As a follow-up to my post a month ago about the Apple Valley Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Display, I had Kim run over to the Apple Valley Cub to snap some photos of the North American Bus Industries Inc. (NABI) 60-BRT Hybrid that was on display as a preview of what is to come in the future for Dakota County.
For whatever reason, it wasn’t in the cards for me to see the BRT vehicle up close. I suppose I have vacation on the brain because yesterday (Tuesday) I thought that it was really Wednesday and drove over to Cub to find the parking lot missing one large bus. After Kim straightened my internal calendar out I planned on heading over today after we got back from work. Due to us both being stupid we ended up at the Apple Valley Transit Station while our car was safely parked at the overflow lot at 28th Ave in Bloomington which, by the way, will be closing on the 23rd and will be replaced by the newly constructed parking garage directly adjacent to the LRT platform! I’m not quite sure why Metro Transit decided that paper fliers stuck to windshields on a day when it was supposed to thunderstorm (it didn’t thankfully) would be a better way than say a large sign that everyone would be able to see, but hey, they’re funded by public monies, what better way to waste it than to print 100s of fliers and then have someone come and pick up the litter later?!
While Kim didn’t talk to anyone about the bus as she didn’t think she would be able to recall everything I really wanted to know such as the specific plans for the Cedar Ave Corridor itself and how that would affect the way bus service currently operates in and out of downtown, she did pick up several pamphlets and other media that they had available. According to NABI’s promotional materials for the bus that was on display, it offers:
- Five doors, two on the left hand side
- Air disc brakes on all three axles
- Optional all-electric air conditioning
- Low-floor entry at all doors
- Frame less side windows
- Fender skirts on all three axles
- Full-height door glazing
- Multi-function driver’s display
- Advanced multiplexing with integral diagnostics
- Hybrid-electric, diesel, or natural gas propulsion
To me it looks like a cross between the Light Rail (I’m sure on purpose) and your typical city bus. The interior doesn’t look any different than any other bus that is currently running with the MVTA aside from the fact that it’s a double connected with the accordion that I never feel comfortable sitting in. None of the promotional materials either from the county or from NABI discuss what type of “propulsion” we will utilize here in the South Metro nor how much it will cost.
While Kim didn’t ask any questions about possible route changes, a single sheet distributed by Dakota County shows the Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Corridor map with current and future stations marked starting at 215th St and Cedar and stopping just a little north of 494. Stations that have not yet been constructed yet appear to be planned for Cedar/MN-13, Cliff Rd, 140th St, 147th St, 180th St, and 215th St. Currently the 477 route out of Apple Valley makes no stops between Apple Valley and Lake St in Minneapolis (which is only by request) and during our daily trips to Minneapolis we only stop there 1 out of 4 days a week (I typically telecommute on Fridays). Is this map suggesting that the “rapid transit” out of Apple Valley will make five stops between the transit station and what appears to be the Mall of America? Overall, a nice preliminary thought, but as of right now, I’m just not as excited as the county seems to want me to be about this bus or their future plans for Cedar transit options.
I plan on contacting Sam O’Connell, the Dakota County Transit Specialist, who is listed as the contact for more information on the promotional materials, tomorrow to get some more of my questions answered and I will be sure to post them as a comment below. If you happen to have seen the NABI BRT vehicle today and have more information about the planned routes please let us know. In addition to contacting Sam, the county will be offering news, information and refreshments at several public sessions to be held at the Dakota County Western Service Center (which, ironically, is on a pretty shitty transit route) on the following Thursdays throughout the summer, fall, and winter at extremely inconvenient times for pretty much any typical mass transit rider (hey Dakota County, if you’re reading this, let’s see some new times offered that are acceptable, ok?)
July 24th (3:30 to 4:30pm)
August 28th (7:30 to 8:30am)
September 25th (3:30 to 4:30pm)
October 23rd (7:30 to 8:30am)
November 20th (7:30 to 8:30am)
December 18th (3:30 to 4:30pm)
See all the pictures from the NABI 60-BRT Hybrid Vehicle on Flickr here.
