San Francisco's new bus rapid transit lanes on Van Ness getting rave reviews
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ค. 2022
- It is a project that took many years and caused a lot of headaches, but it appears to be working. San Francisco's Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit Project was approved in 2013 and finally got rolling in May. Now, a lot of people are already calling it a success. Wilson Walker reports.
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Good. Build more of them! A lot more!
lovely to see you here! long time watcher (and also londoner). Immediately thought of your channel again for that video on why traffic is helped by improved public transit as opposed to just opening more lanes
Not just buses
Love your channel ❤️
Wish we had those in NY and Philadelphia.
I was just thinking about what NJB would say about this! Love your channel!
Let this be a lesson: if you build high quality public transit people will use it.
If you force people off the road and close streets to cars and only allow public transport to get to certain places people will have no choice BUT to use it.
@@nazc0 if you force busses to get stuck in traffic and don't leave room for bikes people will have no choice but to drive. The goal is to provide several different transposition options for any given trip.
@@nazc0 Looks like cars can still use the road, no?
@@alexcarlone7967 I mean all the numerous other street closures. Not this one specifically. Market street, great highway, so many downtown streets, union Square, bunch of streets in north Beach. Again, as someone who used to drive everywhere in the city and go to restaurants all over, I haven't stepped foot in those areas in over a year, and I'm not alone. The impact has been extremely evident with all the business closures even after pandemic restrictions were lifted.
@@nazc0 but even the car drivers are positive about this change.
The reason: more people on the bus is less people in a car. Removing cars improves travel time exponentially for other cars and not linearly like a lot of people think.
I saw a fire truck and an ambulance moving so quickly in the red lane. That made me so happy
an additional benefit of seperated lanes, emergency vehicle are less stuck in traffic as well.
Speaking of. I'm a NYC bus driver & a fire truck using our priority bus lane struck one of our buses that was picking up passengers in the bus lane.
@@King_of_Africa In the Austrian Capital Vienna it is very common that emergency vehicle uses these lanes
@@King_of_Africa That's a shame, but don't let that single incident be the enemy of a better solution. Remember that in NYC, fire trucks get hit by cars all the time as they weave through traffic at a slow pace. Just one collision in a bus lane is amazing news.
@@h.d.h Nah it's does bother me. I just mentioned it because it recently happened.
I have to admit, it's actually really good. The buses are clean and modern, the ride time is definitely sped up because of the rapid transit improvements, and the street looks a lot nicer because of the added trees. As traffic increases, this project definitely helps increase the throughput of the road. Many parts of SF that never had rapid transit access now do. Let's hope it continues to be well-maintained. Hopefully more projects like this are launched throughout the city (but they should take less time to complete).
I hv always suspected bad public transportation in SF is done on purpose.. Theres unscrupulous lobby working behind it..
I think it's great if you take public transit, but a mess if you have to drive. Taking 3 lanes for cars and jamming that traffic into 2 lanes will not make traffic better, this is basic physics. I have experienced a lot of traffic during the middle of the day when it should be clear, but the bus lanes are completely empty. From a Computer Science perspective, if you have a lane that is empty 95% of the time, and the other lanes are full, you don't have an efficient system. Not all of us can ditch the car and take public transit. I for one have to carry tools and spare parts from client to client all over the bay. I couldn't do my job taking public transit, and the delays in commute times adds cost to my clients bills. I have to avoid vanness now or it will add at least 10 minutes to get from one side to the other.
@@heyaisdabomb but cars still have the vast majority of space, including a street parking lane on either side which honestly shouldn't even exist on a busy thoroughfare like van ness. plus, traffic in cities is not caused by a lack of lanes but by chokepoints like intersections, lanes merging, freeway offramps, etc. it's also why widening a freeway in a densely populated area doesn't necessarily speed up traffic even in the absence of induced demand, because the chokepoints (basically city streets and traffic lights) cannot be improved. of course not everyone can take transit or bike, but the majority of san franciscans don't carry heavy things on a regular basis. plus, the redesigned street is a lot more pleasant, due to the new sidewalks and street trees planted in the median. and even after this, cars still dominate public space.
