Quote:
Originally Posted by ssiguy
As for the eventual western/northern routes, they too will be BRT. LRT will NEVER happen for three reasons:
1} It would require tearing up the entire Downtown Loop and starting again which would be the final nail in the coffin for the Core.
2} It would require a new LRT garage/maintenance centre along either Oxford or Richmond where there is absolutely no industrial lands and hence would have to be right beside housing in the wealthiest parts of the city.......good luck with that.
3} It would be reek of elitism as the poorer areas of the city would get BRT while the rich west gets LRT.
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I would think that a more likely scenario for rapid transit improvements going into a future is an improvement in the vehicles, as opposed to a change in transport mode. Yes, the die is cast, and London will not be switching over to LRT from BRT for a very long time - if ever. There are some hopeful possibilities for BRT in mid-term future however: if developments in EV's continue at the current pace, there could be rapid transit "buses" in the future that, from a user's perspective and experience, would be very similar to an LRT vehicle except without the rails and catenary wires, and not as physically long.
User experience is a key factor in the public's current perception of the difference between BRT and LRT. LRT is (rightly or wrongly) viewed as modern, clean, progressive, urbane, sophisticated, etc. It is perceived to be perhaps something many middle class folks would happily consider as a desirable mode of transportation. Perhaps something that people who could afford vehicle ownership would eschew that because LRT is perceived as a competitive alternative. Being seen riding it might even be “cool”.
BRT on the other hand currently is very frequently viewed by many as just more of the same old city bus system except with some dedicated lanes. The long-standing stigma concerning bus transit remains: perceptions about city buses being dirty worn out old vehicles, possibly having undesirable passengers to the point of feeling unsafe, and being an outdated dinosaur of transport that perhaps your grandparents may have used. The user experience is often perceived as being at best indifferent to downright unpleasant. City buses are perceived (again rightly or wrongly) by much of the population (mostly meaning the proportion of the population who currently don't use city buses) as a mode of transportation used by those, that for whatever reason, can't afford to own and operate a personal vehicle and/or can't hold a driver's licence. It's a mode of transportation of last resort (if one discounts bikes). Currently, it's typically not something many middle class folks would happily consider as a sought-after mode of transportation. It would be rare to be viewed as something that people who could afford vehicle ownership would eschew that because city buses are perceived as a competitive alternative. Being seen riding it is perceived as not fashionable.
So, the current London BRT system will start operating with 2 strikes against it: (1) the route network when completed will be grossly incomplete and inadequate in terms of the design of the network being constructed and lack of city coverage - to the point of being unusable for much of the population. (2)The public’s general perception of city buses as outlined above.
However, if the BRT vehicles of the future were to be clean and quiet EV's that looked and felt like a modern vehicle and provided that user perception of a modern, clean, progressive, urbane, sophisticated way of travel, then those traditional perceptions of city buses (and by extrapolation BRT) could change dramatically. With that change in public attitude, perhaps there would be a political desire to complete the construction of the BRT route network as it was originally envisioned (or similar), and the system then be used by much more of the population as was originally envisioned. Ironically, completing the network is more attractive in some ways because constructing and maintaining a given length of BRT route is considerably lower in cost that the same for LRT.
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