Jump to content

El Monte Busway

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by RickyCourtney (talk | contribs) at 21:07, 29 November 2020 (Undid revision 991396869 by RickyCourtney (talk)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

El Monte Busway
Metro J Line bus running on the El Monte Busway between Downtown Los Angeles and El Monte Station stops at LA County+USC Medical Center station
Overview
SystemBusway & High-occupancy toll lanes
OperatorLos Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA)
Began service1973
Routes
Routes
LocaleLos Angeles County, California
StartEl Monte Station
EndUnion Station
Length11 miles (18 km)
Stations4

The El Monte Busway is an 11-mile (18 km) shared-use express bus corridor (busway) and high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes running along Interstate 10 between Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and Interstate 605 or El Monte Station in El Monte, California. Buses also make intermediate stops at Cal State LA station and LA County+USC Medical Center station. The busway opened in 1973 to buses only, three-person carpools were allowed to enter in 1976, and was upgraded to HOT lanes as part of the Metro ExpressLanes project on February 22, 2013.

The El Monte Busway is used by two bus rapid transit routes: the J Line, operated by LA Metro and the Silver Streak, operated by Foothill Transit. It is also used by several Metro Express and Foothill Transit bus services, most of which only run during weekday peak periods.

The busway now carries 16,000 bus passengers per day with 49 buses using the system each hour at peak times[1] and was described by the United States Department of Transportation as one of the most successful HOV facilities in the country in 2002.[2]

History

Main article: History of Los Angeles Metro Rail and Busway

The El Monte Busway was conceived in 1969 as a way to allow travelers to avoid traffic on Interstate 10 (San Bernardino Freeway), promising an 18-minute trip between El Monte and Downtown Los Angeles, compared to 35-45 minutes in the general-purpose lanes.[3] The project was developed jointly by the California Department of Public Works, Division of Highways (a predecessor of today's Caltrans) and the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD) (a predecessor of today's Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority).[4] The 53 million dollar project was paid with federal, state and SCRTD funding and was also intended to be an experiment testing the feasibility of joint highway-bus operations and to increase the overall people-carrying capacity of freeway corridors.[3]

The project was built in a right of way located north of and in the median of the freeway that was owned by Southern Pacific Railroad who purchased it from the bankrupt Pacific Electric streetcar system.[5] In exchange for giving up part of their property, Southern Pacific would get new tracks capable of handling heavier freight loads compared to the old streetcar tracks.[5] The project would also include a viaduct in El Monte to elevate Southern Pacific trains as they moved between the area near the east end of the busway to the mainline tracks near the present day El Monte Metrolink station.[4]

The formal groundbreaking for the El Monte Busway took place on January 21, 1972.[6]

The busway opened in 1974 exclusively for the use of buses.[7] The busway was opened to vehicles with three or more occupants during the 1974 Southern California Rapid Transit District strike, which lasted 68 days.[7] In 1976, carpools with three or more occupants were permitted during peak hours only, which was extended to weekends in 1977 and 24 hours a day in 1981.[7]

A one-mile extension into central Los Angeles opened in 1989.[2]

Construction of the Harbor Transitway shared-use bus corridor in the median of Interstate 110 was approved in 1987 and was completed in 1995. In 1993 plans for a high frequency 'dual-hub' service were proposed, which would operate along both busways between El Monte Bus Station in the east via downtown to the Harbor Gateway Transit Center in the south with buses very 2–3 minutes and a total journey time of about 60 minutes. [8] A lack of funding meant that a service of this type was not introduced until December 2009.

