BRT System Research Articles

Optimizing Transit Operations and Passenger Experience: A Simulation-based Study of Bus Interarrival and Passenger Load Scenarios at a Major Transfer Point

This study employs simulation-based analysis of passenger flow and bus operations at the Adam Malik transfer point within the TransJakarta BRT system. The findings from the analysis of the current system indicate that the average number of total passenger exits in corridors 13, 13B, 13C, and L13E were 618, 509, 1143, and 790, respectively. Additionally, the average time spent by passengers within the system for each corridor was 4.48 minutes, 6.12 minutes, 5.94 minutes, and 5.46 minutes, respectively. Through the development of 15 scenarios, the study demonstrates the impact of adjusting passenger boarding procedures and reducing interarrival time on waiting times and passenger processing efficiency, particularly during peak hours. The results emphasize the substantial influence of these variables on waiting times, total exits, and system duration for passengers and buses.

A Study on the Viability of Adopting Battery Electric Vehicles in Bus Rapid Transit in Brazil Using the AHP Method

Public transport is essential to provide urban mobility, and cities need to offer a fast, comfortable, secure, and low-pollutant public transport mode to attract passengers and reduce private car use. Despite metros, trains, and light rail systems being desirable, the cost of implementation and low flexibility make bus services the best option for many cities. One solution for improving bus service systems is the implementation of bus rapid transit systems that are composed of buses running in segregated lines with pre-payment fares and level boarding platforms in stations. However, the main challenge of bus systems is the use of engines fueled by diesel, which is extremely polluted. One possible solution is the use of battery buses; but are they really feasible regarding daily operation cost? In this paper, we investigate the adoption of battery buses in comparison to diesel engines in a BRT system using municipal data from São Paulo, Brazil, as a reference. We collected operational data from the Sao Paulo city government transport agency and data from the literature to produce an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model, which allowed us to compare both systems. The AHP model considered a triple-bottom-line perspective using social, economic, and environmental impact criteria. The result showed that the initial costs of acquisition can be a barrier, but in the long run, cities adopting battery buses in their BRT system can benefit from the effects of reduction in gas emissions and longer lifetimes of electric bus components. Moreover, the results showed that the adoption of battery buses in BRT systems depends on local government subsidies being implemented.

Перспективы применения автономного шинного трамвая Phileas с технологией магнито-электронного наведения

Purpose: To show horizon to use new kind of public urban transport -autonomous tire tram of Phileas system
 without guide middle rail and catenarian, with magnetic-electronic steering system application – as more
 attractive for passengers than regular tram for urban transportations to free city lines from car jams. Methods:
 Analysis and generalization of work experience of leading enterprises, which exploit given kind of transport, of
 such countries as Netherlands (Eindhoven, Amsterdam), France (Due), Germany (Cologne), Turkey (Istanbul)
 as well as South Korea and so on, were held. The analysis of the most progressive constructions, applied in
 given vehicle, has been fulfilled. Results: Enterprise work experience has proved the feasibility to use tire tram
 wagons without guide rail for cities but revealed whole series of drawbacks, connected with the imperfections
 of the work of magnetic-electronic steering system that has whole row of irremovable flaws. Phileas rolling
 stock has demonstrated itself as insufficiently reliable in exploitation that has led to its gradual premature
 withdrawal and change with regular articulated buses, i.e. its conversion from a tram to usual BRT system.
 Practical significance: The use of tire tram autonomous system without guide rail and catenerian has good
 look-outs in cities but it’s necessary to apply more up-to-date element base for steering with the use of artificial
 intelligence technology. Phileas transport system has simply got ahead of its time. It’s worth not to refuse from
 the development of existing classical trams and light transport and the design of their new systems.

Estimating CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Using Life Cycle Assessment: A Case Study in Rio de Janeiro City

The amount of greenhouse gases has been growing dramatically in recent decades, producing global warming and causing climate change that affects the entire planet. To mitigate these emissions, several nations have committed to implementing measures to reduce emissions of these gases, with carbon dioxide being the main one. The transport sector is one of the leading carbon emitters. It needs to be the object of attention from government authorities and private companies so that sustainable solutions are planned and implemented to reduce the fossil fuel consumption. The emerging solutions point to implementing public transport in systems that use large-capacity vehicles, replacing conventional cars and buses. However, such systems require constructing a complex infrastructure, which will also produce emissions. Thus, it is necessary to balance the emissions produced by the new system with the emissions avoided by replacing the old system, for a clear quantification of the carbon reduction. This balance is best accomplished using the system lifecycle assessment approach. This case study presents the life cycle assessment, according to ISO 14040 standards, of the BRT system implemented in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil based on real data collected during the construction of the system. The results show that the system will take 16 years to compensate for the emissions produced, and in the life cycle, the projected reduction is about half a million tons of CO<sub>2</sub>. The study indicates a path that can be useful to planners seeking to reduce carbon in the public transport sector.

