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needs of transit users. Cities such as St. L ouis and Albu- querque, N.M., are cur rently taking a new look at possible BRT routes to shorten commutes and provide more transportation access to students. T e U.S. region reporting the highest number of BRT projects in our survey was, once again, the West Coast, with 25. Most of the projects respondents discussed are located in California — 60% of West Coast projects and one- third of all projects. Projects in this re- gion combined totaled $924.3 million, slightly less than last year's $1.8 billion total. Meanwhile, the total capital cost of all projects reported was $1.8 billion. The project repor ting the highest number of vehicles is Ontario, Canada- based Brampton Transit's Zum line, with 70 buses. Slightly more than three-quarters of respondents are using or plan to use low-f oor style vehicles, which is down from last year's 91%. T ree-quarters of respondents selected articulated ve- hicles and nearly two-thirds chose en- hanced aesthetics, which is the same as last year. Most operators reported the num- ber of doors on their vehicles is three, at one-third, with two doors coming in a distant second option, at 20%. Twelve percent of operators said their vehicles have f ve doors. Nearly one-half of operators sur- veyed plan to use hybrid-electric pro- pulsion for their vehicles, just slightly less than last year. Nearly one-third use or plan to use CNG, which is on par with last year, with clean diesel use up by a hair, at 22%. Only one operator plans to use trolleys. The most popular vehicle amenities chosen by operators were convention- al transit seats and bicycle racks on the front bumper at about one-half for each. Coming in a distant third and fourth place were inside bicycle racks (14.6%) and added comfort non-reclining seats (12%.) Nearly one-half of operators selected curb-level boarding, slightly more than o n e - q u a r t e r c h o s e f l o o r- l e v e l p l at- forms, and nearly 20% use or plan 2014 BRT SURVEY 16 < m ETRO m AGAZINE APRIL 2014 metro-magazine.com Propulsion Type Quantity Hybrid-electric 18 CNG 13 Clean diesel 9 Trolley 1 Propulsion Type Quantity Cash/Coin 29 Smart Cards 21 Magnetic Strip 16 Mobile 2 Valley Metro's Mesa Main Street LINK BRT service began operating in 2008. It has since provided more connectivity to the light rail, schools, shopping and other attractions. More than two-thirds of projects will collect cash/coin fares, about one-half are using smart cards and slightly more than one-third selected magnetic strip. Two systems selected mobile payment as a fare option. (Note: Some transit authorities selected two propulsion methods, so percentages overlap.) Nearly one-half of operators surveyed plan to use hybrid-electric propulsion for their vehicles, just slightly less than last year. Nearly one-third use or plan to use CNG. Clean diesel use is up by a hair, at 22%. Only one operator plans to use trolleys. (Note: Some transit authorities selected two propulsion methods, so percentages overlap.) FUELING FARE PAYMENT 0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 71% 51% 39% 5% % 44% 32% 22% 2.4% % M E T R O 0 4 1 4 _ B R T . i n d d 1 6 METRO0414_BRT.indd 16 3 / 1 8 / 1 4 1 : 0 0 P M 3/18/14 1:00 PM