BROWARD | Broward County Transit (BCT)

[mr jones]

Express buses roll on I-595, but few take advantage of free rides on first day

By Michael Turnbell, Sun Sentinel
May 30, 2012

Just as billed, the service is fast and reliable. And for this week, it's free. Yet only 68 commuters took advantage of the new 595 Express buses that rolled out for the first time Tuesday morning.

But officials aren't worried: The 95 Express buses from Broward to downtown Miami also took a while to catch on and now most of the buses are packed, with ridership growing every month.

The new service is expected to lure commuters who don't want to put up with two more years of construction on I-595. It includes two routes from the Bank Atlantic Center parking lot in Sunrise — one to downtown Fort Lauderdale, the other to downtown Miami — with buses running every 30 minutes at rush hour.

The buses are equipped with free Wi-Fi and an outlet is located under each seat to charge electronics. Jacqueline Binns said being able to catch up on emails and work while commuting is a big selling point. "I logged onto my computer and everything was perfect," she said.

Binns calculated that it costs her about $3 a day to drive 26 miles roundtrip from Weston to downtown Fort Lauderdale, about the same cost to ride the bus daily. "It's going to be about break-even," she said.

So why ride the bus?

"It's the convenience," Binns said. "Not having the stress of driving the road and battling with traffic and trying to get through this construction."

Arlene Jardine hopes to ride the express bus every day to the Broward County Governmental Center to cut her driving time in half from Miramar.

"There's some mornings where I just can't face traffic," she said. "Sometimes I'm tired coming home from work and I really have to stay alert. This would be a great alternative for me."

Sunrise Mayor Michael Ryan also is a fan of the buses after riding to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday morning.

"I commute each day in my car on the same route. I can tell you today's trip to work was the least stressful commute I can remember," Ryan said.

On Tuesday morning, the buses carried 40 to Miami and 26 to Fort Lauderdale, and picked up two for the reverse commute from Fort Lauderdale to Sawgrass Mills. For the most part, the buses ran on time and reached all their stops within a minute or two.

There were a few minor glitches. On one bus to downtown Fort Lauderdale, passengers didn't know they had to pull the cord to let the bus driver know they wanted to get off at the next stop. The bus driver accommodated them by driving around the block.

Also, the eastbound lanes were predictably jammed Tuesday morning from Flamingo Road to University Drive. For now, the buses must use the regular lanes of I-595, so they were stuck in the same congested traffic as other vehicles.

But in 2014, when the reconstruction of I-595 is expected to be completed, the buses will use reversible express lanes being built in the median. The reversible lanes, which will be separated from the other lanes by concrete barriers, will allow for faster travel eastbound in the morning and westbound in the evening on weekdays.

Officials say they will monitor the buses' on-time performance this week and may tweak the routes if it means getting riders to work faster.

For instance, the Fort Lauderdale route travels north on U.S. 1 from I-595. But with so many commuters headed downtown, traffic comes to a standstill approaching State Road 84 and Southeast 17th Street. Instead, buses might exit I-595 onto S.R. 84, then head downtown via Andrews and Southeast Third avenues if officials find that route is faster.

A 595 Express bus route from Weston is planned in the fall, including service to Miami's Civic Center area near Jackson Memorial Hospital.

The Florida Department of Transportation is covering the $2.1 million annual cost of the Sunrise and Weston routes. The state also gave $13.8 million to Broward County to buy the buses and make improvements to the park-and-ride lots and stops.

Commuters currently are directed to park in a temporary lot at Bank Atlantic Center while a permanent park-and-ride lot with about 350 spaces, bus shelters, signs and lighting is being built. The permanent lot should be finished in about 3 months.

Starting Monday, fares will be $2.35 for a one-way trip, $23.50 for a 10-ride bus pass and $85 for a premium monthly pass. The monthly passes are good for trips on all Broward County Transit buses.

Bus passes can be bought online at broward.org/bct under "bus pass purchase"; at the central bus terminal on Broward Boulevard; or at Miramar, Pembroke Pines/Walter C. Young and South Regional/Broward College libraries.

mturnbell@tribune.com, 954-356-4155, 561-243-6550, Twitter @MikeTurnpike

595 Express

Fort Lauderdale route

Eastbound buses to downtown Fort Lauderdale leave every 30 minutes from 6:05 to 8:30 a.m. The buses stop at Broward General Medical Center, Broward School Board, Federal Courthouse, Broward County Governmental Center, Broward Central Bus Terminal and the Tri-Rail station off Broward Boulevard.

In the afternoon, westbound buses to Sunrise leave at 3:30 to 6:05 p.m., starting at the Tri-Rail station off Broward.

The Fort Lauderdale buses make three morning and three afternoon reverse trips to and from Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise.

Miami route

Southbound buses to downtown Miami depart from 5:20 to 7:40 a.m., every 30 minutes, and end at the Brickell Plaza, at Southwest Ninth Street and South Miami Avenue. The buses stop at Overtown Metrorail Station, the Federal Courthouse and are within walking distance of both the Miami-Dade Government Center and Miami-Dade College.

