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Why talking cars will be good for buses

Source: The Atlantic Cities
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected at some point later this year to make a milestone decision on whether future cars in America will be required to come with «connected vehicle» technology. In layman’s terms, this refers to the capacity of vehicles to communicate wirelessly with one another and with fixed infrastructure («I’m changing lanes,» «an accident just happened,» «I just slammed on my brakes»).
 
The concept conjures a futuristic world of chatty cars in which our vehicles might do a better job of interacting with each other than we do as drivers. But the prospect is not so far in the future. And some of the biggest beneficiaries may not be cars at all, but riders of public transit.
 
This is the theory of University of Arizona researchers Wei Wu and Larry Head. They’ve been simulating an idea called “bus lane with intermittent priority” – or BLIP – that would use connected vehicle technology to solve one of the bigger challenges posed by Bus Rapid Transit systems. Cities around the world are increasingly turning to the relatively affordable transit solution to move more passengers on dedicated bus lanes without the unpredictability of traffic congestion or the cost of constructing railways.
 
One problem with BRT, though, is that plenty of drivers aren’t eager to see whole lanes of busy roadway blocked off exclusively for bus use. So this is where connected vehicle technology could come in. If buses and cars could communicate with each other, drivers could use BRT lanes when buses aren’t around.
 
«As the bus moves through the network,» Head explains, «it broadcasts a message that says, ‘Here I am, I’m a bus. Here I am, I’m a bus. Get out of my lane.’»
 
A bus moving down a busy street, for instance, might project that message to vehicles within 300 yards of it. This is an animation, courtesy of Head and Wu, of exactly what this might look like:

blipvideo from The Atlantic Cities on Vimeo.

The animation assumes that not all cars in this near future would have connected vehicle technology. Those older models would be barred from the bus lane; connected cars (in green) would have access to it. In the animation, cars that have just been alerted of an approaching bus turn red (and then green once they’ve moved out of the way). Cars traveling safely behind the bus are blue.
 
The whole idea suggests that technology could help us become smarter sharers of roadway. In turn, that also means we might need less of it to efficiently transport more people.
 
 
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Barriers to planning and implementing BRT systems

Exploring the performance limit of a single lane per direction Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRT)

Despite its booming growth, the BRT industry is still far from reaching maturity. As trial-and-error and empirical techniques were largely used as insights for innovations in design, some BRT systems achieved great successes in terms of performance and became world-class flagships. Other systems would be most properly classified as busway systems requiring major improvements. In […]

BRT e Corredores Prioritários para Ônibus: Panorama no Continente Americano

Oportunidade para Qualificar e Inovar o Transporte Coletivo por Ônibus nas Cidades Brasileira

Buses in Brazilian cities are trapped in congestion that disrupts both the efficiency and the reliability of a service that is vital for the population. The recent people´s outcry for a higher quality transit system, associated to an increasing private motorization in urban areas, demands opportunities for bus innovations that go beyond high-performance BRT (Bus […]

Professor David Hensher wins the Smart 2013 Premier Award

At a gala dinner in Sydney attended by over 500 people on Thursday 27 June 2013, Professor David Hensher, Founding Director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) in the Business School at The University of Sydney, and member of our BRT Centre of Excellence was recognised with the Smart 2013 Premier Award for Excellence. It is presented every two years to an individual in recognition of outstanding contribution to the profession of supply chain management in Australia.

Described as the Golden Logies award in Supply Chain Management previous recipients are:

• 1995 John David, MD of David’s Holdings
• 1997 Gerry Hatton, MD of Mannesman Dematic Colby
• 1999 Major General Des Mueller AO, Vice Chief of Defence Force
• 2001 Dr John Gattorna, Managing Partner at Accenture
• 2003 Chris Corrigan, MD of Patricks Corp
• 2005 Keith Campbell OAM, National President of LAA
• 2007 Roger Corbett, CEO of Woolworths Ltd
• 2009 Lindsay Fox AO, Founder & Director of Linfox
• 2011 Air Vice Marshall Marg Staib AM, CSC, Chief of Joint Logistics Command

Presenting the Individual Award for Excellence award, the Chair of the Awards Committee (Allan A. Murray CSM) stated that the selection was based on “an individual who has more than 10 years in Procurement, Supply Chain or Logistics, has made a significant contribution to their field, and has demonstrated innovation and creativity (other than the traditional supply chain improvements), including business model innovation, innovative ways to reach new markets and creating opportunities for people engaged in supply chain.”
 
