Emerald Express (EmX)

The Emerald Express (EmX) is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It is provided by the Lane Transit District (LTD) which is the public transit authority in Lane County, Oregon.

LTD chose bus rapid transit after a review process in which several transportation options, including light rail, were considered. It was decided that the BRT option was the best fit for Eugene-Springfield's size and current transportation needs.

The route (the Green Line) was opened in early 2007, connecting downtown Springfield to downtown Eugene. There are ten stops along the four-mile route, including the University of Oregon.

Less than a year later, ridership had doubled in the corridor, and the city of Eugene was nominated for the 2008 Sustainable Transportation Award, and received an honorable mention.^[1] An extension was opened on January 9, 2011, connecting EmX to the Gateway Mall as well as Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and International Way.^[2]

Description

The EmX system is made up of sections of dedicated bus lanes for most of the route (60%), with normal roads in between. The vehicles are given signal priority via ground-loop signaling to the traffic control system, with special traffic signals at intersections. The vehicles have two sets of doors on the left and three on the right, allowing loading from platforms on either side. Most of the right hand side platforms can only accommodate the rear two doors. Riding the Emerald Express was free when it began operations, but now costs regular fare. The vehicles are equipped with continuously variable transmission which allows for quick but smooth acceleration from stops and through the various road segments.

On weekdays, service runs approximately from 6:00am to 11:00pm. Buses arrive every 10 minutes throughout the day, with longer headways during the evening and the first hour of the morning. More limited service operates during the weekend.^[3]

In the first month of operation buses had trouble with the signal priority system; buses had to achieve careful positioning to communicate with the signaling loop, and light priority was not always immediate. Early tests of the system caused the light control systems to crash when signal priority was requested, resulting in blinking reds in all directions until an engineer could reset the terminal. LTD worked with the control software vendor to iron out the bugs.

Lines

Green Line

The first line of EmX, the Franklin Corridor (or EmX Green Line), began service on January 14, 2007.^[4] It runs from Eugene Station in downtown Eugene to the Springfield Station in downtown Springfield, and also serves the University of Oregon. Local artist Linn Cook was selected by a committee of artists and community members to create cast and formed metal railings depicting indigenous plants. Each station features a different plant.^[5]

The Green line is four miles long and cost $25 million to design and build.^[6] The Green Line replaced Route 11 along the corridor. Rush hour travel times were reduced by 6 minutes to 16 minutes, or 27%.^[7] Ridership doubled in the corridor in the first year.^[1] For fiscal 2008-2009 ridership was 1,592,122 boardings over 17,583 bus-hours, or an average of 91 boardings for a bus on the road for one hour.^[7]

Gateway Line

The route goes along the newly constructed Pioneer Parkway corridor and beyond that to dedicated bus lanes that were integrated into Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and RiverBend Drive during the construction of those roads. Service started on January 9, 2011.^[8] This 7.8 mile extension links downtown Springfield to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. Gateway Station has been completed.^[8] LTD eventually plans to run EmX along all main transportation corridors in the metro area.

Future West Eugene extension

LTD is currently in the process of planning an expansion of EmX's service into the West Eugene area, connecting it to downtown Eugene and Springfield. The agency expects to finalize the planned route in 2011, after conducting environmental analyses and collecting public comment.^[9] A number of route alignments are currently under consideration, focusing on West 6th, 7th, or 13th Avenues to connect with West 11th Avenue somewhere near Chambers or Garfield Streets. One alternative places service on West 7th Place instead of West 11th Avenue between Garfield and Seneca Rd. All alternatives continue down West 11th Avenue to a planned terminus and turnaround near Commerce Street.^[10]

Some local businesses and residents that oppose extending EmX service to West Eugene say that it would be expensive, unnecessary, and could cause a decrease in property values.^[11]

Stations

References

External links

• Lane Transit District official website with description of project
• Federal Transit Administration description of the project
• Bus Rapid Transit Policy Center description and evaluation of the project

• Our Money, Our Transit, website that opposes West Eugene extension.