Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 17, 2019
Subject
SUBJECT: FLOWER STREET BUS LANE EVALUATION
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on Flower Street Bus Lane Evaluation.
Background
BACKGROUND
On June 3, 2019, Metro, in partnership with City of Los Angeles, installed a pilot, weekday PM rush hour (3:00 - 7:00 PM) bus only lane along Flower St in Downtown LA. This was in preparation for additional buses to be operated during PM rush on Flower Street during the New Blue major rehabilitation project. This resulted in up to 80 buses per hour during the PM rush traveling on Flower St, a 50% increase in trips compared to normal service. The bus only lane was implemented to provide faster and more reliable service to impacted Blue and Expo Line customers, other Metro and municipal bus customers, and to reduce traffic conflicts with other vehicles. Preliminary results indicate that buses have seen up to 20% improvement in travel time with the Flower St bus only lane.
LOCATION
1.8 miles of Flower St between 7th St and Adams Blvd, near the I-110 South ExpressLanes entrance.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
An evaluation of the bus lane was carried out consisting of analyzing the average end-to-end travel time and travel time variability of the two heaviest services in the corridor, the Silver Line (Line 910/950) and Line 860, as well as customer and bus operator feedback of the bus only lane.
Key events that affected the bus speed and travel time variability before the bus lane (Before), during initial implementation of the bus lane (Mid) and after making adjustments to improve bus lane operations (Post) was observed during the study periods below:
* Before - Before Bus Only Lane Implementation (New Blue Phase 1: January thru May 2019):
o Up to 53 buses/hour during PM rush period
* Mid - Initial Bus Only Lane Operation (New Blue Phase 2: June thru mid-August 2019)...
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