Yes, and also with articulated bendy buses with doors on both sides, center stations, and internal bike racks. Also at 8:06 if you think every 15 minutes is bad, that's Madison WI's headway during *peak* times - like Seattle it plummets after 7pm and on Sundays, but it goes all the way down to once every half hour.
I think I prefer having bus lanes running in the middle of the street. I think this is the best way to avoid having to fight businesses and drivers who want those curbs.
Honestly I don't understand why we don't just run fully BRT lines on dedicated streets more often. Would allow for cozy narrow streets with lots of bus service. Could even have bike lanes because you can easily fit dedicated turn lanes
2:20 I was there lol so I was ON THAT BUS and I went to 4th like you did, and luckily 6402 was waiting for me on 4th. That was nice. Too bad you were on 6406. You would've seen me on 6402. Yeah 6406 was in the back of 6400 and successfully rerouted.
As a Seattle transit rider, I have yet to be impressed by the RRG. I usually embark at the MLKjrBlvd stop and the screen will say “Now” and the G will be late and the bus will still be sitting there at the cull-de-sac! Like, “what’s the hold-up, buddy?” 😅 It would be nice if the bus is late the programmers should change the word from “Now” to “Soon” at least then we know it is still coming and not to expect the next one if it’s past peak in the evening. IDK. DOH and Metro tore up the road for FOUR YEARS and didn’t bother to prepare for after it was operational. It’s like they were sitting on their hands the whole time.
The G Line absolutely *deserves* to be the best one, and it should be theoretically, they just didnt do the proper testing to make sure it actually works
I, as a Southern Californian, love the RapidRide G Line through its flaws. I’ve experienced two types of BRTs. A busway BRT and a center running BRT. LA Metro’s G Line is actually really smooth when it runs properly (it’s been having issues due to the XE60s having problems in this recent heatwave lol.) The other BRT is the Omnitrans SBX, a BRT system with one line currently. It’s called the Green Line and also uses specialized 60’ vehicles and is center street running most of its length. I love it, and now the system is gonna add a new line dubbed the Purple Line, it’s going to be the same concept as the Green Line but with 40’ vehicles which will have airport luggage racks due to it stopping at Ontario International Airport. It’s a bummer that it’s going to use 40’ vehicles initially but rumors have it that if the ridership is there and the demand for it is also there, then there will be weekend service both days, (which is something the system currently lacks) and the Purple Line might use 60’ vehicles as well
@@wilfstor3078 Trust me, that won't stop SDOT from putting a bike lane up it, and leave it there even if they know that nobody will ever actually use it. NE 125th st has a bike lane up the hill and I've seen a grand total of 1 person ever riding in it.
Yay Italian Family Pizza! My favorite pizza in the city (meatball pie with mushroom). Hope the route (once it, you know, actually runs regularly without getting stuck) helps bring in more traffic to the restaurant.
It's worth noting that I've been seeing an increasing number of regular buses with additional ORCA card readers at their other doors. I haven't been keeping track of it, but I do wonder if that means that there's going to be more times when the just let everybody enter through all of the doors and just tap their cards on the way in.
I'm happy to see this recent increase in new BRT lines across the US, as it's a pretty good way to connect our cities and reduce car traffic. However I hope that this trend doesn't lead to a decrease in new rail construction, as LRT and Subways are still better in many instances. Also, how did they not test the steepness of that street even ONCE before opening the line? That's hilarious
@@JkWillis agreed, especially when it comes to the systems that are called BRT but don’t really include BRT elements! I have no idea how the bus bottomed out as they’d been testing the line for weeks before it opened
They didn't figure this out when they were training the drivers? Normally when there's a new route there's some degree of actual drives by the drivers so they know what they're doing when they drive the route for the first time with passengers.
The rider’s comment about route 43 brought out one of my gripes. That thing doesn’t exist to serve riders, it exists to get trolley buses to and from the U District to operate the 44. If the 44 were a diesel route, they’d just deadhead the buses like any other route, but for some reason they have clung to the belief that this deadhead needs to be an in service route 43 that always through routes to or from route 44. Metro should delete the route, since it doesn’t provide anything resembling consistent or frequent service.
