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

CHAPTER 4 – TECHNOLOGY OPITONS
Site Specific Requirements – Site specific requirements refer to the ability of the
technology to handle the geometric constraints, general system parameters and preliminary
ridership requirements of this study area and the corridors selected for detailed study.
Geometric (physical) constraints required of the technology include estimated turning
radius, space/right-of-way availability, profile grade, guideway length, and station spacing.
In addition, the technology must be safe.
Technical Maturity – Technical maturity refers to the level of development of the
technology group, or subgroup, including the overall maturity of the technology indicated
by development status, operating applications, current market activity, manufacturer
experience, and participation in the global market.
Service Performance – Service performance refers to the ability of the technology to
provide transit service adequate to accommodate initial peak hour peak direction passenger
loads and to be increased over time to accommodate future year demand on the proposed
transit lines.
Capital and Operating Costs – Every project presents a unique set of costs including
initial capital investments to build and equip the system, periodic capital expenditures
during its life to renew certain project elements, and ongoing costs to operate the service
and maintain all of the system elements in good working order.
CANDIDATE TRANSIT TECHNOLOGIES
The technology candidates are: intercity bus, express bus, bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail
transit (LRT), commuter rail and intercity rail. Each is to be considered in a form or forms
applicable to the needs of the corridors. The technology must function as high quality, “linehaul”
transit routes with stations spaced appropriately to serve the market. Finally, operating
examples from several cities are described to highlight the pros and cons of the several candidate
technologies.
Intercity Bus and BRT
The bus is ubiquitous and is found to be in most
urbanized areas in the country. Lincoln and Omaha
have a highly developed local network of bus
routes that provide urban dwellers with mobility
choices. Bus systems are very flexible and the
route design can incorporate elements of rapid
transit, such as stations spaced further apart than
local bus stops. Given the rural character of most
of Nebraska, motor coach technology is a viable
candidate technology in all of the corridors under
investigation for interregional express bus services.
Express bus is a bus operation that operates a portion of the route without stops or with a limited
number of stops. The express bus service is scheduled to operate faster than local service by
384180
NEBRASKA TRANSIT CORRIDORS STUDY
Page 4 - 3
WILBUR SMITH ASSOCIATES