The Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) selected Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) to provide planning and operations simulation services for its proposal to introduce bus rapid transit (BRT) along Broad Street, a major downtown corridor. This will be the GRTC’s first BRT operation, and is anticipated to simplify operations and reduce congestion on Broad Street while improving service to GRTC’s riders.

The VHB Team will create an operational definition of the Broad Street BRT system, and then use traffic simulation, travel demand modeling, and traffic engineering to assess its potential operational, ridership, and street traffic implications. The planning and operations simulation will take one year to complete and will be coordinated with an alternatives analysis that Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation has planned for the same BRT project.

Continuing their practice of using the best tools available to achieve project objectives, VHB and its team of subconsultants, including Wilbur Smith Associates and Gallop Corporation, will conduct the simulation using VISSIM (microscopic simulation program for multi-modal traffic flow modeling); will complete ridership analysis using available user data to create a pivot point model; and will analyze, and quantify operational implications for GRTC’s bus system using the HASTUS model (an integrated and modular software solution for transit scheduling, operations, and customer information).

Upon project completion, GRTC will have a comprehensive understanding of the merits and issues associated with the introduction of BRT along Broad Street, and can proceed to project refinement and implementation.