Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems

Increasingly, cities thoughout the world have begun to implement Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems to meet the transportation needs of their citizens.

BRT systems, which typically use standard or lightly modified buses running on dedicated lanes, offer a relatively low-cost, scalable and flexible solution to the growing need for expanded transportation options in our cities.

Bus Rapid Transit in the I-35W corridor

35W is the busiest transit corridor in Minnesota. When both the Crosstown and Access projects neglected to study the potential for bus rapid tansit in this corridor, progressive transportation advocates in the legislature began work to mandate investigation of this option for the corridor. In 2004, Rep. Frank Hornstein introduced a measure to mandate study of the potential for BRT in the 35W corridor.

This study was completed in early 2005. Its key conclusions include:

• BRT can triple transit ridership along the corridor: provision of a bus rapid transit system can increase ridership from the current 15,000 passengers to over 45,000 passengers per day.
• A bus rapid transit system on 35W will allow buses to run at posted speeds even in the middle of rush hour.
• BRT can serve more people: adding BRT service to 35W will move more people than adding three new freeway lanes to the corridor.
• Cost for a BRT system serving the Twin Cities and surrounding communities is a fraction of what the Crosstown and Access projects are expected to cost: for Phase I and II (65 buses, 3 stations, 1 Park and Ride), the cost is $37 million. The total cost for a complete BRT system on 35W (includes 126 buses, stations at Lake Street, 46th Street and 494, and one Park and Ride facility at Lakeville) is $55 million.

Want to find out more about BRT on 35W?

Download a copy of the report's executive summary (357 Kb pdf) or a copy of the full BRT report (22.2 Mb pdf).

What would BRT on 35W look like?

This is a visualization of a potential BRT station along 35W. Passengers would transfer to and from buses on city streets to BRT buses running on 35W by using the elevatos or stairs in the stations - you can find this and other diagrams in the BRT studies linked in the section above.