The proposed 30-mile stretch of bus rapid transit many are advocating for on the I-287 corridor and Tappan Zee Bridge rebuild project has been given a $5 billion price tag, at a cost per mile of $150 million.
In the face of such paralyzing figures, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a pro-bus rapid transit organization, did some digging to find out what similar systems cost elsewhere on the continent. Their conclusion: the NY costs are grossly out of step with industry standards.
From the official government site on the "new TZB":
the total cost for an operating BRT system ranges from $4.5 to $5.3 billion. This does not include an estimated $75M for vehicles and equipment and $80M annual cost for operating the system.
Vincent Pellecchia wrote on TSTC's blog that this $5 billion figure is “unnecessarily high. This is largely because New York State’s documents do not analyze the wide range of possible BRT options—and their price—for the I-287 corridor.”
From the organization's research, the following list outlines the BRT systems in various parts of the country, including the location, total cost (often including the cost of buses and stations), the improvements made to install them, and cost per mile.
York Region Viva BRT: Suburban Toronto
Total Cost:
$171 million (in Canadian dollars; approximately $168 million US)
Distance:
50 miles
Cost Per Mile:
$3.4 million
Improvements:
Roadway improvements (mixed-flow traffic), intelligent transportation system technology (ITS), buses, stations, fare collection facilities, branding and marketing, and other costs (e.g. property acquisition and planning)
Year completed:
2005
EmX Green Line: Eugene, Oregon
Total Cost:
$24.6 million
Distance:
4 miles
Cost Per Mile:
$6.15 million
Improvements:
Dedicated bus way and curbside bus lanes, ITS, buses, stations, fare collection facilities, branding and marketing, and miscellaneous costs
Year completed:
2007
LA Metro Orange Line: San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California
Total Cost:
$350 million
Distance:
14.2 miles
Cost Per Mile:
$25 million
Improvements:
Dedicated bus way, ITS, buses, stations, park and ride facilities, fare collection facilities, branding and marketing, and miscellaneous costs
Year completed:
2005
Santa Clara VTA 522 Rapid: Santa Clara Valley, California
Total Cost:
$3.5 million
Distance:
26 miles
Cost Per Mile:
$135,000
Improvements:
Roadway improvements (mixed-flow traffic), transit signal priority system upgrades, bus wrappings, and miscellaneous costs
Year completed:
2005
Cedar Avenue BRT: Suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota
Total Cost:
$225.7 million (in 2009 dollars)
Distance:
16 miles
Cost Per Mile:
$14 million
Improvements:
Dedicated bus way, stations, park and ride facilities, buses and fare collection facilities, branding and marketing, and miscellaneous costs
Year completed:
Still under construction
Euclid Corridor Transportation Project / HealthLine: Cleveland, Ohio
Total Cost:
$200 million
Distance:
7.1 miles
Cost Per Mile:
$28 million
Improvements:
Dedicated bus way, stations, buses, fare collection facilities
Year completed:
2008
Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Total Cost:
$183 million
Distance:
9.1 miles
Cost Per Mile:
$20 million
Improvements:
Dedicated bus-only roadway
Year completed:
Opened in 1983, extended in 2003
The cost range for these projects goes from a mere $135,000 to $28 million per mile. The blog's author Pellecchia notes, “Although unique project variables can lead to deviations in cost—for example, Connecticut’s CTfastrak is unusually expensive because extensive bridge work has been rolled into the project—New York State’s estimate of $150 million per mile is hard to justify.”
A major vote on the TZB rebuild project by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council was recenty postponed pending the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
County Executive Robert Astorino called the voting delay “common sense.” The FEIS is due shortly, he said, “Why would we have a vote before seeing what’s in it? I have said from the beginning, we need to build the bridge but we need to do it right. Getting as much information up front will pay big dividends in terms of building a bridge that’s affordable and meets the present and future needs of Westchester, the region, our state and our nation.”
Astorino – along with Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell and other area politicians – has long been an as the way the bridge could be both affordable and meet real needs. Lately on the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC radio, he suggested they could start with a smaller 12-mile stretch of BRT in the beginning, connecting Rockland to Westchester from the Palisades Mall to White Plains (three of those miles already included in the bridge).
Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our newsletter
What do you think about BRT on the bridge? What do you make of these cost comparisons? Tell us in the comments.
