The MAX
The Mason Corridor is a five-mile, north-south byway within the City of Fort Collins which extends from Cherry Street on the north to south of Harmony Road. The Corridor will feature the MAX, or Mason Express, Fort Collins’ first Bus Rapid Transit System. The MAX is similar to light rail transit and uses environmentally-friendly, modern rubber-tired vehicles. Mason Street and McCleland Drive will continue to operate with existing streets as they do today. MAX will not impact these existing road ways south of University Avenue. North of University Avenue, MAX will operate on existing streets with traffic.
MAX will operate faster than auto travel along College Avenue and provides ten minute departures during peak hours. MAX is designed to emphasize speed and convenience with an exclusive guideway and easy boarding, MAX will get you there quickly. The new MAX stations will incorporate high-quality passenger amenities including, real-time bus arrival information and Park & Rides along the Corridor
Meet MAX
MAX is designed for convenience, comfort and speed. The design elements of the vehicles, stations, and guideway will be implemented to ensure an efficient and safe system.
The Vehicle
Bus Rapid Transit combines the quality of rail transit with the flexibility and affordability of rubber-tired vehicles. BRT is often referred to as “rubber tired light rail”. MAX is an environmentally friendly option. MAX will also offer passengers a rail-like convenience with comfortable seating, large windows and hand rails for standing as well as on-board storage for bicycles.
Precision docking and level boarding allows for passengers to board and exit the bus quickly. This feature also allows for trouble-free access for wheelchairs, strollers, and bicycles.
The Station
Each of the transit centers, stations, and stops have been designed to fit spatially and architecturally within their existing environment. Further, they are integral aspects of future redevelopment and infill Transit Oriented Development (TOD) projects. The intent is to ensure these access points to the Mason Corridor and MAX service are attractive, inviting, functional, and safe, for the MAX customers, transit system operators, and the surrounding land/business owners and their patrons.
The stations will all include real time bus arrival information and ticket vending machines. The off-board fare collection machines are an added benefit to MAX that makes purchasing fares convenient and hassle-free. No fare collection occurs on the vehicle itself, furthering the image of a rail system and reducing times at stations.
The Guideway
MAX’s system has a dedicated transit-only guideway that runs parallel to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad between the South Transit Center (south of Harmony Road) and University Avenue (CSU). The exclusive guideway is an integral part of this new service. Whether traffic gets worse, or if there’s an accident, MAX’s travel time will not be controlled by what is on the road; making MAX a convenient, fast, reliable and comfortable choice for our community.
Schedule
|
2008 – 2009 |
Design |
|
2009 - 2010 |
Construction |
|
2011 |
Mason Corridor Opening |