Valuation Of Travel Time Savings For Intercity Travel: The Madrid-Barcelona Corridor
We derive values of travel time savings (VOT) for the Madrid–Barcelona corridor, linking the two largest cities in Spain, based on the estimation of discrete choice models among the main public transport services in the corridor: air transport, high speed rail (HSR) and bus. The new HSR alternative (which started to operate in February 2008) […]
ITS innovations of Transantiago and sustainable mobility trends presented in Bogotá
The BRT CoE Director Juan Carlos Muñoz and member Darío Hidalgo were invited as keynote speakers to the Seminar «The new challenge in the sector: Intelligent Transport Systems», organized by the Colombian Infrastructure Association on August 21th in Bogotá. Professor Muñoz presented 5 technological innovations developed in Chile after the Transantiago implementation crisis, in a dissertation named […]
Postdoctoral Research Position in Sustainable Urban Mobility
The Department of Transport Engineering and Logistics (DTEL) at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, host of the BRT Centre of Excellence (www.brt.cl) and key member of the Centre for Sustainable Urban Development – CEDEUS (www.cedeus.cl), is currently looking for a post doctorate or experienced researcher to join our research group. We have […]
Coming soon: New version of BRT Data website
EMBARQ and the BRT Centre of Excellence will launch a new version of the BRT Data website (www.brtdata.org) in September 2014. It will feature a new, more attractive and user-friendly layout and new features. Some analyses will be possible online, as well as one-page reports for each city including maps and it will also available […]
BRT Centre of Excellence will publish a book
As a capstone for 5 years of investigations, the BRT Centre of Excellence is working on a book describing the results obtained by our researchers. The goal of the book is to tie all of our multidisciplinary research projects together to illustrate how BRT isn’t a particular mode or set of operational challenges, but a […]
New roles for our Director in Chile's government
Last March, Chile had a change in national government, which brought two new roles for Juan Carlos Muñoz, the Director of our Centre: he is now the Personal Advisor to the Director of Dirección de Transporte Público Metropolitano (Santiago’s Public Transport Agency) and he is also a member of the Board of Directors of Metro […]
TransCarioca bus rapid transit (BRT) arrives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Source: EMBARQ Rio’s newest BRT corridor is expected to serve 450,000 passengers each day Rio de Janeiro’s newest bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor, the TransCarioca, began operations on Sunday June 1, 2014. This newest addition to Rio’s already well-developed BRT network will connect the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood to the Tom Jobim International Airport. President […]
In New Delhi, A Rough Road For Bus Rapid Transit Systems
Source: Mike Ives for Yale Environment 360 High-speed bus systems in crowded urban areas have taken off from Brazil to China, but introducing this form of mass transit to the teeming Indian capital of New Delhi has proven to be a vexing challenge. On a recent weekday evening, buses of all kinds were packed even […]
New website: Designing Bus Rapid Transit Oriented Development
In the Fall of 2013, graduate students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC) collaborated on the design of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors. Working in cross-disciplinary teams of architects, designers, engineers, and planners, we sought to expand thinking about BRT, considering its potential not only as […]
On the variability of hybrid discrete choice models
Abstract It is well-known that not all the variables affecting decisions in a discrete choice situation are objective characteristics of the alternatives. Some of them are associated with difficult to measure attributes which may be represented as latent variables. Since this type of variables cannot be directly observed by the analyst, they must be estimated […]
For Lima, There's No Simple Path to Re-Regulating Public Transportation
Source: Jordana Timerman for CityLab The city’s historic transport free-for-all is starting to change, but a lot of people could get left behind. Even among South American cities, Lima is infamous for its traffic issues. Chaotic congestion, high rates of fatalities, and a deregulated, confusing transportation network are all hallmarks of the Peruvian capital’s urban […]
