As a professional commuter for 30-plus years, I want to say that bus rapid transit or express buses using carpool or designated lanes, puts light rail to shame because:
• BRT costs less than track for light rail. Routes can changed with ease.
• There is plenty of seating on buses.
• Express buses do not stop continuously. They go from point A to point B fast with designated lanes.
Do not confuse light rail with heavy-rail train systems in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, etc. These are trains designed to move large numbers of people with fewer stops.
On light rail, my commute can be two hours each way. With an express bus, using designated lanes, my commute into Portland is about 30 minutes in the morning and 45 in the evening. Light rail is a novelty and something to take into downtown for dinner and shopping. It is not a time-efficient way to commute. Gov. Jay Inslee should quit cramming it down our throats; I doubt he has ever even commuted on either mode of transportation.