@@heyaisdabomb Van Ness BRT is just the first step towards clearing the road for someone like you. Many other things has to happen to chg the old city model that is car centrist.
Unfortunately the process will make things worse, b4 it gets better.
@@heyaisdabomb cars take wayyyyyyyyyy more space than public transit as a whole. As an actual Computer Scientist, you have to take into account all variables, including the number of people who will now choose to take the BRT instead of drive, thus reducing traffic. You also have to take into account that San Francisco is a growing city and that the street was going to get congested no matter what, BRT or not. At least now, people have options to avoid traffic entirely. Not to mention that with most people and 99% of trips, they don't need to carry a van full of tools and spare parts.
The city should install ground detectors that can register when a bus is approaching a light.
That way the light can give priority to the busses and help improve the amount of trips/passengers it can take.
Indianapolis uses a GPS-based system for its signal priority on BRT. It's rare for the bus to catch a red light unless it has been sitting at a station and the priority timed out.
They do that with LRVs & Cable cars it causes a lot of traffic often especially on busy streets.
Usually I think they either use gps, cameras, or you put a radio proximity sensor on the front of the bus and sensors on all the lights to sense when the bus is coming
On time and on budget? Haaaaahaaa !
You don't need to do that.
You want a bus to be reasonably fast, and most important, on schedule.
In Europe some busses get priority only when they are behind schedule.
That way you don't disturb traffic flow when the bus is on schedule.
It’s crazy how studies for the last 20 years have shown how effective mass transit can be when implemented properly
It's also crazy how long and expensive it was
@@blanknblank1 Significantly more so on both counts because of all the obstacles along the way. Changes, delays, and basically people getting the way constantly for self interest.
@@blanknblank1 Highway projects cost way more money and carry way less people
Buses < trains
True but we take Ws where we can
People want to live in cities that are walkable and with good public transportation. We need more of this all across the country. The less cars, the better.
*fewer
+ cycle-able !!!!!
People also want to live in cities where they don't have to navigate homeless encampments. I don't say this to be cynical but it's a big deterent to living in American cities.
@@janeknox3036 ehhh it’s only a problem in NYC, LA, SF. Most cities have managed the homeless quite well and though the issue was critical during the pandemic it has improved quite a lot since then. I noticed it a lot in ATL during the pandemic but since then the cities are clean, crime has gone down and m new projects have made things so much more walkable and pleasant. Love it here
so glad they implemented this. giving more efficient forms of transportation priority moves more people, faster, reduces traffic. Literally everbody wins: drivers, transit riders pedestrians, businesses
fabulous ! hope we see more and more of this in the USA ! so tired of driving from parking lot to parking lot, we want to walk
Exactly. People have been trained to believe that cars are needed for absolutely everything and that there’s no way we could design cities to be more walkable and efficient
@@davidcarias4407 To be fair, in current city infrastructure, cars are needed for absolutely everything. My school is just over a mile away, yet it would take me around an hour to walk there, 40 minutes by bus, compared to the 10 minutes by car. That's just travel time, not even including the pain in the ass walking/bicycling there, small/no sidewalks, over 100 degree weather, no shade to cover you from direct sunlight. I'd enjoy better alternative ways of transportation, but current city design is meant for cars.
American cities always seem to be surprised that public transit projects that are well planned and funded work out well.
Also, the rightmost car lane needs to go as well. Make room for protected bike lanes.
I think the bike lanes should be integrated into the sidewalk, because people still use a lot of cars in the US. Baby steps.
@@dairokkan.sg2 You’ll be surprised at how effective it would be if the whole right lane was taken up, as they said, with flowerbed protected kerbs separating a 2 metre wide bicycle path.
Eventually somewhere down the line it may even be easier to make this particular piece of infrastructure in the median that is dedicated for public transit be given rails like it is on Market Street. This way the public transportation can easily increase the capacity whilst not needing to worry as much about wear & tear. Plus there’s an emissions reduction benefit, as the fuel that would need to be used to propel the vehicle would legitimately just be the electrical grid.
