Can bus Rapid Transit be a Sustainable Means of Public Transport in Fast Growing Cities? Empirical Evidence in the Case of Oslo

Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems play an increasingly important role in urban transit systems throughout the world because they provide fast and reliable public transportation. BRT systems are designed to reduce harmful emissions, which are usually significant for diesel engines in conventional bus transit systems. However, a quantitative comparison of emissions is needed to verify whether reductions have been achieved. This paper compares the characteristics of the emissions of diesel transit vehicles from BRT and a conventional bus system to provide support for policy decisions on public transit management in Beijing. A vehicle-specific power-based emissions estimation approach was implemented with a heavy-duty transit vehicle that ran on diesel fuel to analyze the characteristics of the emissions of a BRT diesel vehicle and a conventional diesel bus on the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing. The emissions characteristics were compared from a spatial perspective (i.e., scenarios involving non–bus lanes, bus lanes, and an area near a stop or a station). The BRT system was shown to play a significant role in reducing emissions, compared with those from a conventional diesel bus, with 25.62% to 27.37% reductions in emissions mass per kilometer of oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter under the non–bus lane scenario, 12.76% to 14.01% reductions under the bus lane scenario, and 22.94% to 37.25% reductions under the scenario near a stop or station. These results have important policy implications for development of strategies for public transit systems in Beijing.

Women's perceived risk of sexual harassment in a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system: The case of Barranquilla, Colombia

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems have become a popular type of transportation in recent years thanks to travel comfort they present, travel time advantages and low investment costs compared with those of railway systems. BRT systems are used effectively in many parts of the world and showing a continuous increase in travel demand. BRT system in Turkey is currently applied only in Istanbul. This study focuses on the comparison of Istanbul BRT with some other BRT systems in developing countries. The BRT systems analysed through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) are those which have been evaluated and scored in terms of various criteria by ITDP. In other words, the BRT systems included in this study are those having BRT scores. Since most of the BRT systems are used in overcrowded cities, the inputs and outputs used in efficiency analysis have been specifically chosen from these cities. As a result of the findings, the study offers some improvement recommendations for the current BRT system in Istanbul and other BRTs in overcrowded cities. Besides being one of the three important outputs, BRT standard score is also a physical performance indicator and, therefore, this study provides a fairer and analytic comparison of different BRTs of developing countries.

In the present day, the traditional modes of public transport are challenging to provide an economical and fast solution, so the need for a cheaper and quicker implementation of a new public transport system is recognized by more and more countries. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems are becoming the most popular public transport option with medium carrying capacity. This system not only reduces the investment cost in public transportation but also achieves the operation effect close to that of rail transit. It uses modern public transport technology to cooperate with the operation and management of intelligent transportation so that the traditional public transport system can basically reach the service level of rail transit. In this study, the mapping methods of BRT system Road (graphically correct bus maps and schematic bus maps) are introduced and analyzed to improve the satisfaction of the BRT system in practical application. In addition, the applicable conditions of the two road-mapping methods and the principles needing attention in the drawing are also analyzed. As for the BRT system structure, this paper introduces a new BRT system model ("BRT + flexible line" mode), which is used to improve the speed of the BRT system. Firstly, the information of the BRT system is extracted from Xiamen, Guangzhou and Mexico, and the route map and design mode of BRT systems are analyzed and drawn by using ArcMap and Inkscape software. The relationship between line mapping and BRT system is summarized. Finally, the conditions and shortcomings of the experimental results are discussed, and it is pointed out that local conditions should be considered to simplify the drawing of geographically correct bus maps in the BRT system. This study can be widely used in the initial construction of the BRT system and the construction mode of air-light rail, and also can be applied to the drawing of the BRT system route map. It is hoped that this study can provide a starting point and useful experience for researchers in this field.

A Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is one of the best strategies for urban transportation, especially in developing cities, mainly because of its cost-efficiency. Starting from Curitiba, Brazil in 1974, including Bogota, Colombia in 1999, many cities in Latin American Countries have implemented a BRT system. In almost all cases, BRT systems are working as a reliable high capacity service. In some cases, BRT systems are well coordinated with an urban transportation strategy framework and/or an urban planning strategy framework, integrating other transportation modes and land uses. Alternatively, there have been very few cases of BRT systems in Southeast Asian countries. Many cities considering implementation of BRT systems do not consider other urban transportation strategies such as Transit Oriented Development (TOD). The objective of the paper is to discuss the perspective of a BRT for developing cities. First, the paper reviews the history of BRT systems followed by a field survey of the results in Curitiba, mainly from an urban transportation and planning strategy point of view. Second, multimodal and inter-modal aspects are discussed, where the relationship with city buses, a balance between private car use and parking policies are emphasized. Third a framework of urban bus planning, management and operation is discussed considering the roles of public and private sectors based on the experiences of several developed cities. Finally, in terms of an urban planning strategy, reviewing the original and applied concepts of TOD, the authors discuss how a TOD strategy could work with BRT systems. The authors address the possibilities and limitations of BRT systems, especially in developing cities. More specific implications are presented in the case of medium sized cities of Southeast Asian countries.

The first decade of the 21st century witnessed a proliferation of bus rapid transit systems in many cities worlwide. Successful transit systems, especially in poor cities, have been lauded and presented as models for other cities to emulate. However, little attention has been given to unsuccessful transit systems, even though reasons for their failures could be beneficial to poor cities planning to invest in mass public transport. The author examines the militating factors in the demise of Ghana's first bus rapid transit system and draws useful lessons for the present and future. Qualitative data from interviews, surveys, and in-depth key informant interviews are analysed and presented in thematic narratives. They are complemented with quantitative (travel time) data. The results show that recurring traffic congestion, passengers' inadequate comfort and personal security, resistance from existing public transport operators, lack of legal status for a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, and limited advertising led to the collapse of the pilot system in the Greater Accra Metroplitan Area (GAMA). The author concludes that the success of present and future BRT systems is and will be a function of multiple stakeholder consultation and participation, privatization of day-to-day operations, promotion of multimodalism, and planning with the commuter in mind.

Many cities in the world have implemented Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems as a part of their public transportation networks. BRT systems are highly efficient and relatively low cost when compared to rail-based systems. In Colombia, BRT systems are the main public transportation solution in many cities such as Bogotá, Cali, Barranquilla or Pereira. One of the major challenges in BRT systems is the formation of bus queues at busy stations, which reduces the performance of the entire system. The modeling of these queues is challenging as they arise from the complex interaction between the station’s geometry, the service frequencies and the passenger demand. In this paper, we present a complete microsimulation framework for the Megabus BRT system in Pereira based on cellular automata. The simulation introduces two kinds of agents: buses and passengers, and they interact to reproduce realistic behavior. Our results show that the simulation can reproduce queues formation and delays arising from the interaction between buses and with traffic lights. Our framework allows the evaluation of different service frequency schemes from the operator’s and the passenger’s point of view, which makes it a suitable tool to solve the frequency optimization problem successfully accounting for bus delays.

The impact of a Bus Rapid Transit system on commuters' exposure to Benzene, CO, PM 2.5 and PM 10 in Mexico City

One type of transportation system developed in several cities is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. BRT systems are influenced by various factors, and route planning is one of the most important ones, which involves aspects such as route design, bus schedules, and passenger load. BRT systems can generate certain service data, which can be useful for calculating passenger load. However, these service data are insufficient to accurately predict future passenger loads. Processes such as origin–destination matrix analysis are required, which are time-consuming and not suitable in most cases. This paper proposes a machine learning (ML) model that allows predicting passenger load at the key stations of a BRT system. An exploration of datasets from several BRT systems was performed for a particular use case. Open data on the Transmilenio BRT system from Bogotá (Colombia) was determined as the source. The obtained results showed that the model using the Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) algorithm obtained the best results in the metrics using one of the two generated datasets. However, the initial results were not satisfactory enough, so it was necessary to use a hyperparameter-tuning tool and vary the range of dates in the dataset to improve the respective metrics.

A20 The Siketha Ukuba Nempilo (We Choose to be Healthy) Project. Can taking public transport lead to a healthier lifestyle?