Urban Travel Demand Model with Endogenous Congestion
Abstract We formulate and estimate a structural model for travel demand in which users have heterogeneous preferences and make their transport decisions based on network congestion. A key component in the model is the infinite number of users in the network, all of whom have common knowledge about the distribution of preferences in the population. […]
An improved Stirling approximation for trip distribution models
Abstract Many trip distribution models used in transport systems planning are de- signed to solve maximum entropy optimization problems. Discrete by nature, they must be transformed into continuous and differentiable problems, typically by applying the first-order Stirling approximation. Although it does a reasonable job for large trip flows, this approximation produces significant errors when flows […]
San Bernardino's New sbX Green Line is Latest Example of True BRT in the US
Source: ITDP. Photos by Omnitrans.org For residents of San Bernardino, California, the future is here. Monday marks the opening of the eagerly anticipated sbX Green Line- bringing bus rapid transit through some of the city’s highest demand areas. With state of the art technology and corridor design, the new system offers area residents many financial, […]
Opinion Pieces: Operating Cost Efficiency of Bus vs. Train
Opinion Pieces: since 2007, Prof. David Hensher has written an opinion column in the Australasian Bus and Coach magazine, where he monthly discusses a lot of different transport-related hot topics. In this section we are revisiting these columns. Photo: rtd-fastracks.com May 2012 I recently undertook a comparison of the operating costs of the railways in Sydney […]
MOVE BRT: A new path for urban mobility in Belo Horizonte
EMBARQ Brazil celebrates the launch of Belo Horizonte’s first bus rapid transit system Source: EMBARQ Having launched on March 8, 2014, Belo Horizonte’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) system – MOVE – has already had significant benefits for the city’s residents. Aiming to test its efficiency, a local press team traveled the same route by […]
Incentives in Bus Concession Contracts: A Review of Several Experiences in Latin America
Abstract This paper reviews the incentive structure of concession contracts in several Latin American transit reforms. It also presents a conceptual analysis of the optimal design of concession contracts. The conceptual discussion and case studies reviewed indicate that payment to operators should be linked to operational variables and that some demand risk should optimally be […]
Understanding Fare Evasion in Santiago’s Public Transport System
Abstract Fare evasion is a problem in many public transport systems. Policies to reduce it are generally aimed at improving control and increasing fines. In the bus component of Santiago de Chile’s transit system the average evasion rate is over 20% and the highest values are reported in low income areas. However, limiting the explanation […]
Modal Image: Candidate Drivers of Preference Differences for BRT and LRT
Abstract The physical image of transport systems, as perceived by users and non users, has long been put forward as a powerful influence on the formation of preferences. One setting for this is in the choice between bus rapid transit (BRT) and light rail transit (LRT) where there appears to be a strong preference in […]
High Quality Public Transport: Gaining Acceptance of Bus Rapid Transit Systems
The selection of appropriate public transport investments that will maximise the likelihood of delivering the levels of service required to provide a serious alternative to the automobile is high on the agendas of many metropolitan governments. Mindful of budget constraints, it is crucial to ensure that such investments offer the greatest value for money. This chapter promotes the view that integrated multi-modal systems that provide frequency and connectivity in a network-based framework offer the best way forward. A mix of public transport investments with buses as feeder services and bus rapid transit (BRT) as trunk services can offer a greater coverage and frequency than traditional forms of rail, even at capacity levels often claimed the domain of rail. Design features are important in order to promote good performance, and evidence is presented as to the importance of the various design elements to driving patronage. Decision-makers need to recognize implementation issues can be complex if a successful outcome of a BRT system contributing to the public transport network is to be achieved.
