The Bus Rapid Transit is being touted as a project that will help Fresnans without cars get to school and work more quickly and efficiently than with the current Fresno Area Express bus system.
According to a presentation dated Dec. 12, 2013 on the City of Fresno’s webpage titled “Fresno Area Express Bus Rapid Transit Project,” Bus Rapid Transit is the proposal to have a new bus system along the main corridors of Fresno that lead to downtown. The BRT will work in conjunction with FAX to transport Fresnans around the city.
The same presentation stated that Phase 1 of the BRT will include two routes: one going east-west along Kings Canyon Avenue, the other running north-south along Blackstone Avenue from the Riverpark shopping center to downtown. Shaw Avenue is also named as a possible third BRT route to be developed at some point in the future.
BRT will differ from the current FAX system, the presentation stated, in a variety of ways. Instead of stops spaced a quarter-mile apart, BRT will have stops spaced a half-mile apart. Currently, bus-riders pay the bus fare as they board; BRT stops will feature ticket-vending machines so bus-riders can pay prior to boarding.
During the busiest times, BRT buses will arrive at stations every 10 minutes – twice as often as the busiest FAX schedules. The presentation, explained that these differences are intended to expedite the often long waiting periods at FAX bus stops and reduce traveling time.
Rebekah Rallis, a Fresno City College student, is currently collecting student complaints regarding the current system. She is also trying to rally opposition to the BRT, which she says is well-intentioned, but will not address the needs of students. She agrees with city officials that the current system needs revamping, but believes that BRT is the wrong choice for Fresno. “I believe there’s a lot more we could do to improve the current system without having an express bus on two routes,” she said.
So far, Rallis has talked to about 20 students regarding their complaints. Of the students she has talked to, she estimates that 70 percent are opposed to the BRT and 30 percent are in support of it.
The three most common complaints she has heard are the need for better routes, for buses to arrive at bus stops more frequently, and for expanded hours of service. She plans to use the information collected from students to write an advisory letter to Mayor Ashley Swearengin asking her to reconsider her support of the BRT.
A particularly important concern Rallis has found, “. . . is the need for more hours of service. Currently after 9 p.m. buses stop running,” and that means that students who take night classes that get out around 9 p.m. are unable to use the bus to get home. The hours of service will not change when the BRT is implemented. Jeff Long, Senior Regional Planner for the City of Fresno’s Department of Transportation/FAX, said in an email, “The service hours for the BRT will mirror the hours of the regular fixed route system.”
The funding for the BRT will come in the form of $50 million in federal and state grants that have been approved for the project, according to “Fresno Area Express Bus Rapid Transit Project.” The grants will cover the the completion of Phase 1 as well as the maintenance of the system for the first three years. After three years, the city of Fresno will have to assume responsibility for maintenance.
“Though the idea behind the BRT is admirable, there is a greater need for expansion of the current system,” Rallis says. “I worry that the value we receive from BRT isn’t equal to the amount that we will be spending.”