The Miami route also stop at Tri-Rail's Fort Lauderdale Airport Station in Dania Beach, which has a park-and-ride lot.

In the afternoon, northbound buses to Sunrise depart from 3:35 to 6:05 p.m. every 30 minutes from the Brickell Metrorail Station at Southwest 10th Street and Southwest First Avenue.

Information

For more information, go to 595expressbus.com, or call 954-357-8400.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bro...674,full.story

[mr jones]

Summer 2012

The Technical Coordinating Committee and the Community Involvement Roundtable both made recommendations to the Broward MPO Board for the Griffin Road Alternative and having majority streetcar.
The MPO Board is expected to make its final decision this summer.

• Broward MPO Presentation – July 12, 2012 - http://www.centralbrowardtransit.com..._July_2012.pdf [2MB PDF]
• Project Information - Supplemental Information - http://www.centralbrowardtransit.com..._v09_small.pdf [3MB PDF]

http://www.centralbrowardtransit.com/

[mr jones]

Broward County Transit Schedules Community Meetings on 595 and 95 Express Services

Following is a brief description of the new service proposals for BCT’s express bus service funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The proposals are, in part, to address capacity issues and passenger requests for faster, more direct bus service to downtown Miami and the Civic Center/Health District area.

New 595 Express bus service is proposed to operate every 30 minutes on weekdays between the Westgate Plaza park-and-ride in Sunrise to the Miami Civic Center/Health District in Miami-Dade County, with a stop at the Tri-Rail Airport station at Griffin Road. The service will operate during the morning and afternoon peak traffic hours and will have limited reverse direction trips for passengers who would be traveling in the reverse direction.

The new 595 Express route will depart from the Westgate Plaza at State Road 84 and Weston Road and travel along I-595 to I-95 south to the Miami Civic Center. Stops will include the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial and the Veterans Administration hospitals, Miami-Dade College Medical Campus, Miami-Dade County Courthouse and the Metrorail Station.

New 95 Express Pembroke Pines route is proposed to operate every 30 minutes, with some trips operating with increased frequency of 15 minutes, weekdays between Pembroke Pines, Miramar and the downtown Miami Central Business District. The route will begin at C.B. Smith Park Park-and-Ride in Pembroke Pines, proceed to the Miramar Transit Center at Civic Center Plaza and Red Road and travel directly to downtown Miami during the morning and afternoon peak traffic hours. The route will have limited reverse direction trips for passengers who would be traveling in the reverse direction.

95 Express Miramar is proposed to provide direct service from the Miramar Transit Center to the Miami Civic Center/Health District only; the current 95 Express Miramar that includes service to downtown Miami will be provided by the proposed new 95 Express. The service will operate every 15 minutes on weekdays during the morning and afternoon peak traffic hours. This route will now provide reverse trips to accommodate overnight shift hospital workers.

95 Express Hollywood is proposed to now begin at the new Pembroke Commons Shopping Center park-and-ride at University Drive and Pines Boulevard instead of at C.B. Smith Park. An additional Park-and-Ride is proposed to be added at the Hollywood Hills Plaza at Hollywood Boulevard and Park Road in Hollywood.

This route is proposed to stop at the Miami Civic Center/Health District area and then proceed to downtown Miami, and is extended further east to Southeast First Avenue. The service will operate every 30 minutes during the morning and afternoon peak traffic hours, with limited reverse direction trips for passengers who would be traveling in the reverse direction.

http://webapps.broward.org/newsrelea...MessageId=3869

[skyscraperhighrise]

Originally Posted by mr jones

http://webapps.broward.org/newsrelea...MessageId=3869

They need to do this on saturday's as well.

[mr jones]

Oakland Park Blvd Transit Corridor Study:

http://oaklandparkboulevardtransitstudy.com

[FTL Beach Bum]

Originally Posted by mr jones

Oakland Park Blvd Transit Corridor Study:

http://oaklandparkboulevardtransitstudy.com

I really hope they're not serious.

Just like every other east-west corridor in the county, it's only a leg in a commute. People that live between Commercial Blvd and Sunrise Blvd will generally take Oakland Park Blvd to get to I95, the Sawgrass, some other north-south thoroughfare, or the beach. By and large, and including mass-transit riders, people don't take Oakland Park Blvd to get to...Oakland Park Blvd.

[mr jones]

Oakland Park Boulevard bus route may get upgrade

By Michael Turnbell, Sun Sentinel
5:46 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2013


It's slow-going for buses on Oakland Park Boulevard, Broward's busiest east-west bus route. But the state is looking at ways to speed up service.

Hear their plans and offer input from 4 to 7 p.m. April 11 at Lauderdale Lakes Branch Library, 3580 Oakland Park Blvd.

Ideas being considered include moving bus stops to make transfers easier and creating special lanes to allow buses to leapfrog cars. About 9,000 people ride buses on Oakland Park daily and half of them come from households that don't own a car.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bro...,7812690.story