State bill 63 lowered the carpool occupancy requirement from three occupants to two on January 1, 2000. This was intended to be a 24-month experiment, but it was canceled after only 6 months. There had been a large increase in the number of vehicles using the lane in that period, greatly increased journey-times, and reduced average vehicle occupancy. Over this time speeds on the busway dropped from 65 mph (105 km/h) to 20 mph (32 km/h) and journey times increased by 20–30 minutes making it slower than the regular lanes where speeds dropped from 25 mph (40 km/h) to 23 mph (37 km/h). Accident rates on the busway increased significantly from zero in the six months before the experiment to five during the experiment. Foothill Transit needed to hire more drivers and stage more buses to provide busway service, and the change generated over 1,000 complaints to government agencies.[2]

The above bill had been proposed by senator Hilda Solis and authorized by Governor Gray Davis on July 1999 and was supported by many cities hoping that carpool rates would increase but had been opposed by Caltrans, Foothill Transit and the Southern California Transit Advocates (a transit users' organization). As a result of the increased congestion, an emergency measure (Bill 769) was passed in July 2000 to terminate the experiment during peak hours, raising the occupancy required to three occupants or more between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, in both directions. On weekends and at other times, the two occupant rule remains. This bill was supported by Hilda Solis, who had proposed the original bill. Motorcycles, clean fueled vehicles, hybrid vehicles (with the appropriate sticker), and buses (with or without passengers) are allowed on the busway at all times. However, the busway was still congested during peak hours and heavily congested just before and after peak hours.

The Metro Silver Line operates between the El Monte Bus Station and the Harbor Gateway Transit Center via downtown Los Angeles using the El Monte Busway and the Harbor Busways, which started operation on December 13, 2009, and ridership on both busways have steadily increased. Frequencies for the Metro Silver Line have improved as a result of the increased ridership demands.

The El Monte Bus Station on the eastern end of the line, is busiest bus terminal west of Chicago, with 22,000 boardings daily as of 2010.[9] The El Monte Station was rebuilt to double its capacity to 40,000 passengers as part of the Metro ExpressLanes project. Work began in September 2010[10] and was completed in October 2012.

The bus/HOV lanes were converted to high-occupancy toll lanes in February 2013 as part of the Metro ExpressLanes project,[11][12] allowing low occupancy vehicles to use the lanes on payment of a fee which will vary dynamically with traffic levels. Vehicles with 2 occupants will be charged a dynamic fee during peak hours but not at other times. Vehicles with 3 or more people will be able to use the lanes without charge at all times but must have obtained a Fastrak transponder in advance to do so without being stopped and/or cited.[13] Also, as part of this project, an additional lane was added, resulting in nine miles of two HOT lanes in each direction from I-605 to I-710 and one HOT lane in each direction from I-710 to Alameda Street.[14]

In January 2015, the Cal State LA and LA County+USC Medical Center stations were temporarily closed for one month to replace stairways and lights.[15]

On November 1, 2020, a new station was opened at Patsaouras Transit Plaza to serve Union Station, funded in part by Metro ExpressLanes toll revenue.[12] The street stop at the entrance to the El Monte Busway/Alameda Street was repurposed as a layover stop. The project was originally scheduled to open in 2015, but project delays had pushed the opening back.[16]

Entrances and exits

The carpool lanes of the El Monte Busway can only be entered and exited at a few points. The segment from El Monte to I-710 is demarcated not only with two 'double yellow' lines, which are typical of Southern California HOV lanes, but also an approximately 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) asphalt median. The segment west of I-710 into Downtown Los Angeles is on an alignment separate from the regular lanes of the I-10. As part of the ExpressLanes project, this buffer zone was restriped into a travel lane.

Westbound entrances are at I-605, Baldwin Ave. in El Monte, El Monte Bus Station (for buses only), Del Mar Ave. (where motorists take a ramp from street level), and I-710 (for buses only). Westbound exits are at Baldwin Ave., Fremont Ave., I-710, I-5, Vignes St., and Alameda St. Eastbound entrances are at Alameda St., Patsaouras Transit Plaza at Union Station, I-710, and Baldwin Ave. Eastbound exits are at Patsaouras Transit Plaza, I-710 (for buses only), Del Mar Ave. (where motorists take a ramp to street level), Baldwin Ave., and I-605.