THE NEGOTIATION OF KEY ACTORS TOWARDS PETE-PETE (MINIBUS PUBLIC TRANSPORT) INTEGRATION IN MAMMINASATA BRT

Trans Mamminasata BRT in South Sulawesi is one of the national priority transportation program to solve traffic congestion in the region. The BRT operation will have a challenge since it is impacted the existing minibus public transport (Pete-pete). Many drivers have done several demonstrations against the BRT operation. Therefore, the negotiation strategy is need to be designed and implemented to realize this BRT program as all stakeholder’s goals. The objective of this study that used literature review method is to find out the most appropriate scheme options for Pete-pete’s actors (drivers and owners) to be integrated with Trans Mamminasata BRT system based on lessons learned from previous cases that occurred in DKI Jakarta Province and Semarang City through a negotiation process between dispute parties. For further studies, we suggest doing research to gain an existing players perspective on the BRT transition and testing the transition package as part of the negotiation.
 Key words: BRT, negotiation, transportation, bus reform, Mamminasata

A network-based analysis to assess COVID-19 disruptions in the Bogotá BRT system.

The global COVID-19 crisis has severely affected mass transit in the cities of the global south. Fear of widespread propagation in public spaces and the dramatic decrease in human mobility due to lockdowns have resulted in a significant reduction of public transport options. We analyze the case of TransMilenio in Bogotá, a massive Bus Rapid Transit system that is the main mode of transport for an urban area of roughly 10 million inhabitants. Concerns over social distancing and new health regulations reduced the number of trips to under 20% of its historical values during extended periods of time during the lockdowns. This has sparked a renewed interest in developing innovative data-driven responses to COVID-19 resulting in large corpora of TransMilenio data being made available to the public. In this paper we use a database updated daily with individual passenger card swipe validation microdata including entry time, entry station, and a hash of the card's ID. The opportunity of having daily detailed minute-to-minute ridership information and the challenge of extracting useful insights from the massive amount of raw data (∼1,000,000 daily records) require the development of tailored data analysis approaches. Our objective is to use the natural representation of urban mobility offered by networks to make pairwise quantitative similarity measurements between daily commuting patterns and then use clustering techniques to reveal behavioral disruptions as well as the most affected geographical areas due to the different pandemic stages. This method proved to be efficient for the analysis of large amount of data and may be used in the future to make temporal analysis of similarly large datasets in urban contexts.

Cooperation In Preparation of Full Brt System Development Program at BRT Trans Semarang

Urban transportation services such as Bus Repid Transit (BRT) as the main issue in the circle of transportation planning, the Semarang City Government built an urban transportation system for public services so that there is cooperation in the preparation of the Trans Semarang BRT system full development program. Understanding policy aspects at both the central and regional levels that can improve public transportation performance can provide a broader perspective among policymakers to develop and implement BRT systems, especially in developing countries. For this purpose, through cooperation in the preparation of a full BRT system development program at the Trans Semarang BRT through sustainable transportation policies and infrastructure development in line with the national urban transportation program. Using a qualitative approach, the results showed that various policy elements can help improve Trans Semarang services. Increasing changes in cooperation relationships in the public transportation management system and preparing a full BRT system development program at BRT Trans Semarang with stakeholders.

Measuring the Sustainability Performance of the Public Transport System

The public transport system is essential for any community to develop socio-economic growth. Performance indicators are the indication tools that determine where the defects are. As a result, the greater Amman municipality GAM has addressed this issue by launching a new transport system called the “Amman Bus Rapid Transit” BRT system that serves the public. Therefore, this paper investigates the sustainability performance indicators with respect to the economic, environmental, and social dimensions that measure the Amman BRT system. The literature review was the first tool used to generate indicators followed by commencing semi-structured interviews with five experts in the field. The findings indicated that there are 13 indicators that can be used to measure the sustainability performance of the Amman BRT system. Moreover, the results showed that the overall indicators are significant, but the most important one is affordability within the economic dimension. The current study recommended extending the methodology to use different multi-criteria decision-making techniques.