@@thehouseoftransit2719so a few downsides, since it’s always through routed on the outbound side with a 44, any operational issues with that 43 cascade and continue to affect that 44 for the rest of the day. (This is especially notable when Montlake is closed over 520) It also distorts maps and makes it look like there is more service in that corridor than there actually is. Plus since it’s so infrequent riders don’t know where it goes, which ultimately means it operates slower as the operator has to answer more questions from riders.
I know headways and other stats are important to many young BRT users, but I have to challenge BRT proponents to account for modern issues (i.e. post-1990's thinking). 1) with over 1M being sold in the US per year, e-bikes are becoming the norm and 1980's road racing bikes are becoming less common. That means bikes often weighing 70-80 lbs., and front and rear fenders (yes, even old fashioned conventional bikes in Seattle will have fenders). So bike storage solutions that are hostile to heavy e-bikes and front fenders are a problem. 2) The ADA was enacted at the federal level in the early 1990s, essentially based on accessibility laws from the 1970's (already in place in Washington State, California and New York). Today, accessibility needs go far beyond the minimums of the past that focused only on wheelchair access. Wheelchair design has evolved and more often than not is motorized too. In addition, a whole generation of mobility-impaired now struggle with knee replacement and other challenges that do not put them in a wheelchair, but do make stairs and steps and big obstacle. You can see one of the new generation of non-wheelchair mobility-impaired in your video crossing the street with her walker. In more recent years, buses have made a feeble attempt to address the stair/step issue with low-floor designs, that help, but do not solve accessibility issues.
@@tedbellWRV fully agree about the importance of ADA, but with low floor buses that board at level platforms I’m unclear on what your concern is? Also, I would think these internal bike racks would make it easier to load a large e-bike?
@@thehouseoftransit2719 First of all, I very much appreciate your video. And yes, depending on the particular configuration, the low floor buses can help to get INTO the bus. However, once in the bus, the seating too often requires climbing up and down steps or steep ramps. The articulated flooring is not much better. All this presents a challenge for the millions of us with bad knees, etc. that are unsteady standing or going up and down levels. (Even though people like me are certified as disabled, we are not in wheelchairs.) Part of the issue, is that often the "main" level area of a low floor bus (or on a street car or light rail, for that matter) is set up for standing or in the case of your video, bicycles (or wheelchairs). I'm very pro bike on bus, as I was using KC Metro buses to commute into Pioneer Square going back 30 years. That said the bike storage you showed is for a lightweight, non-e-bike. Personally, I can lift my e-bike up - but many e-bikers are age 50 to 75 year old and especially smaller riders cannot lift an e-bike that weighs 75 to 80 lbs. The BRTs are alienating a rider group the transit agencies don't seem to recognize exists. There are millions of age 50 to 75 year olds forging a second car and are riding e-bikes to get around. This group would love to use transit to go Downtown and avoid parking, etc. Even without a bike, the "lame knee" crowd would love to ride transit to go to doctor appointments, entertainment, events, etc. My dream is the transit people that are seemingly hell-bent on BRT, figure out the challenges they are ignoring and find solutions.
@@BirbarianHomeGuard nothing was torn out but the G was at one point planned to use overhead wire infrastructure that is now going unused. Supposedly the reason they didn’t is they couldn’t find a manufacturer willing to build a trolleybus with doors on both sides.
Shouldn't the people designing these things have taken classes to learn the basic principles and/or traveled to other cities that have them for reference? also, in listing Seattle's perks you forgot the unforgettable nightlife
So basically it's a shitty tram without the ride quality. Or the cheaper maintenance. Don't get me wrong I'd rather have it than not but why do US cities seemingly always choose a worse option.
Madison is too steep for trams unless you want Seattle to install the country's first modern cog rail route. It's literally stated that the street is too steep for rail in the video.
@@Norfirio If they really wanted to, they could use a cog system like the Swiss do on some of theirs. It would be expensive, inflexible and cause other issues, but it could be done. But, really, it made far more sense to just run a trolley bus, especially given how short the line is and how steep the hills are.
