California BRT line gets the jazz treatment

21 November 2012 - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has opened the first high-tech bus shelter on the new California-based Monterey-Salinas Transit JAZZ bus rapid transit (BRT) line.

The JAZZ line began operating on 1 September, serving temporary stations. In partnership with the Monterey Jazz Festival, the new Sand City Station and 24 new bus shelters along the route, will allow waiting passengers to download jazz concert recordings from past festival performances.

The new BRT service will cut commuting times roughly in half for riders on existing bus lines and improve transit connections for thousands of users travelling to Cannery Row, Monterey Bay Aquarium and other attractions.

“This new bus rapid transit line will give residents and tourists a safer, more efficient option for getting to work, school or wherever they need to go,” said LaHood.

The JAZZ BRT system serves a 6.75-mile route between Sand City Station and the aquarium and travels through Seaside, where many transit-dependent hospitality workers reside. Monterey County is also home to roughly 16,000 active-duty and civilian military personnel, including those stationed at Monterey’s U.S. Coast Guard station. Military ridership on the Monterey-Salinas Transit’s non-BRT bus service grew by more than 300% between 2010 and 2012.

Additional BRT stops will open near other military facilities in the area as well as other local employment centres and area attractions.

The American government has committed $2.77 million to the $5 million project and the remainder will come from California state and local funds.

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