I was just coming here to inquire why it's so surprising. It's free, doesn't stop every 50 feet, has priority at intersections, and travels along the main artery of the "city proper". I guess it's surprising in the sense Richmond did something right, and in some ways Broad St is a bit embarrassing now with the lengths we went to preserve parking, but the latter wouldn't really affect ridership and it's a fundamentally very sound idea.