Efficient Space Dedication to Bus Rapid Transit and Light Rail Systems

Dedicating two lanes and passenger platforms to transit typically requires taking the same space away from general use. This may affect public support. This paper proposes efficient geometric configurations for a two-dedicated-lane BRT or light rail system that requires a minimum amount of right-of-way along a busy commute arterial. In many current busy commute corridors, a significant part of the street median is underused or unused for traffic purposes. The efficiency is achieved mainly by using the street median between a left-turn lane and its counterpart located at the intersection on the other end of the same street section and slanting part of the two dedicated lanes with respect to the longitudinal direction of the street. Instead of the three-lane or even four-lane conversion required of the prevailing configurations, the proposed configurations require conversion of only two lanes from general use, even for a section equipped with passenger platforms.

Intermodal Connectivity to BRT: A Comparative Analysis of Bogotá and Curitiba

Bogotá and Curitiba have become important references for public transportation in Latin America and have gained worldwide recognition for their technically and managerially innovative bus-based public transportation systems (Bus Rapid Transit, BRT). However, despite the huge success of these projects, most people living in these cities still use other modes for their daily trips. The main aim of this paper is to investigate whether, and how, these cities adopt a multimodal approach when planning and implementing their innovative BRT projects. We compare how pedestrians, cyclists, and taxi and car users are linked to the BRT system in each of these cities and conclude that minor changes in both systems could improve their multimodality.

İSTANBUL METROBÜS TOPLU TAŞIMA SİSTEMİNDE KULLANILAN OTOBÜS TİPİNİN İSTASYONLARDA BEKLEME SÜRELERİNE ETKİSİNİN İNCELENMESİ

Lastik tekerlekli toplu taşıma sisteminde çığır açan BRT sistemi, raylı sistemlere göre proje ve uygulamada daha esnek ve daha ekonomik seçenekler sunmaktadır. Bu nedenle ulaşım otoritelerinin sisteme olan rağbetinin her geçen gün artmasına, diğer yandan yolculuk sürelerinin daha kısa, sefer sıklığının daha fazla olması da yolcuların ilgisine yol açmaktadır. Bu kadar yoğun talep gören sistemde, araç kuyruklarının oluşmasına ve yolcu kapasitesinin düşmesine sebep olan bekleme süreleri, farklı uzunluklardaki araçlar için incelenmiştir. Sefaköy ve Yenibosna arasında araçların yüksek hızlara ulaşması sonucu, Yenibosna istasyonunda 6,28 saniye araçların kuyrukta bekledikleri tespit edilmiştir. Farklı uzunluklardaki araçlar için yapılan test sonucuna göre istasyonlarda yolcu sirkülasyonunun daha hızlı olması için 18 m uzunluğundaki araçların yerine 20 m ve üzerinde yüksek yolcu kapasiteli araçların kullanılması gerektiği saptanmıştır. Metrobüs sisteminde araçların istasyonlarda bekleme sürelerinin azaltılması ile planlanan sefer aralıklarına uyum sağlanması, istasyonlarda araç kuyruklarının ve sonraki istasyonlarda yolcu birikmelerin önlenmesi, sistemin itibarının ve yolcu memnuniyetinin artması beklenilmektedir.

Assessing Feasibility of overnight-charging electric bus in a real-world BRT system in the context of a developing country

Air pollution, as a major urban problem in metropolises, has harmful impacts on societies in many aspects. According to the worn-out fleet of diesel buses and fossil fuel dependencies in Tehran, alternative fuels have become more popular in sustainable public transportation. Although battery electric buses (BEBs) provide many benefits, their purchase price and required infrastructure are the main challenges for decision-makers. This paper provides a systematic approach to examine the environmental, traffic and economic efficiency of overnight-charging electric buses (OCEBs) in Tehran, Iran. Environmental analysis shows that Carbon Oxide and Nitrogen Oxide will reduce to zero, and eliminate dependence on fossil fuels. The payback period predicted to be 7 years. Due to the better acceleration of OCEBs, the travel time, delay and stop time reduce about 4%, 10.67%, and 5.15% on average, respectively which leads to a better experience of passengers and an increase in public transportation utility that cause more people attract to OCEBs. The present results indicate the feasibility of OCEBs implementation as a sustainable transportation mode and can be useful in decision-making of policymakers and planning for future public transport system.