A parallel bike highway might be better. Go 1 or 2 blocks over and take a small one-laner with parking and remove one side of parking. Parking lanes are usually 8-feet - that's 6 feet for a two-way bike lane and 2 feet for extra curbing. If you attach that right to the sidewalk and just make the bike lane visually distinct, that extra two feet will benefit everyone, and people wouldn't oppose the sidewalk space needed for trees, other plant stuff, bike parking, or municipal bike rental stalls.
Now you've quieted down a residential street and increased capacity while giving bikers a MUCH nicer ride and improved the streetscape all without reducing traffic flows on the arterial, all only at the expense of a little parking. Granted, it can be hard to sell "Reduce available neighborhood parking spaces by 6%" or whatever, but if you're in a dense city that's already a problem that you're used to
If you can't get that through community development boards, find a parallel 2-way and do the reviews to see if you can 1-way it without blowing up the grid. If you can, you now have 11 feet of former driving lane to work with
@@dairokkan.sg2 No, do it properly the first time. No more half measures Waltah.
@@ErdTirdMans The parallel road one block over, Polk St., is a really amazing walkable street with tons of shops, restaurants, bars, primary care, etc. I bike on that street all the time and that is the street encouraged for biking use rather than Van Ness, but it could be made much better (no protected lanes for most of the street, but because of all the pedestrians and light slow moving traffic it is okay). They can't simply get rid of the parking on it though because a lot of the parking spots are now used for outdoor dining.
Mexico City has similar bus lanes but they actually use barrier dividers that way bad drivers don’t use them when they’re stuck in traffic.
Here they are handed tickets
well another benefit of the dedicated lanes is that emergency services can use them so i don't think that'd be ideal
@@keucher emergency vehicles can still use the bus lanes with barriers
Oakland REALLY needs this. We have some of the most dangerous drivers
I live in Mexico city and I love this system, in addition to the many new lines you can now use the same payment method in this lines (called metrobus), the underground metro, surface light rail and some other bus lines across the city. It really does improve driving, walkability and even cycling as you can travel with your bike at some periods of time during weekdays.
Great alternative to light rail. There is something about having clear marked lanes (like clearly visible light rail tracks) that make people more confident to use PT.
Light rail is still better with higher amounts of passengers (metro services even better), but long buses can absolutely be good. In Oslo Norway many of these buses are also fully electric now. Bus lanes is of course very common there.
Light rail would be better in the long term, but a bus can be implemented fast. Anything to reduce cars clogging up the road is good
@@thienphucn1 Yeah, electric buses are already a well functioning technology and even trolley buses could be considered. Regular buses are of course also better than car traffic.
@@rowaystarco Im a fan of the electric battery buses that can charge using a pantograph. Basically only need cables for the main streets w/ designated bus lanes, and the can be a regular bus elsewhere. And then doesn't have the range restrictions of a full battery bus.
@@chrisorr8601 Experience here in Oslo is that regular electric buses (even articulated buses) can work fine without cables in the main street. They charge at the end stops. That being said, Oslo has trams and metro lines in the higher traffic areas. So they fill in for trolleybuses (and are even better) .
All public transport will be electric in Oslo in a few years.
Cool project! Well done San Francisco! American transit is getting better step by step. I hope someday it's going to be like in Europe or Japan! 👍👍👍
Yeah hopefully Canada, NZ and my home country of Australia will too!
@@geo3867 I guess Australian transit is decent already. The tram network in Melbourne is the biggest in the world for instance. 👍
@@yerlanbulekov3598 True the tram network for inner city Melbourne is really good but public transport access in Melbourne's as well as the rest of Australia's suburbs is comparable to the us albeit probably with better suburban bus and train networks
@@geo3867 OK, got it!
Done at 10x+ the cost
I don't even live in SF but this is exciting!
Hopefully we'll see more of this happening in cities and towns across the country!
For me as a western european this looks like the US has just invented the wheel. But it's nice to see them doing something. They should make a trip to europe and see how we do it with transit lanes and priority on traffic lights.