I had a surgery appointment a few months ago when they installed those center appointments. The person giving me a ride (required) couldn't get their small car down the street when the bus was on it because the lane was too narrow. Nobody is going to be able to take buses to major medical appointments. The absolute worst part of this is living in an adjacent city where we are forced to pay RTA taxes to fund BRT and light rail that my city will never have. It's the verify definition of oppression, not tranist.
I love the massive steel plate to lift the buses because they didn't bother measuring that the platform was too high 😂. oh Seattle
Let’s go! Great overview, and also spot on with the jokes!!!
Meanwhile, a BRT system in Madison (the city, Wisconsin) launched a week after this service. Big month for places named Madison and getting BRT.
Yes, and also with articulated bendy buses with doors on both sides, center stations, and internal bike racks. Also at 8:06 if you think every 15 minutes is bad, that's Madison WI's headway during *peak* times - like Seattle it plummets after 7pm and on Sundays, but it goes all the way down to once every half hour.
nice! a proper real local dive into our transit!
I think I prefer having bus lanes running in the middle of the street. I think this is the best way to avoid having to fight businesses and drivers who want those curbs.
Honestly I don't understand why we don't just run fully BRT lines on dedicated streets more often. Would allow for cozy narrow streets with lots of bus service. Could even have bike lanes because you can easily fit dedicated turn lanes
Big oops on only realizing they messed up the bus stops only after it opened to riders... Rare LA W over Seattle I'm afraid.
@@Jessie-vm6kq we’ll give ‘em this one
2:20 I was there lol so I was ON THAT BUS and I went to 4th like you did, and luckily 6402 was waiting for me on 4th. That was nice. Too bad you were on 6406. You would've seen me on 6402. Yeah 6406 was in the back of 6400 and successfully rerouted.
love this, buses with doors on both sides are overhated (Tempo enjoyer here!)
I do feel like it makes it harder for other bus routes to take advantage of the corridor, and also removes up to 8 seats from each bus.
In general on of the best Transit Videos I have Seen in a long time. Keep it up
As a Seattle transit rider, I have yet to be impressed by the RRG. I usually embark at the MLKjrBlvd stop and the screen will say “Now” and the G will be late and the bus will still be sitting there at the cull-de-sac! Like, “what’s the hold-up, buddy?” 😅 It would be nice if the bus is late the programmers should change the word from “Now” to “Soon” at least then we know it is still coming and not to expect the next one if it’s past peak in the evening. IDK. DOH and Metro tore up the road for FOUR YEARS and didn’t bother to prepare for after it was operational. It’s like they were sitting on their hands the whole time.
Weird that the G line doesn't go all the way to Madison Park.
@@RipCityBassWorks Madison Park is quite a bit wealthier and lower-density than the rest of that line so it’s probably fine, at least for now
Yep... ask the wealthier folks in Madison Park... they dont want to bring "other people" into their part of town.
The G Line absolutely *deserves* to be the best one, and it should be theoretically, they just didnt do the proper testing to make sure it actually works
I, as a Southern Californian, love the RapidRide G Line through its flaws. I’ve experienced two types of BRTs. A busway BRT and a center running BRT. LA Metro’s G Line is actually really smooth when it runs properly (it’s been having issues due to the XE60s having problems in this recent heatwave lol.) The other BRT is the Omnitrans SBX, a BRT system with one line currently. It’s called the Green Line and also uses specialized 60’ vehicles and is center street running most of its length. I love it, and now the system is gonna add a new line dubbed the Purple Line, it’s going to be the same concept as the Green Line but with 40’ vehicles which will have airport luggage racks due to it stopping at Ontario International Airport. It’s a bummer that it’s going to use 40’ vehicles initially but rumors have it that if the ridership is there and the demand for it is also there, then there will be weekend service both days, (which is something the system currently lacks) and the Purple Line might use 60’ vehicles as well
This is what Omaha’s ORBT should have been. This is how you do bus transit!
Why would you need to take a bicycle on a 2 mile bus journey? Wouldn't it be quicker to just ride the bicycle?
There aren't a lot of good bike routes near Madison, but you'd probably only take one onboard as part of a longer journey
Madison is SUPER steep, not a lot of people know that Seattle is super hilly and Madison is one of its hilliest.
Looking at the gradient on that street, eBike or not, you are not riding up that hill...
