TRANSIT: El Paso, Texas, initiates bus rapid transit project

City officials in El Paso, Texas, are set to break ground Wednesday on the first stations of the new bus rapid transit (BRT) system scheduled to debut in 2014 after seven years of planning and fundraising. The Sun Metro Brio system will have a total of four bus lines, with the last one opening by fall 2017.

The first route, which will begin construction in June, will run along Mesa Street. Buses will be able to carry up to 100 passengers at once while making fewer stops along the way. Each bus will also be equipped with technology allowing drivers to turn a traffic signal green or hold it.

For greater passenger convenience, each bus will have three doors. All tickets will be bought at boarding stations before getting on the bus; stations will be built roughly a mile apart, with a total of 22 boarding stations on the Mesa line.

The total project cost for the Mesa line is $27.1 million; $13.5 million of that will come from the Federal Transit Administration.