Americans strayed from the path of public transit with the birth of the internal combustion engine and the total cultural dominance of the car. It's like fighting a battle for life and death to get people to even BELIEVE there is a better way, let alone vote/change regulations for it. The auto lobby has some completely, thoroughly, utterly fucked over the zoning, regulatory, and funding mechanisms that it is literally 10x harder to build public transit than it is to build or expand roads for cars. It's utterly insane until you think about it from the perspective of an automobile executive. We didn't just discover public transit - we are rediscovering it, and just how far we have fallen from using it.
As a fellow european, that's an unnecessary comment. No need to be condescending.
@@jeanlundi2141 yeah, you're surely an us-american. getting triggered by random comments on the internet.
@@afe31 No. I'm portuguese and I just don't like it when people talk about americans in such a tone. You come across as if you are from some enlightened state of existence.
@@jeanlundi2141 I just make fun about how a nation discovers the wheel in 2023. Calm down.
I am LOVING the positivity and support in the comments! Such a breath of fresh air. Great going SF and please build more in a timely manner especially!
Well done San Francisco. And thank you KPIX for the positive coverage. It would be so much easier to develop sustainable infrastructure if all media coverage was like this.
Having dedicated lanes solves the Downs-Thompson paradox. It's not only better for public transportation users, it's better for individual drivers as well.
Every bus load of passengers is 12-20 cars off the road... less cars on the road means less traffic. If you live in a major metropolis and use a car to commute to work you are wasting your money.
Same applies for bicycle lanes, which are missing from this road.
@@harenterberge2632 there are bike lanes on Polk St, which is just one street east of Van Ness. I ride my bike on Polk all the time. I wouldn’t ride a bike on Van Ness. That’s practically suicidal.
@@ericdew2021 it is suicidal because there are no bike lanes ;-).
But having bike lanes on a parallel street would indeed help cycle through-traffic. Nevertheless it does not help if your destination is on Venn street.
There are more public transport users especially in dense cities.
It is lovely. Have taken several times now. Waiting for the electric signs announcing arrival time. That said yesterday during rush the 49 was arriving at 7 minute intervals. It’s also just lovely and reminds me of a European country …
It reminds me of a bus.
-European
The lanes being on the left hand side make so much more sense. Here in NYC we have bus lanes on the right hand side and they become pointless because of jerks that double park in the bus lane. They don't even care about getting a ticket.
is way better than having not lane because it was worse .. the problem i'm seeing is that in 5 av from 110 to 59th i'm seeing more cars parking with not issues .. i don't know if the rich people from that area are having some consideration but anybody who drive around there will think that.
Huge improvement. I've used the 49 often for the last 10 years and this really makes taking the bus less stressful. Hopefully they bring back the 47 only because that bus would drop me off infront of Turtle Tower on 6th and bryant.
Who would have thought? Improve transit service and everyone benefits INCLUDING drivers.
@Paul Smith Less people are on the roads because they see a better transit service, resulting in less traffic for only those who need their car
@Paul Smith Nope. Not how this works.
@Paul Smith n-no buses are more space-efficient than you think, they take away so much space that is mostly used by single-person cars, so that bus is doing more than that lane could, plus the other benefits of buses like less pollution per person, choices for commuters, etc.
@Paul Smith wrong! look at the Netherlands. Cars are the absolute last thing in priority for roads. Bikes and public transit get priority at intersections. Signals change for busses. The pedistrian light dosnt just signal that someone’s waiting, it sometimes just changes the light instantly. Yet it’s always voted the best country to drive in, because since there’s so many alternatives to driving, there’s very few cars, and as a result very little traffic
@Paul Smith the data done on public infrastructure shows that the best solution to traffic is to push people towards public transit. Things like adding lanes have proven to make traffic worse due to induced demand, just look at Houston or LA.
Yes it was way too expensive but it is really awesome and I’m taking the bus way more often now
@@ZRodTW Hopefully more cities take this same approach
@@ZRodTW most people only think short term. It actually takes effort to think long term.
I'm curious about the number.
@@ZRodTW The problem oftentimes is, that many transportation system are privatized. Those companies do not get the reduced costs of less pollution etc.. That’s why public services should be run by some form if the government.
This should be standard practice across the us, I really respect this!
Cheaper and more flexible than LRT. It can build ridership over time and potentially lead to a business case for grade separated rail in the future. Well done.
