It was asked earlier and doesn't appear to have an answer: is there a published definition of a "transit ride" for the purposes of this credit and exemplary performance? For example, is a bus 1 ride each time it stops, or if the bus has 50 seats, does that bus stopping once a day count as 50 rides?
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David Posada
Integrated Design & LEED SpecialistSERA Architects
LEEDuser Expert
1980 thumbs up
November 15, 2011 - 2:10 pm
The terms "lines," "stops" and "rides" have confused people, and these haven't been clearly defined. Interpretation Ruling #5020 comes close, and is integrated into to 2009 Reference Guide Option 2 for Exemplary Performance. Here's a long-winded attempt to clear up any confusion:
Our understanding has been: Rides = (number of times per day a bus on line #1 serves it's bus stop nearest the project) + (number of times per day a bus on line #2 serves its bus stop nearest the project) etc. Include all bus lines that serve bus stops that are within a .25 mile walk from the project entry or entries. The number of seats on the bus isn't taken into account.
Looking at the 2009 BD&C Reference Guide page 45, the diagram shows one bus stop for the #16 bus line on Cass Ave, and another bus stop for the #53 bus line on Woodward Ave. (The 2009 first edition has a .25 mile radius circle drawn, but an addenda removed the circle and adds a scale to require the .25 miles to be walking distance.)
This implies that a bus line serves a specific route or destination. But in the diagram is the #16 bus assumed to be heading in just in one direction or two? If buses travel in both directions, does that make it one line or two? We assume if it travels in both directions this still counts as one bus line, since you need both directions of travel to complete your trip. If a bus line only serves one direction, it would probably still count as one line, but contribute fewer number of rides per day.
Or put another way, for a person leaving a LEED project, how many routes do they have to choose from and how frequently do those buses or trains stop? Each time one person could board a bus from the LEED project site counts as a "ride."
For example, let's assume the #16 travels both northbound and southbound along Cass Ave. (Google Maps indicates it actually does). Let's assume it stops every 15 minutes in both directions from 6 am to midnight. That's 4 times per hour for 18 hours, or 72 rides going north, and another 72 rides going south, for a total of 144 rides.
Whew!
Erin Holdenried
Sustainability Architect125 thumbs up
May 31, 2013 - 10:38 am
Hi David - Is there an addenda that provides updated version of the graphic with a scale instead of circle? I can't find it in the redlined version of the reference guide or in the in the addenda table. It would be unfortunate if the only way one could find this update is by purchasing a new reference guide, as is this update displays a very different understanding of the distance requirement than what was conveyed in the orginal version of the guide.