NTRAC Final Study - Nebraska Department of Roads - State of ...

CHAPTER 6 – EXPRESS BUS PLANS
SCENARIO B: ALL EXPRESS BUS
Scenario B would provide express bus service between Lincoln and Omaha (Route B1); between
Fremont and Omaha (Route B2); and between Blair and Omaha (Route B3). A summary of
Scenario B costs and revenues appears in Table 6-5 below.
Table 6-5: Summary of Scenario B, Costs and Ridership
Elements
Components
Route B1
Between
Route B2
Between Omaha
Route B3
Between Blair Totals
Lincoln and
Omaha
and Fremont and Omaha
Annual O&M Costs $439,000 $125,000 $85,000 $649,000
Capital Costs $728,000 $764,000 $789,000 $2.3 million
Rolling Stock $2.25 million $1.35 million $1.35 million $4.95 million
Annual Ridership 56,000 to 81,000 24,000 to 29,000 28,000 to 32,000 108,000 to 141,000
Annual Revenue
$168,000 to
$242,000
$61,000 to
$74,000
$59,000 to
$67,000
$288,000 to
$381,000
Note: Costs in 2003 dollars. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand. Source: Wilbur Smith Associates, July
2003.
Bus Route B1: Lincoln-Omaha
Express bus service would be provided between Lincoln and Omaha on 30-minute headways in
the AM and PM peak periods. Market analysis shows that the ridership demand is bi-directional.
There would be a total of 14 weekday trips – four from Lincoln to Omaha and three from Omaha
to Lincoln in the morning, and the reciprocal flows in the afternoon. (Because the heavier
forecasted morning flow will be toward Omaha, there are more morning Omaha-bound buses
scheduled.) Buses in Lincoln will layover mid-day and overnight at a leased facility ($1000 per
month), thence to deploy for PM trips. Buses in Omaha will be serviced mid-day at the
maintenance facility, thence to be deployed for PM trips.
Buses from Lincoln would begin their trips to Omaha from the State Office Building (14 th and M
Streets) 5 . They would proceed northbound by city streets to the State Fairgrounds, where riders
will have access to ample parking space. Buses would then proceed westbound via the
Cornhusker Highway (US-6) to I-180, thence northbound to I-80, thence eastbound to US 6,
thence to the new MAT hub in Downtown Omaha. Intermediate stops would include the Omaha
stops mentioned for Route A1. Passengers would continue to their final destinations via local
buses, with a free transfer. The return trip (and morning trips from Omaha to Lincoln) would
follow the same route. Some modification of the local bus service schedules may be desirable in
order to support the express bus service. One-way travel time is estimated at approximately 75
minutes.
Like the commuter rail plan (Chapter 5), this analysis assumes a Gretna stop. Owing to Gretna’s
three-mile distance from I-80 and the attendant run time impact), the stop will be off I-80 at the
Gretna outlets.
5 Alternatively, a Lincoln terminus could be the University of Nebraska.
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NEBRASKA TRANSIT CORRIDORS STUDY
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WILBUR SMITH ASSOCIATES