It's not cheaper in the long run because of fuel.
@@cubersanonymous5180 that's why I always advocate for electric trolley buses.
@@ransom182 Still a nightmare for the drivers and maintenance.
@@cubersanonymous5180 Maybe, but it's a step up from what it was before. We need smaller projects like this to show US citizens that public transit really isn't that bad. Then maybe theyll be less opposed to building better infrastructure.
@@Preetzole 100% agree
I would love to take public transportation if it didn’t take 3 hours to get to my job.
Build an efficient transportation system and you’ll see everyone using it. It’s not a complicated idea
10 years ago. I was 14. This was unnecessarily slow.
it is incredible how long these projects take in the U.S. so much corruption and red tape
I've rode the 49 a few times now. It's good. Would be happy to see it happen for the 28 and 43.
Regarding parking, go look at Tony Seba's lectures. If he's right it won't matter, robotaxis will become most of the traffic within a few years and more parking than we can use will suddenly appear, effectively another small city's worth of land. In that reality, we'll still need bike and transit options to clear out traffic, so might as well get the road diet and dedicated lane projects underway now.
I don’t understand why more cities don’t have bus routes. They’re a no brainer! Especially in congested areas!
Buses don't work
@@CaioHenrique-bt8qz if they have dedicated routes like the video above. They clearly work.
Brings a tear to the eye.
Wow, the Americans are discovering that public transport can be great! Even better than cars.
we just heard about buses this year
@@sammyp9514 Hahah that’s funny. Better late than never
Since public transport in the US is shitty people don’t even consider it as an option
But create an effective public transport system and people will use it 🤷♂️ it’s that easy
Not discovering, but remembering. The US used to have the most extensive public transit system in the world until automobiles took over
@@carstarsarstenstesenn They took over because car manufacturers lobbied politicians and because they could also use highways to segregate communities
Remember, this took 18 years from planning, to paperwork to government approvals to construction to constant delays and finally it opened.
Hopefully the next ones take much less
Then the bureaucracy and politics must be sucks, If 18 years needed for such a little painted road and buying a few mass produced buses.
@@01_zenyobi Yes, some cities in Europe (re)built their whole tram network in that time...
@@01_zenyobi i think they had to completely re-do the sewers below the street but it’s still a lot of time
And $400M
What a great report. Drone, GoPro, interviews…. Well done 👍 . This is why you are the #1 News station in the Bay Area
This is so awesome! It was a lot of construction, but love that it both looks and works amazing.
This can improve commutes within city centers, but it may be too late for the suburban sprawls.
We need to just make better mid rise housing closer to the citys and just abandon the suburbs cause NIMBYs are so irrational it isn't worth fighting them
this worked very good in nyc they did this a few years ago and its been a hit buses move very fast and cars dont mess it all up i love it good work i hope more cities do this too
We have red BUS ONLY lanes in NYC but the cops use them as parking lots.
I live in SF and when they were under construction it was a shit show to drive through. Glad they’re done with this project. Years back I went to a high school on Van Ness and had to take the dirty8 followed by any bus going down to Francisco street. There’d be so much traffic, I was always late. I might have to play tourist some day soon and see what that ride is like.
While this is a major improvement for San Francisco, let's not forget that the city still has massive NIMBY restrictions on building new residences and infrastructure. North Beach voted AGAINST getting a new Muni metro station built with the new extension because it would "disrupt the neighborhood". The city should be way more dense (and I don't just mean the homeless camps), and busses should be treated for what they are - a workaround or local extensions that connect to underground high speed rail.
There is no excuse the underground metro doesn't have dozens of routes connecting every single one of the major neighborhoods.
They built an underground tunnel through traffic so that rich people can get across town, except it's not underground and everyone can afford it.
Based
Here's hoping not just San Francisco get to building more public transit, but the rest of America too! I live in Japan now and it's been life-changing!
Thanks KPIX, this is great info. I actually didn't know about this project since I usually don't travel along Van Ness. Though I cross Van Ness going on Market, so I've been wondering what's been going on there.
SF needs a win. Good on ya :)
It's nice to see positive news for a change.
