Let There Be Lights

One of the easiest things that can be done to reduce congestion and improve air quality would seem to involve traffic signals. How ridiculous is it that cars should sit and wait, motors idling and wasting gas and putting out emissions, while traffic lights go through their full cycle even though no cars have traveled in the opposite direction for 20 or 30 seconds? This area has some of the more sophisticated traffic signal control centers in the country and yet they are not taking advantage of this technology as a way to increase flow or reduce the amount of time vehicles sit and wait for nothing.

Even if takes the installation of additional sensors in some of the intersections it would seem to be a very good investment to add them. The improvement in air quality and the reduction in the amount of gas used would seem to make it very worthwhile.

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I had to go up to New York the other day and, as promised, I took one of the newer bus services that is running between here and there. The BoltBus picks up on 11th Street at G Street, just outside the entrance to Metro Center and it goes directly to 33rd and 7th Avenue in New York, just a stone's throw from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station from which you have a broad selection of subway and commuter trains. It's truly ideal on both ends. It's not too bad in between either.

The bus I was on was rather new and had big comfortable leathery seats that reclined enough to be comfortable but not so much (like on an airplane) to impinge on the person behind you. The bus came equipped with wireless internet access and even had electrical jacks in the seats backs in front of you into which you could plug your computer, iPod or whatever needed some juice to operate or recharge. I didn't take my laptop because I didn't want to have to carry it everywhere with me but I did watch someone else use theirs and the internet pages seemed to refresh rather quickly.

The bus drivers were both fairly pleasant although the guy in the morning was much more gregarious than the guy in the afternoon. In fact, the guy that picked us up at 5:30 to come home had a real thing about passengers not using cell phones if they were sitting in the first six rows. It was a distraction he said although it wasn't clear whether the problem was in the ringing of the phones or in the conversations. It seems to me that he was bit rude about it and might have rather requested that passengers turn off their ringers and/or put the phones on vibrate. In a bus full of people talking to one another I can't imagine that telephone conversations would be that big a deal.

In both directions the company's website estimated the travel time at four hours and it wasn't that far off. The buses did stop for brief breaks each way and that added ten or 15 minutes to the trip but all in all it was not much longer than one could drive it in a private car.

Speaking of the website, I'd have to say that that is one of the weakest links in this company's operation.  This would also seem to be a key element in that many of the passengers are young are techno-savvy.  The website is muted and it's not always clear whether or not you have to fill a segment out. It's very easy to miss things as a result. I also had the experience where I filled everything out and hit submit and the website went back to a blank home page. I wasn't sure whether or not my credit card had been charged so I waited a little while and went to my bank's website to see if a debit had been taken against my account. When I saw that it hadn't I went back to the BoltBus website and started the process over again. The next problem was that when trying to purchase two round trip tickets it seemed to show that the morning leg of the trip was sold out. I then went back and tried to book two separate single trips and that worked. An annoying waste of time but for $20 each way still an incredible bargain. Would I use it again?  You bet I will and my daughter who goes to school in New York will also be a frequent customer.

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Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter, observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com. Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first name and city/neighborhood.

Comments

[Allen Muchnick]

Actually, Jim, embedded magnetic induction loop traffic-signal activators are usually quite capable of detecting any bicycle with metallic wheel rims (i.e., practically all bicycles). The trick is to position both bicycle wheels directly above the embedded wires. While it's hard to find the optimal position when the wires aren't visible, agencies can use a specific pavement marking to identify the sweet spot for bicycles. That said, video detection technology, which Arlington County is already using for some traffic signals, can readily pick up bicyclists waiting on the roadway.

[Allen Muchnick]

Thanks for the BoltBus review. As for shortening red traffic lights when "no cars have traveled in the opposite direction for 20 or 30 seconds", agencies must first program enough time for pedestrians to safely and comfortably cross the road.

[Jim]

Traffic light sensors are almost never sensitive enough to identify cyclists, so it is often impossible for cyclists to go through such intersections safely and legally. Is there a better technology than embedded sensors that can accommodate cyclists?