That was a very comprehensive article. I'm impressed. Thanks for sharing!
I got to try out the UVX line over Christmas, now that they are using their center-running lanes:
Overall the trip was much faster and smoother than the last time I rode it (without bus lanes). So much less swerving back and forth - I didn't get motion sick at all!
But holy cow, those bus drivers drive like they were on a race track! The ride was smooth but you had to hold onto your seat - even if you were sitting down - because they just fly around those corners! It was pretty exciting, and it makes the bus feel even faster than it really is.
Only one thing slowed us down on our trip, and that was a car thinking that the bus lane was an extra left turn lane. The first light cycle there was no car next to us so the left turn arrow didn't activate - only the bus signal, which the car driver didn't understand. The next time the left turn arrow activated but only after the bus signal had gone through its phase, meaning we had to wait for a third cycle before we could turn left onto University Avenue. The bus driver was really PO'd, honking and lurching and flashing his lights... I hope there will be good enforcement of penalties for people who get in the wrong lanes, since the bus is recording them and will certainly have got a picture of their license plate number.
While I was riding I noticed technicians messing with wiring in the cabinets at the station platforms. They seemed to be running a test on the information screens:
It looks like the screen will be displaying the real-time positions of the approaching buses. Blue icons mean southbound and green icons mean northbound (presumably for the two Universities). And I say 'will be' because on the day I went this was the only screen working, it didn't update, the Date was wrong (it was December 26th) and it was displaying the wrong station name (I was at the BYU South Campus Station, like the map shows), but the idea is there.