Bus rapid transit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TransMilenio buses in Bogot, Colombia

Transfer station in Curitiba's Linha Verde
Bus rapid transit (BRT, BRTS) is a bus-based mass transit system. A true BRT system
generally has specialized design, services and infrastructure to improve system quality and
remove the typical causes of delay. Sometimes described as a "surface subway", BRT aims to
combine the capacity and speed of light rail or metro with the flexibility, lower cost and
simplicity of a bus system.
[1][verification needed]

To be considered BRT, buses should operate for a significant part of their journey within a fully
dedicated right of way (busway) to avoid traffic congestion. In addition, a true BRT system will
have most of the following elements:
Alignment in the center of the road (to avoid typical curb-side delays)
Stations with off-board fare collection (to reduce boarding and alighting delay related to
paying the driver)
Station platforms level with the bus floor (to reduce boarding and alighting delay caused
by steps)
Bus priority at intersections (to avoid intersection signal delay)
The first BRT system was the Rede Integrada de Transporte ('Integrated Transportation
Network') in Curitiba, Brazil, which entered service in 1974. This inspired many similar systems
around Brazil and the world, such as TransMilenio in Bogot, Colombia, which opened in 2000.
As of November 2013 more than 166 cities have implemented BRT, accounting for 4,336 km
(2,694 mi) of BRT lanes.
[2]
It is estimated that about 27 million passengers use BRT worldwide
everyday, of which about 17 million are in Latin America, which has the most systems, with
55.
[2]

The many differences and distinct features among existing BRT systems made the Institute for
Transportation and Development Policy form a BRT Standard Technical Committee in 2011,
and, in 2013. it set a minimum definition of what features must be part of a system to qualify as
BRT and created a BRT Standard to rate existing systems.
[3]