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July 17th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Kim,
Great reporting! You’ve got a tough boss.
Andy
July 17th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Gotta a question about this since I have been rather lazy in checking out the details. With all these new stations, does that mean that there really isn’t going to be an “express” bus to downtown? Because if a person were to start on 215th, they would have to stop at all 4-5 new stations on Cedar? Or will there be a few times that skip the new/old stations to make it a true express bus?
July 17th, 2008 at 9:10 am
at least they’ll be bigger so the afternoon buses don’t fill up at the second stop and everyone on the south/west end of downtown has to stand.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Tasha,
I have an e-mail in to Sam O’Connell and will post any updates as soon as I hear. If I don’t get a response from him in the next few hours, I’ll give him a call before the end of the day.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Though it’s only a tangent in this post, thanks for noting that the 28th Avenue ramp will open on the 23rd. I usually take the train at least 4x times per week and apparently missed the windshield announcement. The new ramp will hopefully make the commute at least a little less frustrating if I don’t have to stop and wait at the obnoxiously timed light at Killebrew and Old Shakopee/24th.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Thanks Bill!!
July 17th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Where are the bike racks?
July 17th, 2008 at 11:04 am
While I haven’t heard from Sam O’Connell, I did see this article in the Pioneer Press which is a fluff piece about the $135 million project.
In the article it refers to how much “faster” the BRT option will be and that beginning “in 2010, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will launch a fleet of 10 hybrid buses to carry Cedar Avenue commuters 16 miles from Lakeville to the Mall of America in Bloomington.”
I’m still waiting to hear if this stupid fucking plan (which will definitely double transit time to Minneapolis) will replace the 477 routes or if it will just be another option in addition to them. Unfortunately, with all the road work that this project will require, I have a feeling that MVTA and Dakota County and really planning on replacing the much more time efficient 477 route.
Assholes.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Yeah but where are the bike racks?
July 17th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I wasn’t able to make it the BRT vehicle display on Wednesday, but I am waiting to hear back from MVTA on the preliminary scheduling of BRT. My understanding is that Dakota County is managing the design and construction of service improvements along Cedar Avenue and that MVTA is in charge of BRT scheduling.
I agree that BRT would be pointless without express service. However, if LRT were ever extended to Dakota County via Cedar Avenue (assuming that a new bridge is constructed), LRT transit between downtown Minneapolis and Apple Valley would approximate a BRT trip between MOA and AV with a connection to LRT at MOA. (I know that many people want Hiawatha to be extended down Cedar. No matter what, it would be slower than express bus service.)
While I have no authority regarding any service changes, a couple improvements constructed under the UPA suggest that MVTA will continue to provide express service for commuters. First, a “transit advantage” lane will be constructed from NB 77 to WB 62, which will allow express buses to avoid the God-awful cloverleaf at the 77/62 interchange. Second, the MVTA, in its BRT publications, discuss the construction and design of dual-bus lanes on Marquette and 2nd Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. With respect to these two service improvements, why would MVTA mention these improvements if MVTA were only to offer service as far north as MOA?
My thinking is that express bus service will be expanded both to park-and-ride lots and to Cedar Avenue station stops (e.g., 147th Street Station), and that service between MOA and the south suburbs will be expanded, with MOA serving as a transit hub for bus/rail connections. Just like if you ever miss the 477 out of downtown, you can take LRT to MOA and pick up the 442 to the Apple Valley Transit Station, it appears that BRT would provide improved service between MOA and AV.
If my initial thoughts are wrong, then I do not see this as a huge improvement when you consider that there are already all-day routes that run from the south suburbs to MOA. BRT should cater to the needs of the daily commuter as much as it should cater to transit-dependent riders (typically, local routes).
July 18th, 2008 at 7:17 am
I got the reply from Sam and while the plans are still being developed by the MVTA, the plans are to continue express service downtown and run the BRT in addition to it. Whew, we’re safe.
But I really wonder what the need is for this type of service. Is there a big eniugh demand for service to the MOA as regularly as this route will provide?
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 am
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