Article in the Eureka Reporter, 20 April 2008.

Humboldt County’s sustainable transportation advocacy organization Green Wheels announced it sent a “Call for Feasibility Study” on Bus Rapid Transit for the Humboldt Bay Region.

The call went out to the Humboldt County Association of Governments, which will decide how to proceed with this proposed planning project.

“Bus Rapid Transit provides an experience similar, and sometimes better than light-rail, but at the fraction of the cost,” stated Chris Rall, executive director of Green Wheels in a news release. “With Bus Rapid Transit, we may be able to create a first-class public transportation system in Humboldt County that’s functional and convenient for more people, and helps us to tackle energy cost, climate change, congestion and health issues.”

Bus Rapid Transit features and strategies include signal prioritization, designated lanes before traffic signals that allow buses to pass waiting traffic and light-rail-like stations where tickets are purchased off-board to facilitate faster boarding.

Most Bus Rapid Transit systems use advanced high-capacity vehicles, feature separated roadway and enable affordable and desirable transit-oriented development, according to the news release.

The 15-page “Call for Feasibility Study,” with maps of potential route alignments for Humboldt County and images of example BRT implementations, is available on the Green Wheels Web site at www.green-wheels.org/brt/feasibilitycall.

Generalized information on Bus Rapid Transit is available at www.green-wheels.org/brt.

For more information, phone Chris Rall at 707.633.4488, or contact him by e-mail at chris@green-wheels.org.