 
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Evaluation of Bus Priority Strategies for BRT Operations

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) uses strategies such as exclusive bus lanes, off-vehicle fare collection, high quality vehicles and stations, signal priority, among others. Transit Signal Priority (TSP) is frequently seen as an option to improve performance of public transportation systems at the operational level. TSP is an operational strategy that aims at reducing the delays […]

Impacto de elementos de projeto no desempenho operacional de sistemas BRT de faixa única sem ultrapassagem

The performance of a BRT corridor with a single lane per direction and no overtaking is investigated, in terms of capacity and operating speed, by simulating 324 alternative scenarios. The simulation runs comprised a range demand levels, boarding and alighting rates, station spacing, vehicle loading, number of berths per station, and traffic signal positioning in […]

Model for the Optimal Location of Bus Stops and Its Application to a Public Transport Corridor in Santiago, Chile

The location and number of bus stops are key to the operational effi- ciency of the services that use them; these criteria affect commercial speed, reliability, and passenger access times. In the defining of the number of stops, a trade-off arises between reduced access time, which widens a route’s coverage area, and both the operational […]

Metrobuses in Sydney: how high capacity and high frequency services are benefiting the Metropolitan fringe

Effects of bus rapid transit on housing price: evidence from Sydney, Australia

Comparison of Dynamic Control Strategies for Transit Operations

Real-time headway-based control is a key issue to reduce bus bunching in high frequency urban bus services where schedules are difficult to implement. Several mechanisms have been proposed in the literature, but very few performance comparisons are available. In this paper two different approaches are tested over eight different scenarios. Both methodologies solve the same problem, the former based on a deterministic optimization over a long-term rolling horizon, while the latter proposes a hybrid predictive approach considering a shorter horizon and a stochastic evolution of the system. The comparison is conducted through scenarios that include three different dimensions: (i) bus capacities which can be reached or not, (ii) service frequencies, considering high and medium frequency services and (iii) different load profiles along the corridor. The results show that the deterministic approach performs better under scenarios where bus capacity could be reached frequently along the route while the hybrid predictive control approach performs better in situations where this does not happen.

Workshop 2: Bus rapid transit as part of enhanced service provision

Workshop 2 focused on the role of BRT as part of enhanced public transport service provision. Discussion topics included case studies around the world; improved performance and operations; and better contracts, institutional settings and enhanced policies. BRT was identified as a vital component of modern public transport systems due to its ability to provide high performance and rapid implementation at a lower cost than comparable rail transit. The participants concluded that on top of improving trunk transit corridors, it is important to look to the first and last kilometers and the connections among transport modes. In addition, it is important to consider all dimensions, not just the technical issues. The workshop identified the desirable ingredients for BRT success, created a table of bus based options for different applications and a list of research topics.

Transantiago, five years after its launch

We review the current situation of Transantiago, the fully integrated public transport system covering the Santiago Metropolitan Area in Chile, identifying its current strength, flaws and challenges. The system captured worldwide attention after its premature implementation in February 2007, before most of the infrastructure and system conditions required by its designers were in operation. The […]

Subjective valuation of the transit transfer experience: the case of Santiago de Chile

The still controversial Transantiago public transport system, in Santiago de Chile, has a topological structure that often requires its users to make one or more transfers to reach their destinations. This was rarely necessary in the previous non-integrated system and users reacted with unexpected displeasure when it started even though fare integration in the new […]

Lima advances in its program of complementary public transport corridors (in Spanish)

Por Darío Hidalgo.

Lima Metropolitana avanza en la implantación de un sistema de corredores complementarios para mejorar las condiciones de operación del transporte público en las principales vías de la ciudad. Este sistema, intermedio entre el transporte convencional de buses y los corredores segregados de alta capacidad, complementan el sistema BRT Metropolitano y el Tren Eléctrico – en ampliación, con expectativa de desarrollo en 4 líneas.

