greater visibility for businesses along its corridors and improves opportunities for development.

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Sustainable Transportation Hubs

Sustainable Transportation Hubs integrate the following components:

• Clean Mobility Center

• Mixed use housing with an emphasis on affordable and mixed income housing

• Cutting edge energy efficiency

• Right Sized Parking

Redmond TOD

Renton TOD

National Example – Cleveland Health Line• Opened in 2008• 9.38 Miles• Building face to building face• Exclusive Right of Way• Has resulted in $4 Billion in private investment

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BRT & Land Use Initiative

• King County Partnered with Urban Land Institute, Cities of Seattle and Shoreline to study the TOD development potential of BRT station areas.

• Learned from examples in Cleveland, Minneapolis and Kansas City

• Key Conclusions– BRT can support TOD throughout a transit corridor – Champions– Highlight Community value, not just added transportation

value to create development opportunity

• Report can be found at: Seattle.ULI.org/BRT

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