[Tagging] Rail replacement bus service

[stevea]

On Mar 11, 2023, at 12:22 AM, Warin <61sundowner at gmail.com> wrote:
> I agree that the buses that replace 'normally running trains' should have some identification.

Again in a Caltrain context are such things as "600s are running during the weekends now" (because of ongoing electrification construction), though that's an unusual phase we're in (usually on weekends 200 trains run, like the table says 2xx = Weekend Local), but you can also get, say, "600 trains between Palo Alto and Mountain View" which are not trains at all but are busses.  This line (Caltrain) doesn't seem to "run busses instead of trains on purpose" because of low ridership or something like that, more like for scheduled outages and "there was an accident on the tracks, so a bus bridge is set up."  And the specific 600 is "your bus" (to correspond with "your 4-route or 5-route or 1-route..." or whatever).  More frequently, "station screens" (might be video screens, might be "rolling text" signs) will announce "6xx train to Mountain View" (or wherever) if that's true.  Frequent riders seeing 600-something know their 400-series train isn't going to alight here, they need to catch a bus instead.  The realtime stuff that gets pushed out to phones  /tablets / laptops (and overhead signage or video departure screens do so, too) changing your 300 train to a 600 train is notification "looks like you'll have to catch a bus" (for a portion of what-you-thought-was-going-to-be-a-train-ride).  It's a pain to transfer from a train to a bus, but it'll get you there as a Plan B, so you'll do it.  As an exception, not a rule.

Putting rail_replacement_service=yes onto the route relation (as I said) seems like a community thumbs-up; I see heads nodding here.  Then, there could be additional things like a "foot-path to follow" (in some countries I've seen them "lead passengers to a bus bridge boarding area with painted shoe steps on the pavement") and other "navaids to pedestrians" (like the special signage noted by the OP).  I could imagine an additional tag on a highway=footway which has a tag (not actual, I'm imagining) like rail_replacement_service=yes to convey it is a path linking a train platform to a bus-alighting/departing platform, too.   But I'm only thinking out loud here, something like that could further the concept.

We haven't thought of or expressed all the possibilities here, but I think we've tossed out some ideas and what-do-you-think?s and that's what was asked for.  And a bit of agreement, which I like to see.

> Aside: the bean counters here have found that buses replacing trains, when track maintenance is under taken, are cheaper then running the trains. This takes place when traffic (both train and bus) is low ...
> 
> The meaning of 'normally running trains' should be up to the locals?

I'm not sure who is meant by "the locals" here.  It is Caltrain that decides how Caltrain runs trains (or busses). There is no other "additional authority" who might tell them otherwise.  (I mean, they have to follow state and federal rail law, but of course they do).

If Caltrain is going to do a lengthy-outage like we have now on weekends as Caltrain finishes building out the electrification modernization we're building now (for future high speed rail) they'll give advance notice, and the busses are numbered 600-something, and it "sort of regularizes the exception" (of weekend trains not being 2XX Weekend Local trains, for example).  Much of the time, a 600-train is "there was an accident" or some such, so there is a bus bridge.  I'm not sure every station is set up to bridge buses, but that's likely a "how this particular train service does things."  Other train lines might be able to make a bus happen between ANY two stations, that's not a given either way.