Opportunities for Priority Bus Transit
in the
Washington Region
A One-Day Conference
on Providing New Transportation Choices through Transit
Prioritization Strategies
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public
Registration required by June 17, 2009
Washington Plaza Hotel
10 Thomas Circle NW
Washington DC, 20005
Purpose
This conference, organized by he National Capital Regionl Transportation Planning Board (TPB), in conjunction with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is designed to support the region’s transportation planning efforts by bringing together key stakeholders to learn about options for prioritizing bus transit and building consensus for a regional priority bus network.
The TPB, the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the region, prepares plans and programs that the federal government must approve in order for federal-aid transportation funds to flow to the Washington region.
Background
The Washington region has a very successful public transit network, consisting of the world-class Metrorail system complemented by commuter rail systems and by regional and local bus systems which combine to support the regional core and dense activity centers.
To ensure continued success and provide greater levels of transit service, challenges to existing bus service must be addressed. These challenges include traffic congestion, overcrowding, schedule adherence, and reliability. Priority bus treatments can improve the capacity and efficiency of bus service.
The Washington region currently has numerous high performance bus projects under development or implementation. These include WMATA’s proposed Priority Corridor Network, the District of Columbia’s K Street Busway, express bus enhancements as part of the Shirley Highway HOT Lanes project, the ICC Enhanced Transit Plan and a series of existing and planned intermodal transit centers. Funding for many of these projects is uncertain, as state and county budgets have been tightened due to the current economic situation.
At the same time, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will provide the region with hundreds of millions of dollars in formula funding, as well as the opportunity to seek discretionary funding under a new multimodal program. The members and staff of the Scenario Study Task Force of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) are developing a plan for the first phase of a regional enhanced bus network, with the intention of seeking funding for this plan through the new discretionary multimodal program.
Conference Organization
The conference will be one full day. First, participants will learn about plans and prospects for priority bus transit in the region and examples of where similar projects have been implemented around the country. Then, stakeholder groups, transportation agency heads and local officials will discuss strategies and potential challenges related to providing priority bus transit in the Washington region. Lunch will be provided to conference attendees.