Council considers running rapid buses along future LRT routes

City council is considering a plan to get transit riders moving along future LRT routes, long before the tracks are in place.

The city's transit advisory board is pitching the idea as a cheap way to get people moving while LRT track expansion is still taking place.

Izak Roux, chair of the board, said Wednesday bus rapid transit (BRT) would involve more than just express buses. Buses would run in designated lanes at a regular frequency along high traffic routes, without having to stop at traffic lights.

He said BRT routes could act as a precursor to LRT along approved routes, and go to some places LRT can't reach.

"Why wait for another 20 years to start developing that route?" he asked councillors during a city transportation committee meeting.

According to the advisory board's research, BRT could be installed for $500,000 to $20 million per kilometre, compared to $40 million to $250 million per kilometre for LRT. 

City council studied the idea in 2007, but it was rejected. Former city councillor Kim Krushell, who was a councillor at the time, said citizens didn't buy into the idea at the time.

"You need ridership," she said. "The surveying was showing that citizens preferred LRT to a bus rapid system by a significant margin."

She said normally she would object to the idea of today's council covering old ground. But the advisory board's idea of using approved LRT routes makes sense, Krushell said.

"I think it's worth looking at," she said.

Roux said the idea has worked in cities like Ottawa, which has transit ways specifically for buses, with no cars allowed.

The challenge for Edmonton, according to Coun. Ben Henderson, is that existing traffic lanes will have to be used.

He said he doesn't want to approve the idea until he is sure the buses would be able to carry more people than use the lanes now.

Coun. Andrew Knack said he doesn't want to force people to take the bus by taking away space for cars. He would rather people choose transit because it's a more attractive option overall.

The committee decided to include the possibility of adding BRT service as part of a broader transit review, which will be complete in 2017.