El concepto es muy valioso, y puede entenderse como una solución intermedia, en la medida que avance la implantación de los corredores de transporte masivo. El sistema de corredores es fundamental eliminar la competencia en la vía por los pasajeros, mejorar las condicines de la flota, mejorar la utilización de los buses con una operación más eficiente, dignificar las condiciones laborales de los conductores, y aumentar la capacidad de verificación de las autoridades sobre la presentación del servicio.

El proyecto avanza en su etapa de planeación y gestión, con expectativa de apertura de licitaciones de operación en las próximas semanas. Fue parte central de la discusión durante el Foro de Sistemas Integrados organizado por la Fundación Transitemos y la Municipalidad de Lima. Al mismo tiempo, fueron presentadas experiencias internacionales útiles en la planeación y gestión de la reforma promovida por al adminsitración de la alcaldesa Susana Villarán de Lima. Se resaltaron las experiencias de Santiago, Patricio Pérez (Coordinación de Transporte de Santiago, MTC Chile); León, Amilkar López (Dirección General de Transporte de León, Guanajuato, México); Bogotá – Darío Hidalgo (EMBARQ), y de tendencias regionales Paulo Mota (Belo Horizonte, Brasil).

La información del evento, incluídas las presentaciones se encuentra disponible en en el sitio web del evento.

El foro resaltó la necesidad de este tipo de reformas, como parte del desarrollo urbano sostenible de las ciudades; pero mostró también que se trata de procesos muy complejos, que requieren una decisión política fuerte y con continuidad en el tiempo, y una buena preparación técnica y acompañamiento en implantación. En Lima en particular, hay dos áreas fundamentales donde puede complementarse el trabajo realizado por el equipo de Protransporte y la Municipalidad de Lima: mejorar el diseño del proceso de implantación y avanzar en soluciones de infraestructura para agilizar el tráfico de los corredores y facilitar la integración entre los distintos servicios. Compartir experiencias desarrolladas por los miembros de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Sistemas Integrados SIBRT, y del conocimiento recabado en nuestro Centro de Excelencia ALC-BRT es muy valioso para avanzar con éxito en estos procesos.
 
 
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Analysis and evaluation of different headway control strategies for BRT: simulated with real data

Transport research needs

The Changing Publicness of Public Transport

Limitations in the Implementation of Real-Time Information Control Strategies Preventing Bus Bunching

Jaime Lerner: Architect of possible dreams

Source: SIBRT
 
In an exclusive interview, Jaime Lerner talks about the challenges that public transportation is facing in Brazil and his expectations for the III SIBRT Conference.
 
The architect and urban planner Jaime Lerner – former Mayor of Curitiba for three terms and former Governor of Paraná for two terms – regards large urban center problems with a unique point of view. For him, the voice of the majority that repeats and reinforces the discourse that large cities are doomed to failure when it comes to urban mobility is a blurred vision of the city, «it is like a body receiving people’s life; not just a group of concrete and roads».
 
Today, the man who launched his gaze over the city of Curitiba by creating new models and concepts of urbanization in 1971, is now dedicating his time to Jaime Lerner Institute, he is also a consultant for the UN as regards urban matters and is the President of architectural firm that bears his name.
 
Elected in 2010 by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential thinkers, Jaime Lerner believes the private car in the future will look like cigarette nowadays: «It can be used, but it is recommended not to do it so that you will not annoy people.”
 
Invited as a keynote speaker at the Third SIBRT Conference of Best Practices in Latin America (Belo Horizonte, June 4-7), Lerner said, among other things, about his ideas for urban mobility success, the benefits of investment in surface transport – especially BRT – and the importance of changing paradigms of people who «do not change their concepts if there are no better alternatives.» So he proposes a quality public transport and viable for all.
 
Check out the interview:
 
SIBRT – What are the main deficiencies of the public transport systems in major cities in Brazil?
Jaime Lerner – The main deficiency is the lack of trust of people in public transport, which makes them opt for the private car. In my opinion, Brazil is a country that has the best of the conditions to solve problems regarding urban mobility: we have the technology, funding programs and the recent willingness to cooperate public transport companies, which are ready to improve. This is the good time to make things change!
 