@@wilfstor3078 Not with that attitude.
@@wilfstor3078 Trust me, that won't stop SDOT from putting a bike lane up it, and leave it there even if they know that nobody will ever actually use it. NE 125th st has a bike lane up the hill and I've seen a grand total of 1 person ever riding in it.
Yay Italian Family Pizza! My favorite pizza in the city (meatball pie with mushroom). Hope the route (once it, you know, actually runs regularly without getting stuck) helps bring in more traffic to the restaurant.
I wish LA Metro would invest in buses with doors on both sides like the ones shown here for future BRT projects.
Madison sucked for a while they were doing construction, but man it looks so nice. Totally worth it :)
It's worth noting that I've been seeing an increasing number of regular buses with additional ORCA card readers at their other doors. I haven't been keeping track of it, but I do wonder if that means that there's going to be more times when the just let everybody enter through all of the doors and just tap their cards on the way in.
Nice video! I know people give it a lot of shit, but I love the G
I'm happy to see this recent increase in new BRT lines across the US, as it's a pretty good way to connect our cities and reduce car traffic. However I hope that this trend doesn't lead to a decrease in new rail construction, as LRT and Subways are still better in many instances.
Also, how did they not test the steepness of that street even ONCE before opening the line? That's hilarious
@@JkWillis agreed, especially when it comes to the systems that are called BRT but don’t really include BRT elements! I have no idea how the bus bottomed out as they’d been testing the line for weeks before it opened
They didn't figure this out when they were training the drivers? Normally when there's a new route there's some degree of actual drives by the drivers so they know what they're doing when they drive the route for the first time with passengers.
wow such a mess but also still part of one of the better metro transit systems in the US.
The rider’s comment about route 43 brought out one of my gripes. That thing doesn’t exist to serve riders, it exists to get trolley buses to and from the U District to operate the 44. If the 44 were a diesel route, they’d just deadhead the buses like any other route, but for some reason they have clung to the belief that this deadhead needs to be an in service route 43 that always through routes to or from route 44.
Metro should delete the route, since it doesn’t provide anything resembling consistent or frequent service.
It’s certainly an odd route, but I have no problem with them using buses that would otherwise be out-of-service buses to provide an additional service
@@thehouseoftransit2719so a few downsides, since it’s always through routed on the outbound side with a 44, any operational issues with that 43 cascade and continue to affect that 44 for the rest of the day. (This is especially notable when Montlake is closed over 520)
It also distorts maps and makes it look like there is more service in that corridor than there actually is.
Plus since it’s so infrequent riders don’t know where it goes, which ultimately means it operates slower as the operator has to answer more questions from riders.
I know headways and other stats are important to many young BRT users, but I have to challenge BRT proponents to account for modern issues (i.e. post-1990's thinking). 1) with over 1M being sold in the US per year, e-bikes are becoming the norm and 1980's road racing bikes are becoming less common. That means bikes often weighing 70-80 lbs., and front and rear fenders (yes, even old fashioned conventional bikes in Seattle will have fenders). So bike storage solutions that are hostile to heavy e-bikes and front fenders are a problem. 2) The ADA was enacted at the federal level in the early 1990s, essentially based on accessibility laws from the 1970's (already in place in Washington State, California and New York). Today, accessibility needs go far beyond the minimums of the past that focused only on wheelchair access. Wheelchair design has evolved and more often than not is motorized too. In addition, a whole generation of mobility-impaired now struggle with knee replacement and other challenges that do not put them in a wheelchair, but do make stairs and steps and big obstacle. You can see one of the new generation of non-wheelchair mobility-impaired in your video crossing the street with her walker. In more recent years, buses have made a feeble attempt to address the stair/step issue with low-floor designs, that help, but do not solve accessibility issues.
@@tedbellWRV fully agree about the importance of ADA, but with low floor buses that board at level platforms I’m unclear on what your concern is? Also, I would think these internal bike racks would make it easier to load a large e-bike?
