RALEIGH
— Triangle Transit
buses using I-40 in the Research Triangle Park area in Durham County can
begin traveling down the road on the highway’s shoulder on Monday, July 16 to
get past congested traffic.
The N.C.
Department of Transportation and Triangle Transit have created the state’s
first Buses on Shoulders System (BOSS) program to allow buses to
travel on the shoulders of selected highways in times of heavy traffic congestion
to help maintain transit schedules and bypass problem areas. They would only be
allowed to use the shoulders when travel speed in the highway lanes fell below
35 miles per hour. And buses are not allowed to go faster than 15 miles per
hour than the traffic they are passing, and never go faster than 35 miles per
hour when on the shoulder.
The idea is based on a similar program that has been in use in Minnesota
for more than 20 years. It is also in place in at least 10 other states,
including Virginia and Georgia.
The benefits include shorter and more predictable and reliable transit
times, fewer missed connections for bus riders, reduced driver overtime,
potential increased ridership and decreased operational costs for the bus
service.
Special training
for Triangle Transit bus drivers who will be using the shoulders on their
routes is under way. The BOSS program will be in effect for westbound I-40 between west of the Durham
Freeway (Exit 279) and U.S. 15-501 (Exit 270), and on eastbound I-40 between
U.S. 15-501 and Page Road (Exit 282). The total length of the pilot is
approximately 20 shoulder-miles.
The BOSS program will involve four Triangle Transit routes:
- CRX - Chapel Hill Express,
- Route 800 - Chapel Hill to the Regional
Transit Center via The Streets at Southpoint,
- Route 700 - Durham to the Regional
Transit Center (Eastbound only on I-40), and
- Shuttle 42 between the Regional Transit
Center and IBM (Eastbound only on I-40).
Only Triangle
Transit buses with specially trained drivers will be permitted to travel on the
shoulders during periods of congestion during this pilot program. These
drivers will have the option, but not the requirement, of operating on the
shoulders in congested conditions. Even if traffic is moving slower than
35 mph, it is up to the bus driver to determine if and where to use the
shoulder, depending on their judgment of the safety conditions.
The BOSS program is
not limited to being in use just during rush hour congestion. It could be activated
during major traffic backups associated with weather, accidents or other incidents. However,
buses operating on the shoulder have to yield to all other vehicles that may
end up on the shoulder in cases of an accident, breakdown or other incident. That
having been said, unattended vehicles will be rapidly towed away from shoulders
in the pilot area.
Since this is the pilot program for BOSS in North Carolina, once it is
determined the system is successful, it could be expanded to other important
commuter bus routes in the area. It could also be expanded to other cities in
the state.
The development of BOSS is a project by the I-40 Regional Partnership, an
organization whose goal is to improve the mobility along I-40 and related
highway routes in the Research Triangle area, Its members include the N.C. Department
of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, Triangle Transit, the
cities of Raleigh, Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill and their related transit
authorities, N.C. State and Duke, the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, Wake,
Durham and Orange counties, and area Metropolitan Planning Organizations.
More information on the BOSS program can be found by going to its
Triangle Transit website.
***NCDOT***
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