SIBRT – What are the most urgent measures to remedy these deficiencies – or at least minimize them?
Jaime Lerner – What is missing to complete this positive scenario is a political decision including technical commitment to overcome the current barriers. The system should be integrated so that it can satisfy people’s needs. The secret is to have a metro that operates well and which is integrated with effective bus routes services and other surface solutions. We have to use everything. The bus is now responsible for 70%, 80% current transport.
The government often does not know what he wants and, often, it is difficult to convince people that there will be improvements. The vision of the city should also be reconsidered: it is necessary for people to have an integrated view of the city, as it is a structure of life, work, leisure, all together. I cannot think of the place of residence, place of work, entertainment apart from one another.
 
SIBRT – The expression «metronizar» the bus is yours: What does that mean exactly?
Jaime Lerner – It means giving to the bus the same performance as the subway, where the user pays his fare outside of the station – and not inside the bus – which speeds the entry of passengers. Accelerating access through boarding at the same level and reserved lanes for buses is a way to provide more convenience, comfort and safety. And above all, ensuring frequency is very important to enhance credibility. With the bus you can reach a frequency of one minute, with subway it is not possible.
People simply will not believe in an alternative if the latter is not better. We have to provide a high quality system to change the paradigm. The car will be like smoking in the future. You can have a car, but you will be advised not to use it in order not annoy people.
 
SIBRT – What are the main assets/differences of surface transport?
Jaime Lerner – The big asset is the cost, which is 50 to 100 times less per kilometer compared to the subway. Moreover, the implementation speed is 2 to 3 years. The operation pays the cost, if well planned i.e. there is no need for subsidies and it is not necessary to sacrifice generations to provide a quality transportation system.
 
SIBRT – Do you believe that surface transport is the future of urban transportation in Brazil and in the world?
Jaime Lerner – The future is on the surface, but it is essential that each BRT implementation is well operated integrated to land use and growth of cities. Brazil is the country that has the best know-how in BRT system – system which is currently implemented in 156 cities all over the world, such as Bogota and Mexico City, in Europe, China and the U.S.
For example, I do not believe in the expression “transport corridor”. I prefer to use transportation axis integrated to urban planning. The corridor has no relation to land use.
 
SIBRT – In your opinion – why the transport sector is still not considered as a priority in public policies in Brazil?
Jaime Lerner – I think there is a reaction against simple solutions from the government. In Brazil, this is not possible. We live in a false dilemma: either the car or the subway. The reality is that we cannot think of a single type of transport. It is very difficult to have a subway system like in Paris or London, which were deployed for more than 100 years. What we know is that in São Paulo it-self, 84% of trips are made on the surface. Then it is necessary that the surface is well made. In some cases, in Brazil, BRT implementation has not been done with an integrated view of the city.
 
SIBRT – Curitiba is a world reference in public transport thanks to the implementation of BRT over 30 years ago, during your term. What factors determine the success of this model that has already been adopted worldwide?
Jaime Lerner – Curitiba worked with an integrated view of the city, which began to be designed with the structure: life, work, leisure and mobility which all worked together. What we did was to use this concept, and most importantly, make good use of the land. Therefore, we are the benchmark.
 
SIBRT – In June, the Third SIBRT Conference of Best Practices in Latin America will be held in Belo Horizonte. What are your expectations for the event?
Jaime Lerner – My expectation is that the implementation of BRT systems in Brazil occurs more rapidly. The great resistance came from bus operators. This resistance no longer exists. I hope that this Conference will promote an action plan in the cities and that cities will contemplate their systems with more quality. This needs to happen now!
 
 
 
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Visit to Boston for Unconventional Wisdom Conference

Our director, Juan Carlos Muñoz, visited Boston at the beginning of May to participate in the «Unconventional Wisdom: Learning in International Development Practice» conference, organized by MIT. The conference is organized around intensive face-to-face dialogues and discussion – between policy makers, urban planners, academics and students – focused on case studies such as urban regeneration in Medellin; post-disaster coordination in Haiti; transportation reform in Chile; and poverty alleviation technologies in the Philippines. Speakers included Joan Clos, under Secretary General, United Nations Executive Directr, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT); Aníbal Gaviria Correa , Mayor of Medellin, Colombia; and Paul Altidor, Haiti’s Ambassador to the US. They were joined by leaders from governmental and non-governmental agencies, global development institutions and academia.

