Drivers prepare get on a new Silver Line bus during a training exercise in Grand Rapids Monday, Aug. 18, 2014.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — By the time West Michigan's second bus rapid transit system could be set to roll in 2018, commuters might find a striking resemblance to its first, the Silver Line.

Transit leaders unveiled plans for the 13-mile Laker Line system between Grand Valley State University and downtown Grand Rapids on Tuesday at GVSU's Pew Campus, concluding years of study.

The system promises a more efficient commute along M-45/Lake Michigan Drive upon completion, whereas the existing 50 and 51 routes have pushed ridership levels to capacity, officials say.

Project planners propose the Laker Line will begin at GVSU's Kirkhof Center in Allendale, travel north to Lake Michigan Drive and east to downtown's Fulton Street and Monroe Avenue intersection. There, buses will ferry passengers north to Michigan Street's Medical Mile before terminating at Lafayette Avenue. Buses will complete a return loop to GVSU.

Fourteen stations are slated to be built along the route, with a maximum of 13 vehicles stopping at six-minute intervals between them at peak times. The Rapid's existing routes 50 and 51 buses travel at roughly the same periods, though Laker Line's buses will carry more passengers.

Planners expect 13,000 riders each day — a 13 percent increase atop existing service, which will be absorbed into Laker Line, according to officials.

Like its predecessor, Laker Line will feature signal priority technology to hold traffic lights green, allowing buses to move through intersections quickly and stations to show riders when their trip should arrive. Dedicated bus-only lanes are proposed on GVSU's campus and a section of Fulton.

If the proposal sounds somewhat familiar, Dan Meyers said many of the components behind the existing Silver Line eventually will join to establish the Laker Line. Meyers, the vice president and senior transportation project manager of URS Corporation, explained there remains years of planning to turn the proposal into reality.

Officials look to start an environmental assessment study to identify station locations this year and finish it in 2015 while applying for federal funding. The project's price tag stands at about $45.5 million — a number Meyers predicts is funded with 80 percent federal money and 20 percent from the state.

That figure roughly is $5.5 million more than Silver Line's $40 million project cost.

Construction likely wouldn't begin until 2017, Meyers said.

"A lot of this is based off the planning and successful launch of Silver Line," Meyers said. "The [Federal Transit Administration] already is very interested in this project because of that."

Michael Bulthuis, The Rapid's public outreach coordinator, said continued feedback about the system will help shape this new project. No public meetings are scheduled at least until the environmental assessment is complete.

Andrew Krietz covers breaking, politics and transportation news for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at akrietz@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.