Bus, pedestrian, and bicycle service need dedicated corridors and networks if they are to compete with the single occupancy vehicle as an efficient transportation option.  “Road space reallocation” involves dedicating road space to transportation alternatives such as transit or bicycle, and managing roadways to encourage more efficient and equitable transportation.

Road space reallocation can be particularly appropriate on congested roadways.  Automobile transportation requires several times as much road space per passenger-mile than other modes, so motorists impose far more congestion on other road users than people who travel by other modes. For this reason, it tends to be both more equitable and efficient to give priority to more space efficient modes on congested roads, so travelers who require less road space are not delayed by congestion as much as travelers who require less road space.

Municipalities should seek opportunities to create high occupancy vehicle lanes in critical congested corridors.  HOV lanes could serve both transit vehicles as well as multiple-occupant automobiles.  Such lanes could be continuous, or they could be “queue jumper” lanes, which allow buses and multiple-occupant autos to bypass congestion at intersections, improving transit travel time and creating incentives for carpooling and ride-sharing.

The MBTA and regional transit authorities should work with communities that have existing transit corridors with intensive ridership to convert roadway lanes to dedicated lanes for buses.  Dedicated lanes will allow for faster and more predictable travel times, enabling transit agencies to achieve more frequent headways with a fixed number of buses.  Improved service will attract more customers, taking pressure off the remaining roadway lanes.  

To reduce delay and improve service and customer satisfaction, the MBTA, RTAs, state transportation agencies, and member municipalities should implement signal priority on transit corridors.  Although this is a more modest step than full lane conversion, it can have some of the same benefits.

11.a    MBTA should establish a policy requiring analysis of dedicated lanes and signal priority as a condition of increased service frequency along existing routes

11.b    The Boston MPO should allocate funds for a study to identify corridors that are top candidates for transit signal priority

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