Quote:
Originally Posted by emathias
Light rail [is] not necessarily that much more expensive than BRT
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Ashland BRT is quoted as $10 m per mile. Recent light rail projects have ranged from $43 m (Hampton Roads) to $204 m for Portland’s Milwaukie Line. In a city where two concrete platforms and a roof cost $20 m (at Oakton), which end of the scale do you think more likely?
As for cheaper to operate, here are the actual operating costs per hour from the 2010 NTDB:
Code:
Phoenix LR $177/hr BUS $91/hr
Los Angeles LACMTA LR $372/hr BUS $119/hr
Sacramento RT LR $223/hr BUS $112/hr
San Diego MTS LR $136/hr BUS $103/hr
San Francisco Muni LR $269/hr BUS $157/hr
Santa Clara VTA LR $291/hr BUS $151/hr
Denver RTD LR $160/hr BUS $120/hr
Boston MBTA LR $214/hr BUS $134/hr
Baltimore MTA LR $243/hr BUS $144/hr
Twin Cities Metro LR $177/hr BUS $109/hr
St Louis Metro LR $228/hr BUS $97/hr
Charlotte CATS LR $353/hr BUS $89/hr
New Jersey Transit LR $303/hr BUS $125/hr
Buffalo NFTA LR $271/hr BUS $101/hr
Cleveland GCRTA LR $283/hr BUS $115/hr
Portland Tri-Met LR $185/hr BUS $125/hr
Pittsburgh PA LR $347/hr BUS $137/hr
Philadelphia SEPTA LR $164/hr BUS $128/hr
Dallas DART LR $438/hr BUS $112/hr
Houston Metro LR $197/hr BUS $109/hr
Salt Lake City UTA LR $122/hr BUS $87/hr
Tacoma ST LR $278/hr BUS $146/hr
Seattle Metro LR $202/hr BUS $127/hr
As you can see, operating costs per hour are more than double (average 220% of bus costs) but crush capacity is only 50% greater.