AC Transit Submits Final Environmental Impact Statement For Bus Rapid Transit to Federal Transit Administration
Press Releases
02/09/2011
Major Milestone for Rapid Bus Capital Project That Will Yield Faster Travel Times, Reduce Traffic, Stimulate Economy, and Decrease Emissions
Today AC Transit submitted its Administrative Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, marking a major milestone in the agency’s effort to bring a much-needed new express service line to the East Bay.
“BRT will yield faster travel times, reduce traffic, stimulate local businesses, and help the environment by reducing emissions,” said Mary King, AC Transit Interim General Manager. “Today’s submission of the Administrative FEIS is a crucial step forward in being able to serve our ridership more efficiently.”
The submission of the FEIS to the FTA documents AC Transit’s extensive public outreach which began in 1999 to gain valuable community input, feedback and refinement of the BRT project. Today’s action is also one of the most important steps that need to be taken before preliminary engineering can begin on the project.
“We look forward to receiving a quick response from the FTA on the BRT environmental impact statement,” said Ms. King. “The faster that we can reach consensus, the sooner we can put people to work.”
AC Transit expects to receive input on the FEIS from the FTA and approve it with any needed revisions later this year.
The FTA has also given AC Transit’s BRT the highest overall rating of any of the transit projects under consideration across the United States.
Construction of the BRT project will create local construction jobs and contribute to the economy by generating additional jobs that will support construction. Construction is expected to begin as soon as 2013, and be fully implemented in 2015.
About Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
AC Transit’s vision is to provide a truly world-class transit service that is convenient, reliable and safe; one that increases mobility, enhances the quality of life, and improves the health of the environment throughout the communities it serves. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will link one of the busiest traffic corridors in the country with a fast, economical and environmentally-friendly means of transportation. BRT will be a high-capacity rapid transit system that reduces passenger travel times. With dedicated lanes and signal priority, and prominent stations with convenient boarding of buses, BRT will offer residents a viable alternative to driving on congested city streets. It will reduce traffic levels, significantly cutting emissions and pollutants. BRT is essentially light rail without the tracks. It combines the express service and capacity of light rail with the convenience and affordability of riding the bus. It can be planned and built at much less expense, and more quickly, than traditional light rail systems.
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