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WEGO pilot reduced bus travel times on Fourth Avenue but required heavy staffing; evaluation due after final pilot weekend
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Summary
WEGO presented interim results from a staffed bus‑priority lane pilot on Fourth Avenue, reporting average travel‑time improvements and reduced variability on many weekend nights but noting the pilot required substantial staffing and faced pedestrian‑volume and bottleneck challenges.
WEGO staff described a pilot bus‑priority lane on Fourth Avenue that ran on Friday and Saturday nights since September with NDOT and MNPD coordination.
Katie Frydberg, WEGO director of service development, said the pilot targeted three high‑ridership routes that serve downtown on weekend nights and hospitality workers. The lane has been staffed by contracted officers from about 7:30 p.m. until the last bus (roughly 1:00 a.m.), with staffing levels reaching as many as 17 officers on busy nights to control pedestrian movement at Fourth and Broadway, enforce the bus lane, and manage contraflow traffic. WEGO operated the bus lane both at the curb and in a center lane depending on pedestrian conditions.
WEGO presented performance data showing average bus travel times and reductions in variability on many nights compared with no bus lane; the pilot also produced worst‑trip improvements on many Fridays and Saturdays, though some nights still recorded very long delays. Staff said they excluded travel times over 60 minutes from some charts to avoid counting breakdowns or non‑typical incidents. The pilot encountered operational challenges: pedestrian volumes often spilled into the bus lane when buses were not present; there were bottlenecks at the north end of the lane; and incidents included an impaired driver driving through the bus lane and an emergency response that required adjustments.
Frydberg said the next step is a final pilot weekend followed by an evaluation phase that will assess impacts on bus travel time, safety for pedestrians and buses, staffing/resource requirements, and effects on downtown traffic and businesses. Options include continuing a staffed bus‑priority operation for special events, pursuing closures or detours, accelerating Eighth Avenue transit corridor improvements, or modifying the operational design to reduce staffing needs while maintaining benefits.
Commissioners asked whether bicycles used the corridor (staff said few were observed) and questioned the long‑term staffing feasibility. WEGO, NDOT and MNPD will evaluate whether a lower‑resource operational model can capture the performance benefits observed in the pilot.
