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NewsLetters to EditorsLetters to Public OfficialsTestimonyPress Releases:County’s Own Cost Assessment Confirms: Two Transit Lines for the Price of One Would Be Possible With Bus Rapid Transit, Town of Chevy Chase, July 24, 2008
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PRESS RELEASE July 24, 2008 Town of Chevy Chase Contact: Patricia Burda Phone: 240-899-6216
County’s Own Cost Assessment Confirms: Two Transit Lines for the Price of One Would Be Possible With Bus Rapid Transit
Montgomery County could have two mass transit lines for the price of one if the County puts taxpayers’ money into bus rapid transit instead of light rail, a study released by the County last week confirms. The report, released to the County’s Purple Line Advisory Committee, compares the Purple Line and Corridors City Transitway projects with other projects in the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) pipeline, rating the cost-effectiveness of various options. It shows that bus rapid transit lines have a much higher chance of receiving federal funding than more expensive light rail transit alternatives. Proponents of transit alternatives that would preserve the Capital Crescent Trail hailed the study's findings that bus rapid transit for the Purple Line on the Jones Bridge Road alignment between New Carrollton and Bethesda would fare much better in the FTA’s evaluation process than light rail long the Capital Crescent Trail. The study shows that bus rapid transit lines for the Purple Line and Corridors City Transitway could both be built for a combined total of under $1 billion, while light rail on the Capital Crescent Trail would alone cost $1.6-$1.8 billion. To be considered at all for funding by the FTA, a project must meet a $24.00 or less cost-per-hour user benefit. The high-end light rail just squeaks under this threshold at $23.71 when calculated at $1.6 billion, while both the Purple Line Jones Bridge Road alignment and the Corridor Cities Transitway bus rapid transit alternatives come in around $18.00. “This is exactly what the Town of Chevy Chase’s consultants have said all along,” noted Town of Chevy Chase Mayor Kathy Strom. “Our region needs to fight for transit that will give taxpayers the biggest bang for the buck -- and actually get built. The County study shows that for those who truly support mass transit, like the Town, the drive should be for bus rapid transit for the region.” Strom explained that is why the Town is pushing the State to reconsider its evaluation of the Jones Bridge Road Bus Rapid Transit alternative, the only alternative already under consideration that would help take some of the 4,000 new daily riders to Naval Medical Center off the road, still service Bethesda, and keep a valued community resource like the Capital Crescent Trail up and running safely for all users. “We believe if studied properly, this alignment would fare even better in the federal beauty contest,” Mayor Strom added. Maureen Jais-Mick, co-chair of Rethinking the Purple Line, a coalition of 18 community groups who favor transit solutions that spare the Trail, said the County study confirms that saving the Trail is cost-effective and that better transit solutions exist along other alignments. “We question why certain groups have focused solely on one mode on one route – expensive light rail on the Capital Crescent Trail – rather than the best mode on the best route.” The Maryland Transit Administration will issue a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in mid-September on all transit alternatives under consideration. Following public hearings, the State will select a “preferred alternative” to send forward for funding consideration by the Federal Transit Administration. ************January 29, 2007CONTACT:
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