Imagine if people stayed off the red lane on geary and also mission muni would be really efficient
I think the idea of above ground public transit is flawed. Go to Barcelona and experience their underground train system. We are so far behind in technology.
They need to physically separate it from mixed traffic lanes, like they did here on Van Ness. They need to put islands or even those yellow plastic poles to separate the bus lanes.
Edit: People often think it's okay to drive on the shoulder to leapfrog traffic, so that's why they drive in the bus lane. They won't do that if it's a center bus lane though.
@Rocket Boards have you seen the central subway project? It is already over $313M over budget and delayed by at least four and a half years now.
Keep in mind this is going to be $2.1B for 1.7 miles of subway. That's absurd, and that's with the expectation that it won't be delayed again, which I highly doubt.
@@heyaisdabomb It just has to be separated and prioritized properly. Since you mentioned Barcelona: just look at their tram network.
This highlights how the Van Ness corridor will totally fail. This only appears to work because city leadership have murdered this city and brought it to a necrotic resemblance of it’s former self. Bring people back to the Van Ness corridor and it will be as obvious a failure as the mission bus lanes or anything else done in the last 15 years to “improve” things
Not bad but in Sao Paulo these are often elevated above the street level so they don't have to stop at the intersections.
Tbh you should just build a train at that point...
Elevated rail are cheaper than subway, but more expensive than BRT.. Money is the main consideration. But at the end, multiple types of public transportation will built to maximize the city budget..
@@jimbo1637 when labor is cheap, hiring bus drivers is cheaper overall than building expensive trains
Every city in the US needs this NOW
No
Reminds me of the bus lanes we have in London Uk. They're so much better as your not sitting in traffic all day ha ha. I love San Francisco. There and San Diego were my best parts of the west coast trip I did a fews back.
Why not build an Electric Trolleybus at that point? Or a Tram or Light Rail??
It is an electric trolleybus, or at least is meant to be. The wires are up but few of the buses seem to actually use them
It took a DECADE to create new crosswalks and islands? WTF?
Congratulations, you have just discovered how a BRT works. The BRT here in my city has been under construction for almost 20 years and has yet to be finished. 😂
Long live bus lanes! You can do it, US people!
was in SF these busses are packed even on a Saturday
Personally, I wish Florida had those instead of the ever increasing toll roads.
What they didn't mention is that this project has been under construction for at least six years. And now since I've been living right next to Van Ness, I can tell you that up until the project got audited, there was nothing being done and just empty construction zones along the whole street and awful pavement. It has only been the past year or so that they have actually done 85% of the project. And when they started working they did it fast.
There is something wrong in the city management and this needs to be fixed.
MUCH more than 6 years, closer to 10 really. most of that time was spent doing absolutely nothing. this project could've been completed in under a year
I totally agree, Curitiba, Brazil (a city in a 3rd world country) executed a similar project in a few months.
Once cities start seeing projects like these succeed, then hopefully it'll change the perception of public transit, and they'll be more inclined to make them a priority.
Do you forget they have had this all till the "own car"-time starts. Now they must start from scratch to make all new after 100 years. This is incredibly first but if the bus do not stick in traffic stops it is the change for you to change to a bus ride for go order your products from jewellery shop next time.
@@OldLordSpeedy what?
This is actually very cool to see. I would love to see this get instituted in my city
We had bus lanes like these in London in the 90s… good to see NIH didn’t stop this project from being completed.
"Lessons learned": Those lessons were already learned many many years ago. And implemented. In other countries. What is it that people never look over borders for "lessons learned". What about "better well stolen than badly invented "?
And don't forget to grab that donut when you hit Market!
It’s almost like people will use public transportation if it works well
Oh, that's exciting! I'm glad San Fransisco found a quick way to get it rolling out as well!
😂
This actually deserves to be news; people making improvements for the sake of people
Wow. I’m speechless. I can’t believe the finally fucking did something intelligent in this country. That they actually did SOMETHING at all. We need more of this. When there is FUNDING and a THOUGHT into what is being done then of course it would work.
Unlike othersss…… (clears throat) high speed rail
This. Is. Refreshing. And, in my opinion, the best path forward. BRT everywhere. Let's go.
