| | | Omnitrans Board Approves sbX Development
Highlight from the February 6, 2008 Omnitrans Board of Directors Meeting
Following Federal Transit Administration authorization last month, the Omnitrans Board of Directors approved a staff motion to seek proposals for preliminary engineering designs on the sbX E Street Corridor project. The project calls for developing dedicated bus lanes for use by new, state- of-the-art alternative-fuel vehicles along a 16-mile route connecting San Bernardino and Loma Linda.
It’s estimated that the service will carry 9,100 daily riders when it opens in 2011. sbX travel times will rival those of passenger vehicles during peak commute hours, and save riders as much as 29 minutes over existing transit service when traveling between North San Bernardino and the VA Hospital in Loma Linda. “This high-tech project will provide more convenient transit service to meet the region’s growing transit demands.” - Board of Directors Chair John RobertsThe E Street Corridor sbX Bus Rapid Transit will cost $164 million to develop, with the bulk of those costs coming from the acquisition of real estate for 10 miles of exclusive lanes, station and transit way design and construction, and the purchase of vehicles. Passing through five identified redevelopment zones, the project also will help drive regional economic, environmental and mobility improvements while providing vital service to transit-dependent residents along the route.
“I am thrilled that the FTA believes in our sbX project as much as I do! sbX is a revolutionary mode of mass transit that will not only change the way we get from place to place but it will also change the way we use land for development,” said San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris, also a member of Omnitrans Board.
The cities of San Bernardino and Loma Linda worked as active partners with Omnitrans on the E Street Corridor sbX, which also is backed by the San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG). By using cutting-edge coaches powered by alternative fuel technology, the E Street Corridor sbX will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help relieve worsening regional traffic congestion.
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