Juan de Dios Ortúzar
Sebastián Raveau
Luis Ignacio Rizzi
Hugo Silva
Martin Tironi
Pedro Lizana
Jaime Moya
Laurel Paget-Seekins
Victor Rocco
Guillermo Soto
Stefan Steiniger
Sebastián Tamblay
Marión Fuentes
Prioritizing strategies for improving the quality of bus transit under the view of the client
Assessment of vehicular emission in busways: a before and after study using the IVE model
Diagnóstico, análisis y recomendaciones sobre el desarrollo del transporte público en Santiago
Why is the Brisbane Bus Rapid Transit system a success, and what lessons can be learnt from it?
Assessment of the transfer penalty for transit trips: a GIS-based disaggregate modelling approach
Transit riders negatively perceive transfers because of their inconvenience, often referred to as a transfer penalty. Understanding what affects the transfer penalty can have significant implications for a transit authority and also lead to potential improvements in ridership forecasting models. A new method was developed to assess the transfer penalty on the basis of onboard survey data, a partial path choice model, and geographic information system techniques. This approach was applied to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway system in downtown Boston. The new method improves the estimates of the transfer penalty, reduces the complexity of data processing, and improves the overall understanding of the perception of transfers.
Bus-based transit way or light rail? Continuing the saga on choice versus blind commitment
Over the last fifteen years, we have seen the (re)introduction of trams (or light rail) as a suggested ‘solution’ to delivering public transport at a lower cost than heavy rail in the low to medium density trafficked corridors. As an alternative, bus-based transitways are also coming into vogue, but are often compared with light rail and frequently criticised in favour of light rail on the grounds of their lack of permanence because of the opportunity to convert the right-of-way into a facility for cars and trucks. In this paper, we consider the evidence on the costs and benefits of light rail and bus-based transitway systems, with particular attention given to the biases in the positions taken by advocates of either form of public transport. The lessons to date reinforce the importance of delivering seamless transport services with good geographical coverage and sufficient flexibility to respond to changing market needs if we are to make a difference to the dominance of the automobile.
Bus transport: economics, policy and planning
Sustainable public transport systems: moving towards a value for money and network-based approach and away from blind commitment
Growing public transport patronage in the presence of a strong demand for car ownership and use remains a high agenda challenge for many developed and developing economies. While some countries are losing public transport modal share, other nations are gearing up for a loss, as the wealth profile makes the car a more affordable means of transport as well as conferring elements of status and imagery of “success”. Some countries however have begun successfully to reverse the decline in market share, primarily through infrastructure-based investment in bus systems, commonly referred to as bus rapid transit (BRT). BRT gives affordable public transport greater visibility and independence from other modes of transport, enabling it to deliver levels of service that compete sufficiently well with the car to attract and retain a market segmented clientele. BRT is growing in popularity throughout the world, notably in Asia, Europe and South America, in contrast to other forms of mass transit (such as light and heavy rail). This is in large measure due to its value for money, service capacity, affordability, relative flexibility, and network coverage. This paper takes stock of its performance and success as an attractive system supporting the ideals of sustainable transport
Bus rapid transit systems – comparative assessment
There is renewed interest in many developing and developed countries in finding ways of providing efficient and effective public transport that does not come with a high price tag. An increasing number of nations are asking the question—what type of public transport system can deliver value for money? Although light rail has often been promoted as a popular ‘solution’, there has been progressively emerging an attractive alternative in the form of bus rapid transit (BRT). BRT is a system operating on its own right-of-way either as a full BRT with high quality interchanges, integrated smart card fare payment and efficient throughput of passengers alighting and boarding at bus stations; or as a system with some amount of dedicated right-of-way (light BRT) and lesser integration of service and fares. The notion that buses essentially operate in a constrained service environment under a mixed traffic regime and that trains have privileged dedicated right-of-way, is no longer the only sustainable and valid proposition. This paper evaluates the status of 44 BRT systems in operation throughout the world as a way of identifying the capability of moving substantial numbers of passengers, using infrastructure whose costs overall and per kilometre are extremely attractive. When ongoing lifecycle costs (operations and maintenance) are taken into account, the costs of providing high capacity integrated BRT systems are an attractive option in many contexts.