Good Job on the Muni Project! :)
Why does it take 9 years to paint some roads ?
They don't spend 9 years pondering car-only lanes. Only lanes that are useful for all people take so many years of controversy.
I wish more cities had these. Separate traffic of busses even if it means less lanes for cars and maybe add seperated bike lanes too.
@Paul Smith The future is now, old man. Impound all cars and destroy all vehicle only roads.
@Paul Smith Carbrain.
@Paul Smith Once cars are fully autonomous I will take over their systems and have them ram full speed into the nearest wall.
@Paul Smith yes! screw cars, 90% of cars during rush hour have 1 person in them, yet 2 of them they take up the same space as a bus carrying 50 people. Which one should get priority? The 2 cars carrying 2 people, or the bus that’s not only moving 50 people, but removing 50 cars from the road?
@@staycgirlsitsgoingdown2 Add the pollution to that as well. A single big engine vs 40 smaller ones, Bus wins. Bikes are even better, no pollution at all
I need to visit SF more. When I started college the only way to get there was by a 2 hour commute by bus. It was very long and had so many stops. Luckily into my second quarter a new line opened up with fewer bus stops that went straight to the college. The previous bus line was chaotic, buses were always filled up with people going to work, college students going to school, and people wanting to go to the mall.
This looks great and I'm glad it's improving transit times but I have to ask, wouldn't adding a tram system do the exact same thing, be even faster, and be more environmentally friendly? Why keep using a road when a rail system would be much better?
Cheaper?
Slower tram can’t go that fast
They needed to build this first, it must've been hard enough to get this approved and no NIMBYs would let a team line happen
As someone who lives in NYC, there's some routes where it's more beneficial to have a bus than a tram as buses can make detours or go through 2 lane streets.
It's a shame when they are still dependent on cars to travel from one point to another in the US (obviously except Hawaii). When on other countries, you can go anywhere using public transportation carrying just a wheeled luggage. Not to mention getting robbed of the said wheeled luggage in the US.
The problem is that people prefer to use their cars other than being bunched up with random people. Due to COVID case rising, and especially the homeless issue.
From my experience riding the muni buses, the homeless cause a lot of disruption on board, causing people to get off and wait for the next bus. Especially when they smell real bad, like really really really bad, making passengers to leave or distance the individual far as possible away from him/her. I’ve seen homeless with mental issues throwing a fit for nothing and they scream and yell. It’s really disturbing and annoying. Also public fights on the buses is always a common thing in any big cities.
So these are the reasons why people choose to drive their car and pay the gas, rather than being on a bus with strangers and face uncomfortable occurrences.
People still need cars in Hawaii.
Though Honolulu is building an automated light metro…
@@MSaleh-vy8rr oh god forbid, did the little rich boy have to look at a homeless person? oh I’m so sorry, this is absolutely an acceptable reason for why we should make it impossible to live in America without being burdened with thousands of $ in car costs
Now let the buses flip the traffic lights to green so they don't have to stop at all. If you want to drive in a car, move to the suburbs or give way to buses.
Bus Rapid Transit AKA BRT.
Brazil has it, however it was truly great at the start, but now it is falling apart; like a certain subway in NY.
The metro in NYC was revolutionary at the start, however it seems to have stayed the same since it's construction. A problem that has to be avoided in SF.
disappointed by the lack of bike lanes, should have been redone to accommodate all forms of transit
They have built ok bike lanes on next street over
I rode the 49 up Van Ness and Yea there was a noticeable difference in speed.
Yay! Good news re SF!!!
So good to see this in America. It should be the norm!
Good, I hope they build more.
On east 14th in Oakland, the bus lanes are used for speeding cheaters.
are used.
I love it! I can’t wait to try it the next time I’m in San Francisco.
Good jobs San Francisco, keep making positive changes like this
welcome to 2022. we have this kind of transport since 2005
Finally a transportation system in America that is good like that one in Japan
Its just a bus lane
Erm... it's probably better than what US Americans are used to, but I hate to burst your bubble: it's still just a bus lane. Nowhere near the standard of most other developed countries.
