NEW ORLEANS - Today, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) kicked off a 10-month long feasibility study for a proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. In a virtual kick-off meeting Alex Wiggins, RTA CEO provided the goals and objectives of the project to the consultant team ISLI Engineering, HNTB and the Hawthorne Group. Plus, an array of partners including representatives from the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission, the City of New Orleans, and other regional partners. 

The study is initially for a dedicated transit corridor between East New Orleans and downtown with a possible extension to Algiers. The project will help the RTA to improve transit equity by significantly reducing commute times within the region and is the next step to deliver on previous plans including the New Links regional bus network redesign and the RTA’s Strategic Mobility Plan.  

The project will deliver design standards for BRT on any corridor in the region and a corridor-specific plan with preliminary design, conceptual operations, construction costs, and funding strategies for the proposed corridor.  

“Today's kick-off is a crucial step in delivering national best practices in BRT to New Orleans, which has the potential to significantly improve transit commute times for residents in the region”, said Flozell Daniels, Jr., RTA Board Chair. “The RTA is committed to working collaboratively with community to develop equitable and accessible transit solutions that meet the needs of current and future transit riders.” 

BRT is a high-quality bus-based transit mode that will deliver fast and efficient service that will include dedicated lanes, busways, and traffic signal priority. The RTA seeks to utilize BRT, a national best practice, to improve transit times for residents on critical corridors throughout the region with an emphasis on the West Bank and East New Orleans, areas which analysis shows longer commute times to downtown. 

“The RTA is committed to addressing long commute times for residents in areas like East New Orleans when traveling to and from downtown,” said Alex Z. Wiggins, RTA CEO. “This BRT study will help the agency to improve speed, reliability and efficiency of transit service in critical neighborhoods. As the RTA works to provide better connectivity, improve commute times, and deliver more efficient service, projects like BRT that improve the transit experience is a win for the riders, RTA, and the community as whole.” 

The study is funded by the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Helping Obtain Prosperity for Everyone (HOPE) grant program which supports projects that will improve transit services or facilities in areas of persistent poverty through planning, engineering, or development of technical, or financing plans for projects. The RTA was awarded $550,000 in 2020 as one of 25 projects in 17 states that received a share of approximately $8.5 million in funding.