I cringe when I hear someone mention the idea that we need to build light rail between Omaha and Lincoln… not because I don’t agree that more and better transit is needed between the two cities, but because of the lack of understanding of what the most applicable mode of transit should be operated (the correct answer here is intercity bus and commuter rail).
Another favorite of mine is when someone questions the need for a streetcar along Farnam/Harney with the ORBT service on Dodge Street, perhaps without realizing that there is currently a local bus route on Farnam/Harney.
Streetcars and Light Rail trains mix in downtown Portland, but what is the difference?
The purpose of this article is to arm you with the information needed to intelligently explain what optimal type of transit mode could be applied for specific uses in the Omaha metro area as well as have a better understanding of what is discussed by people when referencing transit studies. And yes, there will be a quiz later, in the form of future articles that dig deeper in specific transit corridors!
First, a transit history lesson. When transit started in the United States in the 1800s, in addition to bus service, there were essentially two forms of rail: steam and traction. Steam was the term to describe passenger rail running on privately operated freight railroads (using steam engines back then), what is today known as Amtrak or intercity passenger rail. Traction then described transit used for shorter trips, usually within a city, powered by overhead wire, such as streetcars and interurbans. Subways then became a subset of traction, usually grade-separated corridors operating underground or above ground with the capability for high capacity and now known as heavy rail. The steam railroads were built with providing freight service in mind while the traction railroads were built with development (especially housing real estate) and/or providing power service in mind.
Subways (also known as heavy rail) like Bay Area Rapid Transit in the San Francisco area are among the oldest transit technology in the nation, with Boston’s subway opening in 1897 being the first.
As transportation choices in our nation developed through the 20th Century, the steam railroads also operated “commuter rail,” which is passenger rail service operated more frequently than intercity passenger rail for a metropolitan area that served the suburbs, and usually with service focused on morning and afternoon peak periods. Metra in Chicago is a good example of this, which was started by several different private railroads.
New commuter rail systems began appearing more in the US in the 1990s as a way to increase transit options to and from the suburbs and speed up transit trips while providing options for connecting places that have longer distances. Commuter rail systems are usually more than 20 miles in length and will have stop distances of every couple of miles at the minimum. While traditional commuter rail systems had limited schedules and would usually only operate inbound in the morning and outbound in the afternoon, modern commuter rail systems provide service in each direction all day with frequencies of 30-60 minutes.
The Utah Transit Authority FrontRunner is an example of a newer Commuter Rail system, opened in 2008.
Buses began to take on different forms of transit as well, such as intercity, regional, and local bus service, although they usually served less dense corridors than given the smaller size of the vehicles. While most US streetcar systems were removed after World War II, like the Omaha & Council Bluffs Railway Company’s system that ended service in March 1955, a few cities kept and modernized their systems, which became the first “light rail” technology, followed by a number of new light rail systems starting in the 1980s. This term was coined because, while it aims to cover large urban areas like subways or heavy rail, it is lower capacity and generally uses lighter vehicles. A subset of the light rail mode is the streetcar, which uses very similar technology but operates more like a local bus with lower speeds and more stops. Light rail can run on city streets (although usually with separate lanes) or have its own right-of-way along highways and railroads. Light rail lines are usually built at lengths of about 10 to 20 miles (the A Line in Los Angeles is the world’s longest at 48.5 miles) and will have higher frequencies than commuter rail, with service every 5 to 15 minutes being common through most of the day. Stations are usually spaced about a mile apart, although they may be more like streetcar stations in dense downtowns, every few blocks apart. Modern light rail lines are a combination of the old streetcar and interurban systems.
Denver operates a traditional light rail system with a mix of suburban grade-separated and urban on-street running.
As light rail’s popularity spread, communities that wanted better transit but did not have the budget for complex rail systems explored alternatives. One was “Bus Rapid Transit,” (or known by its BRT acronym) which was developed to be a replacement for light rail but with less passenger capacity. Similar to light rail, BRT would have rail-like amenities such as nice stations, fast speeds, stops spaced farther apart, bus priority at traffic signals, better information technology, branding, and a way to pay for your fare off the vehicle. BRT routes can also be longer than local routes, will usually have their own lanes or right-of-way, and use Transit Signal Priority or TSP to help speed up wait times at traffic signals. Similar to light rail, BRT will also have high frequencies of every 5 to 15 minutes throughout the day.
A typical BRT vehicle and station in Albuquerque at a center platform (this vehicle has passenger doors on each side).
Another low-cost alternative for communities that could not afford light rail, wanted to have a more neighborhood-friendly feel like a local bus, or seek more intense development on the line is the streetcar, which had a resurgence in the early 2000s with modern systems similar to Omaha’s project. Streetcars can still have nicer stops, but not as elaborate as light rail, and they are spaced every few blocks instead of every ½-mile to a mile like light rail or BRT. Similar to promoting concentrated development like light rail does at stations, streetcars have the ability to encourage denser development all along the corridor. Streetcars commonly operate with modern vehicles, most of which are now partly or mostly made in the US, or with historic/vintage cars that can be refurbished (like in El Paso) or built new, similar to the cars that GOMACO makes in Ida Grove, Iowa. Streetcars, as the name suggests, will usually operate in the street without a dedicated lane or right-of-way.
The KC Streetcar in Kansas City is a typical modern streetcar.
Rounding out the bus transit modes are specialized types of service, such as paratransit, to help with people with disabilities, and are operated using lift-equipped vans. Microtransit or demand-response is an increasing trend that had beginnings at least a quarter-century ago. This operates with smaller vehicles like cutaway vans and will usually serve a zone or corridor but commonly without a set schedule and instead will either take reservations or have pulse times a transit centers and group trips together. This type of flexible transit can be used in low-density areas that still have a market potential for transit, but do not warrant a bus with a fixed route.
The North Central Regional Transit District in northern New Mexico operates on-demand or microtransit service in rural areas.
There are other bus modes that we have not covered yet, such as express buses that usually operate in the morning and afternoon peaks only and are similar to commuter rail, but usually with less service throughout the day. Intercity and regional bus service typically operates with large buses called highway coaches, with the ability to store luggage under the bus and offering more comfortable seating for longer trips. Intercity bus, similar to intercity rail, are both becoming more popular in states to serve corridors where people travel longer distances. Intercity and regional bus service can be operated by private companies like Greyhound, state-supported services, or regional transit authorities. Even within a standard local bus operation there are different types to mention, such as limited service, which may offer faster speeds and less stops (similar to BRT but with less investment) and there are also shuttles or circulators that have a specific high-demand route like in a downtown setting. Local buses will serve different purposes such as crosstown routes that connect to other routes, urban core routes that are focused on connecting downtown to other neighborhoods, and feeder routes that connect to a higher-capacity route.
Bustang is an intercity bus service that operates throughout the state of Colorado.
Now that we have covered these common transit modes, what are the best fits for Omaha? The MetroNEXT plan is worth a read for more information on what is currently operating and what is planned for service in the near future and covers many of the modes that we discussed here:
https://www.ometro.com/metronext/
But what about the long-term future, like after the next 10, 20, or more years? That will be the subject of a future article as we look at various recent plans. I hope that this has helped address the most common transit technologies in use today and gives you a better sense of what is appropriate for different communities and different corridors given the population, density, and travel patterns. For example, now you know that the role of BRT (like ORBT) is different from that of a local bus route or streetcar and each has their place in a dense urban environment like Omaha. Many times, a transit commuter will take two to three different types of modes to complete a trip, which underscores the need for all transit modes and agencies to work together to form a cohesive network that helps passengers travel efficiently.