Tampa Bay Sunrunners, the area’s first rapid transport system, could lose some of their dedicated lanes, report Shawnamacquel of the Tampa Bay Times.
Some state lawmakers argue that the bus doesn’t have enough ridership to guarantee dedicated lanes. Currently, the Florida Department of Transport is calling for new dedicated bus lanes to maintain 6,000 riders per day in the opening year. FDOT is also doing “what we call a daily review of lane reuse projects across the state, including Sunrunners.”
Muckle said, “Tampa Bay buses don’t currently serve many riders. One foodless route in Tampa has around 5,000 riders every day, while the other popular routes average around half.”
According to Darden Rice, Chief Planning and Community Affairs Officer at Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, it will take years for a new line to reach a peak ridership estimate for the public to learn to use new lines and density along the lines. St. Petersburg, Rice points out, is slow to change zoning codes, which promotes dense development along the Sunrunner.
Still, traffic is moving fast by both buses and cars along the Sunrunner route, and crashes have been reduced by 40% since service was launched.
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