Lol Muni ain’t it and never will be
All I can say is a good start I guess
I will want to see them making a 100MPH Metro Subway next
The only sort of good public transit system in North America is the NYC subway.
when are we going to have this on Highway 78 suburbs of Atlanta? the traffic is so bad it makes me cry🤣
New York MTA Needs to learn from these guys
Why? 10 years of planning and 6 years of construction for some bus lanes?
@@Gfynbcyiokbg8710 anything for better transit infrastructure.
Now they just have to be electric. Where I live pretty much every bus is electric as well. It’s so silent when it drives past you! That means less cars, less noise, and more trees
TROLLEY BUS TROLLEY BUS
@@CiaGuy Evolution:
Bus > BRT > Trolley BRT > Tram
BUILD A INTERURBAN/LIGHT RAIL/PRE METRO/METRO LINE!
@@maxcchiruno
Only in California can a bus lane take 10 years to construct.
Not just CA, most US cities design are decades behind those in EU & Asia.. You hv to understand there are those who are sabotaging the new chg..
They replaced a sewer main and various undocumented old utility lines, all while continuing to support 4 lanes of traffic. That took up most of the time. Building the bus lanes was the easy part.
Please do this more!!!
Holy Shit.
America has [finally] discovered Bus Lanes
Fecking really? South Africa had this decades ago, welcome to the future America.. 🤣😂
Thats what I said coming from Brazil, hahaha
Did South Africa also have a 5km long underwater metro tunnel as well? like San Francisco does and has since the 1970s? Didn't think so.
@@rabidmarmot first off stay of the topic of rail.. No one brought the discussion of a water tunnel to the table my guy..
In Holland also lots of dedicated lanes, especially in the city of Almere
Wait until people find out what happened to streetcars, who did it, and why. Spoiler: Who needs to buy a car in the city, when there are competing public mass-transportation businesses?
The streetcars are still in San Francisco thought
Now put more funding in BART facilities/security and add more BART routes.
No more Messy Nessy! About time! :)
I'm surprised all the asshole drivers haven't moved into that lane and blocked it up yet.
I can't speak to the situation in SF, but here in the UK drivers are fined for driving in bus lanes and there are enforcement cameras to encourage compliance.
I'm quite surprised and really disappointed to see loud, polluting diesel buses running under the trolley wires on Van Ness. The Van Ness BRT was supposed to be electric trolley coaches. Who's bright idea was it to run diesel buses on the line? That trolley coach overhead wire was all rebuilt on Van Ness for the BRT. And while the MUNI is at it, Geary should be electric trolley coaches ASAP, not diesel buses. And if they really want to do something right, make Geary a streetcar line. It should have been one for years. Geary is too heavy of a line for rubber tire transit.
These are not diesel buses
@@qjtvaddict They certainly roar and sound like diesel engines. Listen again. And they have no trolley poles on them. They're certainly not trolley coaches.
Still a hell of a lot better than having thousands of people using cars.
Most modern busses in the US these days are CNG so that’s probably what it is.
They're very efficient hybrid buses. There are no trolley wires at many places on VanNess.
This is gonna be great for Fleet Week!!
NYC MTA needs to learn from them, the bus only lanes in NYC are pretty much just a suggestion to others.
Is it true that the operating expense of San Francisco is higher than the total of the nine smallest states of the Union?
Don't know. But the economic output is probably equal to those states too.
Sf GDP is higher than 37 full states
Could be. Sf budget is 13b$. If that money was spent right, sf could would easily be the best city in the country. But there’s too much corruption and mismanagement.
@@blainegabbertgabonemhofgoa6602 you know absolutely nothing
@@deancj1 care to enlighten us with what you know then
Cities need to stop caring about what suburbanites who drive into the city think. Every bus should be immune to traffic, no matter where. If cars need to be removed for that, then do be it.
They forget that they have buses to the city
just let the the lower class who commute hours into the city eat cake too
Plus it can be also used for emergency services that can get there as quickly as possible
There's something similar to this in San Bernardino and it works well too. The buses have their own lanes and lights
omg, the US is discovering public transport :o
We're about 30 years late but at least things are happening. Boston is really getting going here