TRANS-HUDSON COMMUTING CAPACITY STUDY Appendix A: Interstate Bus Network - Operational and Service Strategies
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TRANS-HUDSON COMMUTING CAPACITY STUDY Appendix A: Interstate Bus Network - Operational and Service Strategies September 2016 Version Final Prepared for: Submitted by: ---------------------------------------------------------------This page was intentionally left blank------------------------------------------------------------- TRANS-HUDSON COMMUTING CAPACITY STUDY CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES .............................................................................................. 2 2 LINCOLN TUNNEL CORRIDOR/PABT FACILITY STRATEGIES .............................................................................. 4 2.1 IMPROVED CORRIDOR OPERATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 5 Second XBL or Route 495 HOT Lane ............................................................................................... 5 Enhanced Bus/HOV Priority Network .............................................................................................. 9 Bus Platooning through Connected and Automated Vehicle Technologies ........................... 12 Connected and Automated Bus Applications beyond Platooning .......................................... 16 Increased Use of Higher-Capacity Buses ..................................................................................... 17 2.2 IMPROVED FACILITY OPERATIONS .......................................................................................................................... 21 Bus Staging and Storage ................................................................................................................ 21 ITS to Optimize Bus Dispatching and Circulation ....................................................................... 24 Enabling Various Adaptable Gate Assignment Strategies ...................................................... 27 3 TRANS-HUDSON DEMAND STRATEGIES .............................................................................................................. 29 3.1 EXPANDED BUS SERVICES THAT SHIFT BUSES AND DEMAND FROM PABT ................................................................. 29 George Washington Bridge Bus Station ...................................................................................... 31 Holland Tunnel/Lincoln Tunnel Bus Loop ....................................................................................... 34 Increased Use of the Holland Tunnel for Direct Downtown Service ....................................... 37 Lower Hudson Transit Link/New NY Bridge (Tappan Zee Bridge Replacement) ............... 41 4 ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 44 4.1 INCENTIVE-BASED CAPACITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS VS. MANDATED VEHICULAR ACCESS POLICIES ............ 44 4.2 IMPACT OF LATENT DEMAND .................................................................................................................................. 44 4.3 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ............................................................................................................................................ 46 4.4 OTHER BUS NETWORK STRATEGIES CONSIDERED BUT NOT CARRIED FORWARD ................................................ 47 4.5 LIFESPAN OF A NEW PABT BEYOND THE DESIGN YEAR 2040 ........................................................................... 48 4.6 IMPACTS OF SHIFTING THE NEW PABT FARTHER WEST/NEW 10TH AVE STATION ................................................ 49 4.7 INTERCITY BUS SERVICE ACCOMMODATION ........................................................................................................... 50 5 FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Appendix A: Interstate Bus Network - Operational and Service Strategies i September 2016, Version Final TRANS-HUDSON COMMUTING CAPACITY STUDY TABLES TABLE 1: EXISTING AND FUTURE PABT DEMAND .............................................................................................. 1 TABLE 2: OVERVIEW OF VARIOUS ADAPTABLE GATE ASSIGNMENT STRATEGIES .......................................... 27 FIGURES FIGURE 1: LINCOLN TUNNEL CORRIDOR SYSTEM ELEMENTS ............................................................................... 4 FIGURE 2: ROUTE 495 EXISTING XBL AND POTENTIAL XBL 2 OR HOT LANE (LOOKING WEST, DURING AM PEAK PERIOD) .................................................................................................................................... 6 FIGURE 3: ROUTE 495 .................................................................................................................................... 10 FIGURE 4: TEARDROP INTERCHANGE ................................................................................................................ 11 FIGURE 5: ROUTE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED BY TRUCK PLATOONS FROM THE APRIL 2016 EUROPEAN TRUCK PLATOONING CHALLENGE .............................................................................................................. 13 FIGURE 6: EXAMPLE OF AUTOMATED STEERING AND PRECISION DOCKING FROM LANE TRANSIT DISTRICT .... 25 FIGURE 7: WEST-OF-HUDSON TRANS-HUDSON TRAVEL CORRIDORS ............................................................ 30 FIGURE 8: ORIGINS OF CANDIDATE BUS ROUTES TO SERVE THE GWBBS ..................................................... 32 FIGURE 9: RENDERINGS OF RENOVATED GWBBS.......................................................................................... 32 FIGURE 10: ORIGINS OF CANDIDATE BUS ROUTES FOR THE POTENTIAL LINCOLN TUNNEL/HOLLAND TUNNEL LOOP .............................................................................................................................................. 35 FIGURE 11: HOURLY VEHICULAR VOLUMES IN THE LINCOLN AND HOLLAND TUNNELS (2014) ........................ 36 FIGURE 12: ORIGINS OF CANDIDATE BUS ROUTES FOR INCREASED USE OF THE HOLLAND TUNNEL ................. 39 FIGURE 13: I-287 CORRIDOR AND RENDERING OF NEW NY BRIDGE .............................................................. 42 Appendix A: Interstate Bus Network - Operational and Service Strategies ii September 2016, Version Final TRANS-HUDSON COMMUTING CAPACITY STUDY 1 Introduction 1.1 OVERVIEW On October 22, 2015, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANYNJ) Board of Table 1: Existing and Future PABT Demand Commissioners authorized a Trans-Hudson Commuting Capacity Study (the Capacity Study) to EXISTING (2011) FUTURE (2040) evaluate a range of strategies for meeting and 232,000 Daily Customers 337,000 Daily Customers (+45%) managing the anticipated increases in trans-Hudson 7,800 Daily Buses 9,100 Daily Buses (+15%) 615 PM Peak Hour Buses 855 PM Peak Hour Buses (+40%) commuter demand to 2040, to inform its deliberations on conceptual planning for Source: Midtown Bus Master Plan replacement of the Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT) (Table 1). The fundamental premise of the Capacity Study is that the transportation network that accommodates trans-Hudson commuter demand is an integrated system, as opposed to a series of stand-alone corridors, facilities, and services. Accordingly, the intended outcome of the Capacity Study is an updated overview of that system that takes into account potential investments in physical transportation infrastructure, operational changes to existing transit services, implementation of emerging technologies, and modifications to public policy – and the prospects for their implementation in the time frame for planning and implementing a PABT replacement project. Concurrent with the Capacity Study, the PANYNJ has commissioned an International Design + Deliverability Competition (the D+D Competition) seeking concepts for a new PABT. A major objective of the Capacity Study is to provide insight to the D+D Competition by evaluating the range of alternative strategies for serving the trans-Hudson commuter market via bus and other modes, which will inform the determination of the appropriate capacity and configuration of the new PABT. The interim and final work products from the Capacity Study will inform the D+D Competition and the PANYNJ Board, which will select a preferred design concept for a new PABT this fall. The purpose of this technical memorandum is to develop a range of potential bus operations/service, roadway network, technology and policy strategies that could inform the planning and design (capacity and configuration) of the new PABT. This document identifies and evaluates a series of strategies, including a comparison of benefits, impacts, and policy issues. The strategy development and assessment were informed by: the Midtown Bus Master Plan (MBMP) effort, meetings and technical discussions with PANYNJ and NJ TRANSIT staff, and a Capacity Study Expert Workshop held on April 14, 2016. The final section of this technical memorandum provides targeted findings, including identification of factors relevant to the D+D Competition process. Subsequent technical