Commuters in Boston may soon be stepping onto their buses from an island in the middle of the street.
After the success of several pilot programs in the Greater Boston area, transportation planners may introduce designated bus lanes to several key transportation corridors in Boston, starting with a center-running bus lane on Columbus Avenue in Jamaica Plain.
The proposed center-running bus lanes would operate through the middle of streets along the median, where riders would board from a concrete island, The Boston Globe reported. Proponents claim this maximizes the efficiency of bus routes by minimizing contact with obstacles like pedestrians and stopped cars close to the curb.
Julia Wallerce, Boston program manager for the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy, said center-running bus lanes will make bus commutes faster and easier for Boston residents by removing conflicts with parked cars and turning vehicles.
“Bus lanes were typically on the curb, but now cities are starting to realize that the ultimate way to make buses run efficiently is to move them to the center of the road,” Wallerce said. “When you move the bus to the middle, you give them that priority to have that streamlined access moving down right the middle of the road, not dealing with turning vehicles.”
While there are currently no designated bus lanes in Boston, all pilot programs in the region managed by the ITDP’s Bus Rapid Transit program have been made permanent, which Wallerce said demonstrates how effective designated bus lanes are at streamlining transportation.
“We managed the bus line pilots in Everett, Arlington, Cambridge and Watertown, and that was really just to get people thinking differently about how buses can move and how attractive they can be when they don’t sit in traffic,” Wallerce said. “When they have priority on the street, look at how many people you can move more effectively when you get them out of traffic.”
One pilot, implemented on Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, reported a 38 percent increase in satisfaction with how the street operates after introducing designated bus lanes and bus priority signals, according to the pilot evaluation summary.
The designated bus lanes along Mount Auburn Street allowed riders to save about five minutes per bus trip during peak hours compared to the same route before the pilot began, according to the MBTA Congestion in the Commonwealth report in 2019.
In the past two years, the MBTA has implemented 5.1 miles of priority bus lanes around Boston, and has more than 7.5 additional miles planned in and around Boston for 2020.
Nina Antonellis, 29, of Cleveland Circle said she thinks designated bus lanes may be helpful, but might also increase congestion on already narrow roads.
“I will say bus lanes in the medical area have really helped because there’s actually somewhere for them to pull over and have a designated lane,” Antonellis said. “But elsewhere, I think there’s a lot of very narrow streets in Boston and I’m curious to see how it would impact if there are bus-only lanes.”
Wallerce said she believes prioritizing public transportation, particularly through initiatives like designated bus lanes, is paramount to decreasing congestion in Boston and helping decrease the city’s carbon footprint.
“I think [bus use] is absolutely critical if we are going to dig ourselves out of our congestion crisis and our climate crisis at the same time” Wallerce said. “We need to move more people in fewer vehicles and buses hold the key to doing that.”
Ben Fried, communications director of transportation advocacy group TransitCenter, said while center-running bus lanes may be good for Boston’s future, there are factors that make these lanes difficult to introduce.
“Centered lanes, you know, the trade-off is that you may have to get buses with left-side doors,” Fried said. “So, there are good reasons for center-running lanes, but you don’t have to go that route if you want to improve buses.”
One such measure the MBTA is considering that would also make rides more efficient is all-door boarding, Fried said, which allows passengers to board from any door on the bus rather than one designated front door.
“That could deliver significant improvements in reliability and speed systemwide if they end up adopting that,” he said. “Buses spend a lot of time standing still at stops, and with all-door boarding, they significantly reduce that time.”
However, Fried said he believes adding designated bus lanes will decrease traffic and greatly benefit anyone who either relies on buses or is otherwise affected by traffic.
“Bus lanes are really important for improving Boston transit,” he said. “Traffic is a significant barrier to fast reliable service and bus lanes help bus riders bypass traffic.”
Carmen Moore, 27, of Brighton said she thinks the bus system in Boston is in need of improvement.
“They don’t do anything. They’re never on time,” Moore said, “and I just feel like they just need to update the system.”
Anna Cruz, 23, of Brighton said she thinks center-running bus lanes are a good idea because bus lanes as they are now can be difficult for cyclists to navigate.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Cruz said. “I’m also a biker, and I think that sometimes it’s very hard for cyclists to compete with bus lanes on the road.”
