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December 2, 2004
The BTA Board of Advisors will meet December 20, 2004 from 8 to 10 AM at GBC's offices, 111 S. Calvert Street . Meetings are open to Board members only. The meeting will feature a presentation by Sam Zimmerman, Principal for Transportation Planning with DMJM Harris, on characteristics and applications of Bus Rapid Transit.
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In mid-November MTA's Red Line planners held kick-off meetings with "Community Working Groups" along the Red Line corridor. The 10-mile line is divided among five working groups, and BTA was invited to serve on the group for downtown. The purpose of the groups is to provide the MTA with more detailed input than otherwise comes from public meetings, including comments on mode and alignment within each working group area. This is an important step toward building a planning process that can include broader community priorities and existing plans, as well as increase the benefits of the project to neighborhoods. We have been concerned that MTA's planning process to date is too passive, and community leaders do not feel included in the discussion. Successful use of the Community Working Groups will go a long way to address this issue.
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For both the MTA and local goverment agencies, planning for transit competes for attention with other priorities. While agency managers express support for the projects and the need to improve transit, this support must be translated into the day to day work of agency staff. To encourage this, GBC's Donald Fry is scheduling meetings with the MTA Administrator and Baltimore City 's Director of Planning. When meeting with MTA, Fry will seek assurances that the Red and Green line planning processes are supported within the agency, are part of its work plans, and are a priority of the Administrator.
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Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Act on November 20. The final total for transit in FY 2005 is $7.6 billion, an increase of 5.2 percent over last year. As expected, the lame duck Congress did not take up reauthorization, so the extension of TEA-21 until May 2005 that was approved last September is still in force. According ot the American Public Transportation Association's analysis, the extension is "generally clean in that it makes few programmatic changes and does not contain member projects." BTA will continue to monitor the process and work to ensure adequate funding for the Red and Green lines.
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To decrease the average age of its bus fleet, MTA is purchasing new buses in 2005. The vehicles, all of which will be "low floor" models that allow riders to step directly from the curb to the bus, will be delivered in batches beginning this February until the full order of 125 is complete. MTA is also negotiating with New Flyer, the bus manufacturer, for an additional order which may also include full-sized "hybrid electric" models as well as shorter models for use on neighborhood shuttle routes. Federal regulations require that buses be kept in service for at least 12 years but many buses in MTA's fleet have been operating far longer, some for 17 or 18 years. New buses are more reliable and more comfortable, as well as being fully accessible for riders in wheelchairs. For a "sneak preview" of a prototype undergoing inspection at MTA's Northwest Bus Division, click here.
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