Bus transportation system discussed at public meeting

In late August, community members had multiple meetings to discuss and learn more about the proposed Birmingham Bus Rapid Transit Project. The meetings were hosted throughout the city by Strada Professional Services, an engineering and consulting firm working on the planned project.

At the meeting, residents were met with a packet of information summarizing the basics of the proposed $42 million dollar plan, which would create a 12.5-mile corridor connecting the city between Woodlawn and Five Points West through a bus rapid transit system. 

The new system would work in tandem with the existing MAX bus system, which also is slated to receive an overhaul with new, more efficient bus routes and possible changes to the way riders pay for and catch buses.

The proposed BRT system is part of a larger Transit Development Plan put forward by the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. The plan is set for adoption in spring 2017 and will include a variety of short and long-term transit changes coordinated with the city of Birmingham.

Part of the plan requires a complete restructuring of current bus services to make routes more direct, increase service frequency, provide more services in the evenings and on weekends, and create better coordinated bus schedules.

Darrell Howell, one of Strada’s project managers, said this restructuring will lead to some changes in current bus routes. 

Howell said because the existing bus system will soon be working with the new BRT system, not all buses will continue to travel through downtown. Instead, buses would deliver passengers to one of two transit stations on either end of the city. 

From these transit stations, those wishing to travel downtown would transfer to a BRT bus. He said these changes would allow city buses to serve more communities on the outskirts of town and travel more efficient routes.

Changes are expected to begin in the 2018 fiscal year, and could include changes to routes and how riders catch the buses, as well as the possibility of paying with Apple or Android Pay and tracking bus locations on riders’ phones.

The rapid transit system’s East-West corridor will connect 25 Birmingham neighborhoods with 36 compact, open-air bus stops and be sandwiched on either end by a transit station in Woodlawn along First Avenue North between 56th and 57th Streets and a transit station at the CrossPlex facility in Five Points West. 

Ten new buses, each accommodating 40-60 passengers, will operate as part of the BRT system. Five additional buses will be added to the current Birmingham MAX bus circuit. The BRT buses would use a mixture of bus-only and regular traffic lanes to move quickly through the city, possibly using traffic light preemption to give buses priority at intersections. Strada estimates a 15-minute ride from one end of the BRT line to the other during peak travel times.

“There’s a number benefits in terms of moving people around, getting congestion off the roads and reducing pollution from all the cars on the road,” he said.

The project is expected to reach completion in time for the 2021 World Games hosted in Birmingham.

See full notes from the BRT public meeting at ironcity.ink.