Eugene and Springfield denizens in December will be able to ride on a light-rail-type bus system through Eugene and Springfield meant to make bus travel more efficient for travelers.
The Lane Transit District’s bus rapid transit system, called EmX, is expected to be completed in August 2006 and open for the public four months later in December.
“The idea of bus rapid transit is that you can have direct travel time,” said Sue Viggiano from the LTD. “It’s a more efficient way to provide service.”
The LTD has been working on its bus rapid transit system for 10 years and began construction in July 2004. On Monday construction crews will begin working along Franklin Boulevard near Glenwood Boulevard and Lexington Street to prepare to construct the five remaining stations. Lane closures are expected and some bus routes will be affected for two days while work is going on.
EmX, pronounced “M X,” works like a light-rail system, similar to Portland’s Metropolitan Area Express or MAX. Instead of a train on railroad tracks, there is a large bus with designated lanes, called transitways, that are exclusive to the EmX. Each station will feature covered areas and benches, and they will also have raised curbs to make boarding the bus easier. According to the LTD Web site, the system will make travel more efficient by utilizing technologies such as signal priority or queue jumpers to give the bus priority in intersections.
“The main goal is to provide a consistent environment for the bus to operate in,” LTD’s Andy Vobora said. “Right now buses compete with other traffic.”
Initially, EmX will be free for all riders, but after few months fare machines may be put in for non-students to pay, said Viggiano.
“Most people riding the system will already have some kind of a fare instrument started someplace else,” she said.
There will be two corridors where EmX will travel, a Franklin Corridor and Pioneer Parkway Corridor.
The Franklin Corridor is a four-mile stretch from downtown Eugene to downtown Springfield. The Eugene station will be the primary hub, and a second hub has been built in Springfield. The corridor will have 10 stations along Franklin, and travel time for the entire stretch is estimated to take 16 minutes.
Construction has been completed for the stations at High Street, Hilyard Street and Dad’s Gate in Eugene and the Springfield station in downtown Springfield. Five more stations will be built.
“This corridor serves the University of Oregon and the Sacred Heart Medical Center, two of the biggest transit ridership generators in the system,” according to the LTD Web site.
When EmX is completed, it will replace route 11, decreasing the number of stops along Franklin, and may require more walking for some riders. LTD’s Andy Vobora said the consistency and reliability of EmX will outweigh the fact that riders may have to walk a little farther to their destinations than they did on previous bus routes.
“There won’t be the delays a lot of students experience,” he said.
The Pioneer Parkway Corridor will travel a six-mile route from downtown Springfield to the Gateway and RiverBend areas. There will be 16 stops along this route, but the exact design of the route is not yet complete.
Viggiano says as traffic congestion increases, EmX will become a more desirable means of travel.
“You really can get there as fast as driving your car, and you’re saving fuel,” she said.
The buses use a hybrid electric technology to make them fuel-efficient. Viggiano said making the buses as environmentally friendly as possible was a major concern for the project.
Cindy Phillips, a University undergraduate, is eager for EmX to open because it will make her trek from Royal Avenue and Terry Street in West Eugene much faster.
“I wish they would hurry up and get it in,” she said. “I think it will be a really good thing.”
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