[Tagging] Rail replacement bus service

[stevea]

On Mar 10, 2023, at 3:04 AM, Martin Koppenhoefer <dieterdreist at gmail.com> wrote:
> ...they can last for several years.

In the case of Caltrain, they are an essentially-permanent feature of the train service, as passenger rail shutdowns (anticipated or not) happen "frequently enough" (not the same as "frequently") that these are given their own route-numbering subspace in the structure of the service.  Saying "oh, no, it looks like we'll have to catch a 6-train" (meaning a "bus bridge" because of an accident or some such) is understood among Caltrain riders that a transfer-from-rail-to-bus is about to happen.  They don't last for several years in this case, they are a "feature" of this particular rail service, and I don't think Caltrain is the only train service for whom such a thing is true.

We should map them as a bus route, I would say, but they should be "associate-able" with the train service in an easy way.  (That's what Caltrain does by including these busses as "600-series" trains, when they are not trains, they are busses).  I like "rail_replacement_service=yes" as a good start to identify these.  We can do this.