Bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit, often called BRT, is a high-capacity urban public transit system.

It is designed to provide more reliability and speed than a conventional bus service. Many people think of it as a middle ground for city travel. It aims to combine the high capacity of light rail transit (LRT) or mass rapid transit (MRT) with the flexibility of a bus. Because buses do not require expensive tracks, BRT is often much cheaper to establish and operate.

This makes it an attractive option for many cities around the world.

To achieve high speeds, BRT systems rely on several specific mechanical and design features. The most important feature is the use of dedicated lanes or a dedicated right of way. These lanes keep buses away from the congestion caused by cars and trucks.

Some systems use a median alignment, which places the bus lanes in the center of the road. This keeps buses away from curb-side conflicts like parking or turning vehicles. Some cities even use elevated busways to separate the transit from street traffic entirely.

This separation ensures that the bus can maintain a steady, fast pace.

Another way BRT speeds up travel is through off-board fare collection. In a normal bus system, passengers pay the driver while the bus is stopped. In a BRT system, passengers pay at the station before the bus arrives.

This prepayment allows passengers to board through all the doors at once. This process significantly reduces the time a bus spends idling at a stop. Additionally, BRT systems often use platform-level boarding to help people move quickly. The station platform is built to be level with the floor of the bus.

This makes the system accessible for wheelchairs, strollers, and disabled passengers while speeding up the boarding process.

Traffic management is also a key part of how these systems function. BRT systems often use bus priority at intersections to reduce delays. This can include signal preemption, which allows the bus to influence traffic lights. For example, the system might extend a green light or shorten a red light when a bus approaches.

Cities may also prohibit cars from turning across the dedicated bus lanes. These restrictions prevent vehicles from cutting in front of buses or blocking their path. By controlling how other traffic interacts with the busway, the system maintains its high level of service.

While many cities experimented with busways, Curitiba, Brazil, was the first to fully integrate all BRT features. In 1974, Curitiba implemented the Rede Integrada de Transporte (RIT).

This system was inspired by the National Urban Transport Company of Peru. Over time, Curitiba added more advanced features like feeder bus networks and enclosed stations. Other cities have added their own innovations, such as platooning in Porto Alegre. Platooning is when three buses enter and leave a stop or intersection at the same time.

This helps move even larger groups of people through the system efficiently.

Today, BRT systems are a global phenomenon with 166 cities across six continents using them.

These systems carry about 32.2 million passengers every single day. Latin America is the most active region, with 54 cities and 19.6 million daily riders. Brazil leads this region with 21 cities and 10.7 million daily passengers. In other parts of the world, China and Iran have very high ridership numbers. The largest network currently in existence is Transjakarta in Jakarta, Indonesia. It features 264.6 km of corridors connecting the capital city.

One of the greatest advantages of BRT over rail is its inherent flexibility. Because buses use roads rather than fixed tracks, routes can be changed easily. A transit authority can alter a route to meet new demand or avoid road damage.

This requires much less investment of resources than rebuilding a rail line. Some BRT systems also use very large vehicles to increase capacity. For example, bi-articulated buses in Guatemala City can reach 30 meters in length.

These massive vehicles can carry up to 300 passengers at one time.