The Map, the Photograph and the BRT: Between Promise and Reality on Rio’s Bus Rapid Transit

Rio de Janeiro’s Bus Rapid Transit system, implemented in the years before the 2016 Summer Olympics, reproduces and expands inequalities long associated with the city’s traditional bus system. This article explores the middle ground between structure and subjectivity in order to reveal these patterns. To begin, it contrasts the BRT system’s schematic map with the photography of Yan Carpenter and the analytical maps of Lucas Faulhaber. It then moves onto examine tendencies built into the Curitiba model of BRT, the local history of Rio de Janeiro and its bus service, and the specific political context of the run-up to the Olympics. In regard to both iconographic examples and larger patterns, the goal is to explore the shared space between structure and individual subjectivity.

Public transportation and fear of crime at BRT Systems: Approaching to the case of Barranquilla (Colombia) through integrated choice and latent variable models

• This study describes relationships between user’s profile, BRT system’s features and fear of crime (FoC). • A hybrid choice model was used to predict fear of crime at three locations. • Gender and income were the strongest predictors of fear of crime. • Frequent users report higher FoC at bus stops, and sexual harassment victims report higher FoC at buses. • This study provides useful data on the relationship between FoC and user’s travel behavior. Security perception and Fear of Crime (FoC) in urban scenarios have the potential to affect travel behavior, changing people’s travel choices and patterns. In this sense, the feeling of being “safe” or “at-risk” in public transportation not only depends on observable factors like illumination, travel companionship or transport crowding, but also on unobservable individual-specific latent attributes, among which fear of crime constitutes a major issue to consider in transport security policy-making. This study aimed to describe the relationships among sociodemographic features, travel situations, system-design features, and the Fear of Crime at three different locations (buses, bus stops, and stations) of the BRT system of Barranquilla (Colombia). Using an image-based survey applied in Barranquilla, data was collected from a full-sample of 500 adult users (64% females and 36% males) of the system. It was estimated a hybrid choice model to include location-based fear of crime in public transportation perception of risk, along with attributes related to (e.g.) surveillance, crowding, time of the day, and companionship. The relation between fear of crime and perception of security in public transportation is negative and highly significant. FoC inside the bus has the highest negative effect on the utility, followed by bus stops and BRT Stations, for which it remains non-significant. Gender (being a female user) was the strongest FoC predictor. Moreover, it was found that the higher is the user’s income, the lower is the fear of crime reported for each one of these three types of location. Overall, the inclusion of the fear of crime perception in the estimation of the hybrid choice model enhances the model fit. Also, the user-related findings of this study at different locations provide a better understanding of the decision-making process and the predictors of fear of crime in BRT systems.

Particle Number Emission for Periodic Technical Inspection in a Brt System

Particle Number Emission for Periodic Technical Inspection in a Brt System

The Impact of passenger volume and transportation revenue change following the Implementation of the City Bus Quasi-Public Operation System - Focusing on the BRT system of Busan City –

The Impact of passenger volume and transportation revenue change following the Implementation of the City Bus Quasi-Public Operation System - Focusing on the BRT system of Busan City –

Fuzzy AHP – DEMATEL Methods To Investigate Passengers’ Decision Factors On Using Public City Bus In An Indonesian Region

An advanced public transportation system becomes an indicator for a country. Accordingly, it is essential that the decision-makers (DMs) conduct an initial study based on passengers’ view in order to improve the public transportation services. Since involving multi factors, the problem is often solved using the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches. This study aims to examine significant factors on passengers decision making to use public transportation using Fuzzy AHP and DEMATEL. The Fuzzy AHP method is proposed to determine criteria weights so that significant critera are obtained, then the causal relations including the criteria are visualized using DEMATEL. This study demonstrates the integration of the two MCDM methods in a BRT system in the region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and invites passengers and the DMs. The result indicated that 21 criteria are identified, while the 11 significant criteria are selected based on the Fuzzy AHP weight – α-cut screening. Besides, the DEMATEL has succeeded in describing the influence relationship for the criteria, where firstly, the significant criteria are classified into cause and effect group and secondly, the two criteria, namely coverage to strategic points and on time arrival, should be put on the top priority list. This study enables the DMs to solve public transportation problems more effectively. However, the follow-up study should be carried out by including other factors such as economic and sustainability to strengthen the decision-making process.