@@thehouseoftransit2719 First of all, I very much appreciate your video. And yes, depending on the particular configuration, the low floor buses can help to get INTO the bus. However, once in the bus, the seating too often requires climbing up and down steps or steep ramps. The articulated flooring is not much better. All this presents a challenge for the millions of us with bad knees, etc. that are unsteady standing or going up and down levels. (Even though people like me are certified as disabled, we are not in wheelchairs.) Part of the issue, is that often the "main" level area of a low floor bus (or on a street car or light rail, for that matter) is set up for standing or in the case of your video, bicycles (or wheelchairs). I'm very pro bike on bus, as I was using KC Metro buses to commute into Pioneer Square going back 30 years. That said the bike storage you showed is for a lightweight, non-e-bike. Personally, I can lift my e-bike up - but many e-bikers are age 50 to 75 year old and especially smaller riders cannot lift an e-bike that weighs 75 to 80 lbs. The BRTs are alienating a rider group the transit agencies don't seem to recognize exists. There are millions of age 50 to 75 year olds forging a second car and are riding e-bikes to get around. This group would love to use transit to go Downtown and avoid parking, etc. Even without a bike, the "lame knee" crowd would love to ride transit to go to doctor appointments, entertainment, events, etc. My dream is the transit people that are seemingly hell-bent on BRT, figure out the challenges they are ignoring and find solutions.
0:45 bus leaves newly build station, instantly has to stop for a red light lol. guess signal priority wasnt in the budget
@@ninaschenk4039 yeahhh pretty big oversight
Would have been cool if they were Trolleybuses
They tore out the trolleys for this.
@@BirbarianHomeGuard nothing was torn out but the G was at one point planned to use overhead wire infrastructure that is now going unused. Supposedly the reason they didn’t is they couldn’t find a manufacturer willing to build a trolleybus with doors on both sides.
yeah new flyer didn't want to or wasnt able to build 5 door XT60's
@@thehouseoftransit2719 Which is stupid, having people boarding buses in the middle of the street is stupid.
Nice! I was on that bus at 4:58
Shouldn't the people designing these things have taken classes to learn the basic principles and/or traveled to other cities that have them for reference?
also, in listing Seattle's perks you forgot the unforgettable nightlife
Stops look similar to how Spokane Transit has the 1 Cityline set up.b
@@elijahbuster2446 they do, though Spokane to my knowledge doesn’t use any bus lanes
@@thehouseoftransit2719 I know a bus lane for the 25 is in the planning stage right now
I was between 6406 and 6400 at 6:22 and 6:44
any random suburb in Canada cooks yall on ridership
@@vette1 Canadian suburbs are built different I’m genuinely lost on how they perform so well
You know what you don’t have, a subway
@@markberg6197 we got Link, close enough
Cheap housing? Huh
So basically it's a shitty tram without the ride quality. Or the cheaper maintenance.
Don't get me wrong I'd rather have it than not but why do US cities seemingly always choose a worse option.
Cheapness, in most cases. In the other cases, NIMBYs who don't want any disruptions.
Madison is too steep for trams unless you want Seattle to install the country's first modern cog rail route. It's literally stated that the street is too steep for rail in the video.
@@Norfirio If they really wanted to, they could use a cog system like the Swiss do on some of theirs. It would be expensive, inflexible and cause other issues, but it could be done.
But, really, it made far more sense to just run a trolley bus, especially given how short the line is and how steep the hills are.
@@Norfirio So how steep is it actually? Because I keep hearing that argument when I see friction railways with >13% grades existing just fine
I had a surgery appointment a few months ago when they installed those center appointments. The person giving me a ride (required) couldn't get their small car down the street when the bus was on it because the lane was too narrow. Nobody is going to be able to take buses to major medical appointments. The absolute worst part of this is living in an adjacent city where we are forced to pay RTA taxes to fund BRT and light rail that my city will never have. It's the verify definition of oppression, not tranist.
I am sorry cheap housing?!???
Right? lol
That whole segment was sarcasm
@@complexx_scam617 jokes flew over your heads harder then the door from a Boeing plane
The sarcasm wasn't obvious from the satirical that was graph pointed in the clearly obviously pointed in the opposite direction of his statement...? 😅
@@Norfirio didn’t know it was sarcasm
I give you DISLIKE because of cheesy bits here and there in this otherwise great video portraying a growing bus transit.