Public transportation systems are vital components of urban infrastructure, shaping mobility and development. The emergence of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems offers a promising solution to challenges faced by traditional bus services. However, delays within BRT systems can compromise their efficiency and reliability. The goal of this study is to investigate and analyze the critical factors influencing delays in Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, specifically focusing on the Istanbul Metrobus, in order to provide actionable insights for optimizing operations and enhancing service reliability in BRT operations. Decision Trees identify critical parameters affecting delays, while Bayesian Networks elucidate causal dependencies among variables. The proposed Bayesian Precedence Network integrates these methodologies. This study employed a range of diverse data sources analyzed through advanced software tools like GeNIe Modeler. The results underscore the effectiveness of decision analysis in quantifying uncertainties and assessing critical factors that inform transit planning and optimization. The findings reveal that a passenger occupancy rate of 43% results in a 76% probability of no delays, while high traffic flow decreases this probability to 55%. Conversely, clear weather conditions enhance this probability to 80%, whereas rainy conditions and non-optimized operational efficiency heighten the risk of delays. Overall, this study provides a blueprint for addressing public transportation challenges, empowering transportation planners and policymakers to create more efficient and reliable transit networks.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems with dedicated lanes have shown advantages over traditional bus systems and have attracted more transit riders. However, it is not always possible to build BRT systems with double dedicated lanes because of physical and cost constraints. A BRT system with a single dedicated lane is more practical in such situations. In a single-lane configuration, buses approaching from opposite directions have to share the same road section and can overtake or pass each other only at the bus stops. An optimization model is proposed to describe the synchronization requirements of the BRT buses with the objective of minimizing the total travel and dwell time. The computational results show that a BRT system with a single dedicated lane yields total travel time that is similar to that of a BRT system with double dedicated lanes when the headway is not short (e.g., more than 20 min). In addition, to address possible delay at intersections, a simple speed control algorithm is implemented to adjust the bus speed in real time if the bus is delayed considerably. A microscopic simulation based on VISSIM is conducted to examine the impacts of the BRT bus on other traffic and the performance of the speed control. The simulation result shows that the speed control effectively handles the delay in the intersection and the other traffic is rarely affected by the speed control.

This chapter identifies the appropriate role for “metros” in developing cities. The term “metros” is used in this chapter as shorthand for any rail system that carries a mass ridership rapidly in urban areas and this includes heavy rail transit systems, light rail transit (LRT) systems that are mainly aggregated, and suburban rail systems. The chapter shows how metros achieve their strategic impacts as a result of their operating speed and capacity that in turn determine the accessibility benefits that they offer. Rail projects that are fully segregated achieve notably higher impacts than those that are not. Metros are seen to achieve a step change in both speed and capacity. The performance characteristics of metros and busway or bus rapid transit (BRT) systems against which they are often compared as follows: (1) fully segregated metro systems: typically achieve average end-to-end operating speed of 30-40 kph, and have capacities of 35,000 to 60,000+ passengers per hour per direction (pphpd); (2) partly segregated LRT systems: achieve lower average speeds of about 20 kph and lower capacities of about 10,000 pphpd; and (3) busways or BRT systems: typically achieve average operating speeds of 17-20 kpd, and have capacities of 10,000 to 20,000 pphpd. The chapter shows how urban public transport is typically organized as an integrated system or with competing operators. Metros thus operate sometimes as part of an integrated urban or metropolitan public transport system, as in Singapore and London, or in competition with existing buses and paratransit as in Bangkok and Manila. Busways and BRT systems may compete for considerations as rapid public transit options or may be considered as feeders to metro systems.

In this paper, we explore different methods to detect patterns in the activity of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems focusing on two aspects of transit: infrastructure and the movement of vehicles. To this end, we analyze records of velocity and position of each active vehicle in nine BRT systems located in the Americas. We detect collective patterns that characterize each BRT system obtained from the statistical analysis of velocities in the entire system (global scale) and at specific zones (local scale). We analyze the velocity records at the local scale applying the Kullback-Leibler divergence to compare the vehicular activity between zones. This information is organized in a similarity matrix that can be represented as a network of zones. The resulting structure for each system is analyzed using network science methods. In particular, by implementing community detection algorithms on networks, we obtain different groups of zones characterized by similarities in the movement of vehicles. Our findings show that the representation of the dataset with information of vehicles as a network is a useful tool to characterize at different scales the activity of BRT systems when geolocalized records of vehicular movement are available. This general approach can be implemented in the analysis of other public transportation systems.

Road injuries are an important cause of global mortality especially in low- and middle-income countries. While these countries undergo major urban transformations, an integral part of their development has often been the implementation of mass transportation systems, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. However, the net effect of BRT systems on road safety is still unclear, and while there is reason to believe that BRT systems improve safety, very few available empirical studies have tested this hypothesis using observational data. Furthermore, the existing evidence is mixed and sparse. This paper reviews the available literature on the links of BRT systems and road safety and calls for more research to strengthen the body of evidenceon the effect of BRT systems on road safety in the future.