Photo credit: Omnitrains
In 2014, OmniTrans and the City of San Bernardino introduced the sbX Green Line, the city’s first bus rapid transit line. The 16-mile route includes both median and side-running dedicated transit lanes, center median stations, and new articulated buses with both left- and right-side doors.
Critically, the sbX has protection from traffic delay where it is most needed, allowing the line to serve a high ridership on a dedicated rapid route. In downtown San Bernardino, sbX operates in center-running transit lanes, separated from general travel lanes by double stripes and raised pavement warnings. As buses leave downtown, they transition into side-running transit lanes or mixed traffic lanes.
Corridor signalization was optimized for transit with active signal priority, and turns across transit lanes are either prohibited or permitted during protected turn phases. The transit lanes are controlled with transit signal heads, distinguishing bus flow from general traffic. Crosswalks and station access were enhanced with pedestrian refuges.
A major component of the sbX project was procurement of the new fleet: low-floor buses with doors on both sides to access both center- and side-boarding platforms. The project seized the chance to improve station quality with the new fleet, providing level boarding and off-board payment to ease accessible boarding and expedite stops. Stations are designed with transit curbs to allow buses to roll within 2 inches of the boarding platform. Buses and stations are configured to board wheelchairs and bikes in separate doors, increasing accessibility and ease of boarding. Finally, stations are designed for comfort, offering accessible ramps, high-quality seating, ticket vending machines, canopies and windscreens, public art, low-water vegetation, and WiFi.
The sbX Green Line has increased transit’s mode share on the corridor, with weekly ridership growing 79% by the end of the first year of operations, passing 500,000 annual rides, with expectations for further growth. With a new transit hub opening in 2015, the city expects to see up to a 30% increase in ridership on the route between 2015 and 2016. OmniTrans is planning a system of up to ten BRT routes on the model of the Green Line.
Transit Street Design Guide
Learn more about transit streets in NACTO’s Transit Street Design Guide.