Frequency and Connectivity – Key Drivers of Reform in Urban Public Transport Provision
The selection of appropriate public transport investments that will maximize 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 paper 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.
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Comparing transit alternatives after recent developments in BRT in Latin America
High level bus rapid transit systems: an option to consider even at high demand levels
Citywide transit integration in a large city: the Interligado System of São Paulo, Brazil
The Interligado System is a large-scale transit modernization plan for the Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil, which optimizes bus routes and services through the use of advanced technologies for fare integration, bus fleet renovations, new requirements for the companies delivering transit services, and support infrastructure for buses (e.g., priority and exclusive lanes, bus stops, integration terminals, and user information and control systems). The implementation of the Interligado System represents a significant planning and implementation effort involving 39 private bus providers, cooperatives of 6,000 self-employed van operators, and 13,700 vehicles. Electronic farecards allow passengers to ride a combination of lines within a 2-h period. Integration of municipal bus services was completed in May 2004, and integration with Metro and state buses was completed in 2006. The name «Interligado» is no longer used to brand the transit reform, but the project components not only remain in place but have been upgraded over time. The main outcome of the reform has been an increase in public transportation usage within the city of São Paulo. Transit trips grew 15% and boardings grew 49% between 2002 and 2006. The temporal integration scheme has changed the way passengers select a combination of services and has resulted in travel-time and cost savings. Users have responded well to the operational improvements in the priority corridor Passa-Rápido. Nevertheless, the overall rating of municipal buses has declined. The main complaints were high levels of pollution, long waiting and travel times, and congestion. This paper presents a description of the city context and project implementation; an assessment of planning, implementation, and operational issues; and recommendations and lessons learned.
Bus rapid transit systems in Latin America and Asia: results and difficulties in 11 cities
This paper summarizes technical, financial, and performance information regarding bus system improvements in 11 cities in Latin America and Asia. The cities selected in this review improved their transport conditions either through citywide bus reorganizations (São Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile) or through improvements in selected corridors and areas of the city (Beijing; Bogotá and Pereira, Colombia; Curitiba, Brazil; Jakarta, Indonesia; León and Mexico City, Mexico; and Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador). Both citywide reorganizations and corridor improvements included the introduction of bus rapid transit (BRT) elements. The reviewed systems improved the transport conditions for the commuters served and had other benefits, particularly the reduction of pollution and accidents. The BRT corridors implemented show high performance (carrying 3,000 to 45,000 passengers per hour per direction) and have generally been well received by the users, with relatively low capital investments (1.4 million/km to8.2 million/km) and small or no operational subsidies. The systems have faced problems related to planning, implementation, and operations, mostly as a result of institutional and financial constraints. Most problems were solved in the initial months after implementation. The experiences in developing cities show the potential of BRT for a wide range of applications, from medium-demand to very-high-demand corridors. Lessons learned from these applications are useful for the development of similar projects.
Public transit corridor assignment assuming congestion due to passenger boarding and alighting
This paper proposes a formulation of deterministic equilibrium in a public transit corridor that takes into account the congestion effect as perceived directly in travel times. The identification of the relationship between flows and travel times includes time at transit stops for passenger boarding and alighting. A simple case is analyzed that demonstrates the existence of equilibria in which identical users adopt different travel strategies, and a method is supplied for determining such an equilibrium. To find the general case assignment for a corridor, an assignment algorithm based on incremental flow increases is also presented. Finally, the algorithm is implemented in a simple corridor. The results show that identical users faced with the same trip must be allowed to take different decisions for an equilibrium assignment to exist.
High-flow bus stop in bus rapid transit: conceptual analysis and simulation
Alternative financing for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): The case of Porto Alegre, Brazil
In the 1970s, Brazil was leading the implementation of high-flow bus priority schemes, but now cities are less capable of financing public infrastructures. This paper explores the private sector participation in the provision of transit infrastructure based on Public–Private Partnerships (PPP) for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The Porto Alegre BRT contemplates interchange terminals planned to accommodate retail and service activities. It is expected that these areas shall generate enough revenues to remunerate private investors, under a PPP scheme, for the construction of terminals and part of the infrastructure required to upgrade some sections of the existing busways to BRT standards.
