(Blue Diamond Road) Corridor Study - Regional Transportation ...

8. Estimated System Costs RTC SR-160 Corridor Study
As under Alternative 1, annual service hours for each route alternative are a direct reflection
of the route length, peak service frequency, and operating speed of each route. For
Alternative 2, this means that the most service hours are associated with the express route
operating at 15 minute peak frequencies. On a cost basis, however, the higher cost per
hour results in the BRT route being the most expensive to operate.
8.2.4 Summary/Conclusions
Alternative 2 alternatives represent an overall lower level of investment than Alternative 1
alternatives in each of the three key years of investment – 2008, 2015, and 2025. The
delay of BRT implementation and one less local route under Alternative 2 build-out in 2025
result in a 34% lower overall operating cost impact than the Alternative 1 2025 alternative.
The difference between the two alternatives is even greater in 2008 with Alternative 1 being
85% more costly to operate than Alternative 2 which includes a single express route as
opposed to both an express and local route in Alternative 1. However, the 2008 Alternative
2 alternative provides no north-south connectivity to the current CAT system west of I-15
whereas Alternative 1 connects to the current CAT system along Rainbow Boulevard
Additionally, the higher initial investment under Alternative 1 results in less growth in
operating costs from 2008 to 2015, and 2008 to 2025 at 48 percent and 116 percent
respectively than under Alternative 2 where costs are estimated to grow by 86 percent from
2008 to 2015, and by 163 percent from 2008 to 2025. Cost growth is a direct reflection of
the number of service hours provided under each option as shown in EXHIBIT 8-8.
EXHIBIT 8-8: Comparison of Vehicle Service Hours
Alternative 1 Alternative 1 Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 2 Alternative 2
Service Hours
(2025) (2015) (2025) (2015) (2015) (2025)
Bus Service Hours 58,953 71,779 112,092 36,296 67,717 80,876
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