Mobility Network as the Strategic Element of the Urban Mobility System
Advancing Urban Mobility with National Programs: A Review of Colombia’s National Urban Transport Policy
Abstract Urban mobility is not merely a local concern. National governments in developing countries are growingly investing in urban transport infrastructure. While there is a growing body of knowledge on the topic, there is also a need for further understanding and improving. This paper contributes to the topic by providing an assessment and formulating recommendations […]
Exploring the Connection Between Climate Change and Traffic Safety: An Initial Aggregate Assessment
Abstract Climate change and road safety are intrinsically connected. Vehicle kilometers (miles) traveled or VKT (VMT), an indicator of the total amount of motorized roadway travel in a given jurisdiction, is at the same time a strong predictor of transport related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and traffic fatalities. While both climate change and road safety […]
BRT and bus priority corridors: scenario in the American continent
Abstract There is world-wide interest for the implementation of bus priority corridors and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) approach. The authors present an overview of existing bus-based priority corridors in the American continent based on information included in the BRTdata.org database, which comprises 116 attributes and indicators. Curitiba is considered the cradle of BRT, but […]
Accessibility and residential land value uplift: identifying spatial variations in the accessibility impacts of a bus transitway
Abstract New public transport investment can improve accessibility for existing and new users of the urban transport network and this can lead to land value uplift with uplift benefits being distributed in relation to the proximity of the location of the property to the infrastructure. This paper quantifies land value uplift and its spatial distribution […]
Do preferences for BRT and LRT vary across geographical jurisdictions? A comparative assessment of six Australian capital cities
Developing and updating public transport infrastructure is one of the most complex and far-reaching investment decisions for government. Better public transport and transport infrastructure generates benefits for users and helps manage urban congestion and climate change. This paper presents the results of a survey of residents of six capital cities in Australia to investigate potential jurisdictional differences and similarities in the support for BRT in the presence of LRT options, a common context in many metropolitan areas. We develop two best–worst preference experiments, one associated with design characteristics and the other with service descriptions, in which a number of statements about bus, BRT and LRT, are presented in sets of four, and respondents are asked to indicate which one they perceive as the best circumstance and which one they perceive as the worst. The sets of statements are varied across preference sets to elicit the role of each statement as an identified barrier against or in support of BRT and/or LRT. The main focus of the experiments is to assist in the development of a strategy to promote BRT and to break through the barriers that have created the modal misperceptions so common in many geographical jurisdictions. A survey of residents of six capital cities in Australia provides the empirical context. Ongoing research is extending the study to other locations throughout the world.
Volvo workshop at Gothemburg
Juan Carlos Muñoz and Darío Hidalgo, Director and member of our BRT Centre of Excellence, were invited to a small workshop organized by Volvo Buses in Gothemburg. Both had been invited to the same workshop last year. It was held on February 4 and 5 at the Rosared mansion located outside Gothemburg, Sweden.
The purpose of the Workshop was to analyse the role a company as Volvo should play in the development of Bus Rapid Transit Systems.
El propósito del Workshop consistió en analizar el rol que una empresa como Volvo debe jugar en el desarrollo de sistemas tipo Bus Rapid Transit y en él participó la plana mayor de ejecutivos de la empresa. El profesor Muñoz fue invitado en su rol como Director del Centro de Excelencia BRT, junto a otros cinco invitados externos a Volvo.
El profesor Muñoz transmitió que lo que se necesitan son soluciones de movilidad que van más allá de los buses que se emplean. De hecho, los mismos buses pueden ser símbolos de un sistema exitoso, mientras en otro caso pueden serlo de un sistema fallido. Así, el desafío para Volvo es pensar más allá del bus (think out of the bus). Una empresa de ese nivel no puede conformarse con desarrollar excelentes buses, sino también pensar en todos los otros elementos que los convierten en una solución integral. El profesor Muñoz presentó el estado de la industria del BRT y elementos críticos que Volvo podría considerar incluir como parte de su oferta integral de movilidad.
Network Governance and Future Urban Mobility: the Case of London Public Transport System
Examining regulatory reform for bus operations in Latin America
Abstract Governments in Latin American cities are pursuing regulatory reforms to address the negative externalities of informal bus service. This is achieved by consolidating many small operators competing “in the market” into fewer larger companies competing “for the market”. This reform addresses the problems in the previous phase of the regulatory cycle, but requires a […]
A behavioural comparison of route choice on metro networks: Time, transfers, crowding, topology and socio-demographics
Abstract Understanding travellers’ behaviour is key element in transportation planning. This article presents a route choice model for metro networks that considers different time compo- nents as well as variables related to the transferring experience, train crowding, network topology and socio-demographic characteristics. The route choice model is applied to the London Underground and Santiago Metro […]
