How much time does BRT really save vs the schedule?

[VioletJH]

I’m trying to figure out if my city’s new bus rapid transit line is actually saving me time or if the schedule just feels unreliable. My commute should be faster with the dedicated lanes, but some days the spacing between vehicles seems way off and I end up waiting longer than the promised ten-minute headway.

[Savannah_S]

Some days the lane feels fast and I’m in and out before I expect. Other days I’m waiting past the promised ten minutes and it starts to feel unreliable, even though the line is supposed to be more efficient.

[AlexanderNL]

I kept a rough log for a week. When everything clicked, end-to-end felt around 20% faster and I was catching the next bus without extra waiting. When it didn’t click, I’d end up waiting for a second bus, and total trip time stretched by a chunk.

[MiaM]

Maybe the problem isn’t the schedule at all. Could it be the stop spacing or how often drivers bunch up after the lanes merge back into regular streets? Or the displays aren’t updating in real time and I’m chasing a wrong clock?

[Mason68]

I did talk to a driver once. They said the system can prioritize the lane but at some intersections the timing isn’t great, so you lose a few blocks of speed. I even started noticing the coffee cart by the stop more than the timetable, which is a weird distraction, but I tried a different route once to avoid the worst spots and it saved nothing, so I stopped chasing the perfect timetable.