The Regional Transit System has kicked off a study to determine if a new bus plan will work for our region. the plan could mean quicker service, better shelters and more direct routes.

"You have to wait an hour for a bus sometimes and then you have to transfer within a mile or so. It makes the buses practically unusable."

A possible solution: if the city implements a new system called bus rapid transit...or BRT...it could potentially help riders get to their destinations faster.

and that's not all...

BRT could also offer riders more direct routes and better shelters...and it could bring bus-only lanes and give bus priority at traffic signals.

Representatives from both RTS and BRT talked to residents at the Thomas Center in Northeast Gainesville... to explain why a system like this could be good for the community.

"It's very promising to communities that are looking at investing in transit but are not quite ready for the expense of higher capacities."

But expense is stil/ an issue. it could cost up to 6 million dollars a mile to implement a BRT route. Another possible downside: it could take up to a decade to complete.

But despite those downsides... BRT has been successful in other cities like Cleveland, Boston and Los Angeles...increasing ridership by 30 percent or more.

There will be two more community forums to discuss bringing brt to our region. The next meeting is October 27th at GRU. The other, is set for October 30th at Terwilliger Elementary. Both afternoon meeting start at 3.