Tag Archives: BRT

Update on the BRT Progress

21 Apr

We haven’t talked much about the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as of late, so we thought it might be time for a quick update. We’re still heavily involved in the BRT Stakeholder Committee with two members from Mode Shift serving on the committee (including the chair of the committee), which gives us an opportunity to stay abreast of the project’s status.

Metro held two open houses nearly a year ago (June 2016) during which attendees were able to ask questions, offer input, and tour a 60’ articulated bus (the type Metro will use for the BRT). Attendance was great, excitement was high, and Metro received some great feedback. If you missed the meeting, here are the materials that were presented.

One of the great outcomes of that process was the establishment of the values of the BRT system. They are:

  1. Reliable
  2. Convenient
  3. Rapid
  4. User-friendly

Continue reading →

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Omaha Needs a Transportation System Fit for a 21st Century Metropolitan City

14 Jun

Omaha Metro has two Bus Rapid Transit meetings Wednesday, June 15, 11am-1pm at the at First National Bank Winter Gardens and 4:30-6:30pm UNO Durham Science Center to give an update and to seek public input on the configuration of the BRT vehicles.BRT meeting

The mode share findings below highlight the need to move quickly with BRT, continue other Metro bus system improvements, and create more inviting walking and biking infrastructure, along with doing more to promote these non-single occupancy vehicle (SOV) modes to move people. Omaha’s increasing SOV trend is not sustainable monetarily, environmentally, and will negatively impact our quality of life with increased traffic and air pollution.

The American Community Survey* is an annual survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. While a recent Citylab article focused on age groups and car usage across the U.S. for one year, here we highlight the trends of five modes of commuting to work in the Omaha area. Please note the boundaries and restrictions of the data include: 1) Data is from commuting to work only. Thus trips to retail, recreation, etc., are not measured in these numbers. 2) The survey only allows a person to specify one mode of commuting. Thus those who use multiple modes, and the share of each mode used, are not delineated. Continue reading →

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Citizens’ Academy Spring 2016 — Local Government & Planning

5 May

The Spring 2016 Citizens’ Academy is coming to a close this week. Here are the key takeaways from the first two sessions, on Placemaking & Local Government and Local & Regional Planning:

Omaha’s government is led by an elected (partisan) official. Some cities are governed by city managers. Many consider election-based city leadership more legitimate than leadership hired by the City Council because the purpose of having public elections is to reflect what the majority wants in its city governance. The advantage of city managers over elected officials is that they are not politicians, but “professionals.” Yet, even though city managers are (technically) non-partisan, they are still human and can be influenced to choose sides. Continue reading →

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