Generalized Auto-Sequencing Bus Headway Control Formulation

In a BRT system, for an efficient planning and management of fleets and drivers, precision of operations is required at the intervals provided. However, sometimes actions are taken that change the order of buses on the circuit, such as overtaking. Despite their impact on operations, these changes are not fully addressed by main headway control algorithms found in the literature and, when considered, they are dealt with enumerating processes to decide on the reordering of buses. To mitigate this issue, this paper presents a generalized formulation for auto-sequencing buses in headway control strategies. The proposed methodology allows the modeling of overtaking, injection, and removal of buses, without resorting to enumerating methods for bus ordering. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed formulation can handle the events of change of order in a BRT circuit while, at the same time, controlling the headway between the buses and reducing the waiting time for passengers. Thus, the generalized auto-sequencing method is a framework that can be used to augment other control strategies already present in the literature.

ДО ПИТАННЯ ЩОДО ВИБОРУ РУХОМОГО СКЛАДУ В СИСТЕМІ BRT

In article the question at the choice of the rolling stock of passenger motor transport in the BRT system which provides movements of buses on specially allocated and often obgorodzheny strips, that is its full isolation on the road from other means of transport is considered. For increase in passenger capacity in the BRT system use three-link buses and trolleybuses. Along with indisputable advantages of three-link buses and trolleybuses also shortcomings - the worst maneuverability and stability of the movement in comparison with two-link are inherent in them. Besides, the efficiency of operation of such cars is provided with a passenger traffic which during the day can change many times. Therefore the road train as a part of two (or three) the buses or trolleybuses working in connection, і which passenger capacity similar to the jointed buses and trolleybuses can become perspective. In rush hours the bus train, and in interpeak the period - each bus separately works (the possible parking of one bus at allocated to the platform). In view of restriction of the maximum length of the bus train at the level of 24.26 m, as buses as making road trains, we will accept the 8th meter buses MAZ 206. Passenger capacity of such bus is 72 passenger, the power of the traction engine - 160 kW. The expediency of use of three-link hook-on road train is proved by the conducted researches that MAZ 206 with a total length up to 26 m and with a passenger capacity up to 220 passengers in the BRT system consists of three same buses. It is shown that the total power of engines is necessary for the movement of such bus train with a speed of 25 m/s has to make 300 kW while for one bus at the movement with the same speed it has to be at the level of 135 kW. It demonstrates about economic feasibility of use of the bus train from three buses working in connection because for their movement in all range of speeds there is enough power of two engines, that is one of buses can be used as the passive trailer that will lead to improvement of fuel profitability of the bus train. It is established that on maneuverability indicators three links the hook-on road train considerably exceeds three links pivotally - the jointed bus. So, the dimensional lane of the hook-on bus train at execution of the most typical maneuvers by it during the work on a city route does not exceed 3.9 and 4.1 m at turns respectively on 900 and 1800 that it is much less, than for three links pivotally the jointed bus 24 m long respectively of 6.8 and 8.2 m. KEYWORDS: THREE-UNIT THE ROAD TRAIN, THE BUS, PIVOTALLY-THE JOINTED BUS, THE BRT SYSTEM, POWER, MANEUVERABILITY, A TRAJECTORY, OVERALL STRIP

Improving BRT route design through code: the case of Bogotá’s BRT system, TransMilenio

This study presents the methodology used by TRANSMILENIO S.A. –the company in charge of managing the BRT lines in Bogotá, Colombia– to renew its operational design. TRANSMILENIO S.A. is increasing its bus fleet by acquiring higher capacity bi-articulated buses. This process demanded a redefinition of the frequencies, stops, and type of bus for all routes in the system. Therefore, a line scheme was selected based on the number of trips between corridors. A non-linear optimization model was then used to establish an initial route design that could satisfy passenger demand in the morning rush hour. Five algorithms were implemented to adjust the initial route design to the actual restrictions, namely, fleet and bus capacity at stops. The algorithms modified the type of bus employed, the defined stops of routes, and eliminated low demand routes. Different alternatives were tested for the execution order of algorithms. The alternative to implement was selected based on compliance of the defined restrictions. Algorithms were iteratively run. Between iterations, a trip assignment model was used to adjust route frequencies based on demand. The execution order of algorithms, its impact on the level of service indicators, and compliance of restrictions are part of this study’s discussion. Particular relevance and effects of each algorithm are also analyzed. Both methodology and results might be tested, adapted, and improved in further studies by other BRT systems as a reference or input for their own route design process.