Differentiated Buses for Dedicated Routes

[Joe_Sovereign]

I don't know if this has already been discussed on here.

Since Omaha is not getting Street Cars or Light Rail anytime soon we need to look at alternative (cheaper) ideas. One of the advantages of most simple light rail systems is you know when you get on where the next station is and there is no chance you are going to end up going in a direction you don't want to go. Unless you ride the buses all the time you don't always know all the different bus routes and you have to be very careful you don't end up on the wrong bus going the wrong direction.

If Omaha had two special routes with dedicated and highly differentiated buses that instantly separated the buses from the rest of the MAT fleet and these buses ran only one route that never changes.

For Example
Orange Buses - Airport - Riverfront - North Downtown - CBD - Old Market - Henry Doorly Zoo
It runs this route and only this route every day the exact same hours.


Green Buses - Old Market - Midtown - Blackstone - UNMC - UNO - Aksarben Village
It runs this route and only this route every day the exact same hours.


Other cities do some things similar to this but it could really raise the profile of public transit in Omaha. Daily commuters could use them but for tourists it is much simpler to hope on a dedicated bus than navigate a strange cities entire public transit system. Imagine visitors during the CWS who knows if the jump on the Green Bus one day they can visit several cool areas and the Green bus is eventually going to drop them back off at the exact same spot they got on.

[skinzfan23]

Nice suggestion. That is one of the reasons why I have never seriously considered taking the bus in Omaha. I have no idea where the route is going to go. I tried to look up the routes and maps on the website once but it was the most confusing thing to navigate. Another thing I noticed with light rail is that the stations always have maps both on the boards at the station and paper ones that you can take with you. Not to mention that each train car usually has a map on the inside as well.

[PotatoeEatsFish]

So like an expansion of the BRT?

[Joe_Sovereign]

So like an expansion of the BRT?

You could look at it that way.

I think the key point is that the Buses on one route are totally distinguishable from the buses on the other route and distinguished from the average Bus. Also that it is branded separately from the rest of the Bus system or even the BRT. MAT is public transit. BRT is a commuter system. Brand this in a fun touristy way even though it can also serve well as daily transportation.

In cities like Omaha the bus system is seen as transportation for poor people and guys with too many DUIs. Just because public transportation is hip and cool to some people doesn't mean you don't have to battle the misconceptions that a lot of people have. I think marketing it as something different is the whole point.

[MTO]

Sounds like a great idea but it would also be handy if we could nickname alongside colors i.e. The north side bus, the east west bus and so forth with downtown being a default hub.