Tolls

As of October 2020, the high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes are a 24/7 service. Solo drivers are tolled using a variable pricing system based on the time of day. For two-person carpools, they are charged the posted toll during the peak hours between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., and between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.; no toll is charged during off-peak hours. Carpools with three or more occupants have toll-free access at all times.[17] All tolls are collected using an open road tolling system, and therefore there are no toll booths to receive cash. Each vehicle using the HOT lanes is required to carry a FasTrak Flex transponder, with its switch set to indicate the number of the vehicle's occupants (1, 2, or 3 or more).[17]

Bus services

Bus services that utilize the El Monte Busway operate between Downtown Los Angeles and various points in the San Gabriel Valley and Pomona Valley, as well as the San Bernardino County cities of Chino and Montclair.

A mix of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Foothill Transit buses use the busway. Two bus rapid transit routes utilize the El Monte Busway: the J Line, operated by LA Metro and the Silver Streak, operated by Foothill Transit. These routes offer frequent service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Metro and Foothill Transit offer a reciprocal fare program where pass holders may ride either J Line or Silver Streak buses between Downtown Los Angeles and the El Monte Station.[18]

The El Monte Busway is also used by several Metro Express 487 and 489 along with Foothill Transit 490, 493, 495, 498, 499 and 699. Metro Express 487, operates all-day, seven days a week, the rest only run during weekday peak periods.

List of stations

The El Monte Busway has four stations. The stations from west to east are:

Station Busway Services Major connections and notes
Union Station J Line Metro J Line: 910, 950
  • Metro Express: 487, 489
  • Foothill Transit: Silver Streak, 490, 493, 495, 498, 499, 699
 Connects with  B Line,  D Line,  L Line, Amtrak, LAX FlyAway and Metrolink
Paid parking: 3,000 stalls
LA County+USC Medical Center J Line Metro J Line: 910, 950
  • Metro Express: 487, 489
  • Foothill Transit: Silver Streak, 490, 493, 495, 498, 499, 699
Cal State LA J Line Metro J Line: 910, 950
  • Metro Express: 487, 489
  • Foothill Transit: Silver Streak, 490, 493, 495, 498, 499, 699
 Connects with Metrolink
El Monte Station J Line Metro J Line: 910, 950 Park and ride: 1,287 stalls

References

  1. ^ Moore, James E.; et al. "Planning and Markets II. Alternative Transit Options".
  2. ^ a b c Turnbull, Katherine F. (June 2002). "Executive Report. Effects of Changing HOV Lane occupancy requirements: El Monte Busway Case Study". Texas Transportation Institute, Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "40 Years Ago This Week: Groundbreaking For El Monte Busway — California's First Multi-Modal System & The World's First Bus Rapid Transit Station". Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. January 24, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Draft Environmental Statement of Proposed Express Busway on the San Bernardino Freeway" (PDF). California Department of Public Works, Division of Highways, Southern California Rapid Transit District. January 1971. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Red Car Tracks Come Up To Make Way For Busway" (PDF). RTD Flyer. February 11, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  6. ^ "El Monte-Los Angeles Busway Groundbreaking Marks New Era For RTD" (PDF). RTD Flyer. January 28, 1972. pp. 1–3. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "El Monte Busway". Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. May 2, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "Dual Hub High Occupancy Vehicle Transitway Report" (PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Scheduling and Operations Planning Staff. August 1993.
  9. ^ "El Monte bus station work begins next week". The Source.
  10. ^ "Projects and programs: El Monte Station". Project Schedule Construction start date: September 2010 Anticipated completion date: Late Summer, 2012
  11. ^ "Metro ExpressLanes to Open on San Bernardino (10) Freeway". KNBC-TV/NBC Los Angeles. February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Metro ExpressLanes". Metro MTA.
  13. ^ "Metro Express Lanes 'The Plan' tab". Metro MTA.
  14. ^ http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/expresslanes/images/expresslanes_map.pdf
  15. ^ Hinton, Lexi (February 5, 2015). "El Monte Busway Stations reopen after month long construction project". The Source. Metro. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  16. ^ Carino, Meghan McCarty (January 2, 2017). "Metro starts work on pedestrian bridge at LA's Union Station". 89.3 KPCC. Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Using Metro ExpressLanes". www.metroexpresslanes.net. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  18. ^ http://foothilltransit.org/lines-and-schedules/silver2silver/
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=El_Monte_Busway&oldid=991396972"