Juan Carlos presented the case of the transportation reform in Santiago de Chile, Transantiago:
 
 

 
 
During the same week, a meeting was organized between members of the CoE participating in the MISTI project «Designing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridors». They are working on the workshop that is being carried out between graduate students from MIT and PUC. The participants of this meeting were:

• City of Cambridge: Susan Clippinger and Jeff Rosenblum.
• City of Somerville: Sarah Spicer and Brad Rawson.
• MassDOT: Scott Hamwey.
• MBTA: Erik Scheier.
• MIT: Chris Zegras, Mikel Murga, John Atanucci, Clara Suh, Anson Stewart, David Block-Schachter
• PUC: Juan Carlos Muñoz, Rocío Hidalgo, Rosanna Forray.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Preview: Chengdu BRT stations and elevated road (video)

Source: GoChengdoo

 
 
A preview of the elevated Second Ring Road and BRT stations was released on January in the form of digital still renderings and a video.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The video gives a brief introduction to the system, or just fast forward to 3:45 to watch a bird’s eye view lap of the entire ring, starting from Rennan Lijiaoqiao, all set to a dramatic score.

 
 
Some highlights:

 
 
 
– There will be 28 stations along the 28.3 – kilometer track, spaced approximately 1 kilometer apart.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– Six stations — Hongpai Lou, Kehua Bei Lu, Dong Da Jie, Jinsha, North Railway Station, and Jianshe Bei Lu — will feature distinct design characteristics, such as the golden sun bird unearthed at Jinsha that is an official emblem of the city.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– The other 22 stations will be located at (counter clockwise, from the north): Shanghuo Dadao, Southwest Jiaotong University, North Yingmenkou, North Shuhan Lukou, Funan New District, Guanghua Dadao, Qingshuihe, Shaoling Lu, Lidu Lu, Zijing Bei Lu, East Rennan Lijiaoqiao, East Lake Park, Chengren Gongjiao Station, Longzhou Lu, Lianhua Xiaoqu, Niushikou, South Shuangqiaozi, North Shuangqiaozi, Wannianchang, Jianshe Nan Lu, Taoxi Lu, Sanyou Lu, and Gaosuntang.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– All stations except for the East Rennan Lijiaoqiao station will be on the elevated roadway.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– Every station is within 120 meters of another public-transit station.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– Adjustments will be made to the 90 bus stations currently lining the Second Ring Road so that they integrate with the BRT stations for ease of transfer.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– The system will have an operational capacity of 250,000 passengers per day.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– The buses will run at an average speed of 25 kmph.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– The entire system is expected to be in operation this June.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Draft Report: To Withstand Storms, Build a Bigger Bus System

Source: WNYC

To better survive the economic impact of big storms like Sandy, New York needs a «world class» bus rapid transit system. That’s one of the major recommendations in a draft report commissioned by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on how to rebuild New York infrastructure post-Sandy.

Bus Rapid Transit — basically, fast buses which run on segregated lanes where users pay off board — mimics a subway system by planning bus routes that can run almost as quickly through streets as trains can underground.

Such a system could be less vulnerable to floods and more able to restart service after big storms. It would also be able to connect neighborhoods that would otherwise be stranded by subway service disruptions.

«A world class BRT network would enhance the resilience and redundancy of the overall transit system,» according to a draft copy of the report which was leaked to the New York Times. The report contained no specific recommendations for funding the system.

It also doesn’t address the thorny political question which frequently accompanies BRT proposals — that of of turning over road space traditionally used by cars to buses only.

The recommendation is part of a set of proposals drawn up by the NYS2100 Commission, one of three large commissions set up by Governor Cuomo to address rebuilding New York in the wake of storm Sandy, which caused over $30 billion in damage. The two other commissions, on emergency response and preparedness, delivered their findings directly to the governor last week. No word on when the final 2100 report will be presented to the Governor, or whether or how he’ll adopt its recommendations.

BRT advocates, like the Institute for Transportation Development Policy, argue that BRT can be built far more quickly and cheaply than subways. The Second Avenue subway has been under development for half a century, by contrast.

«Financial support from the State would be welcome in helping to bring New York City’s ongoing bus system improvement efforts closer to world class ‘gold standard’ BRT,» said ITDP CEO Walter Hook in a statement. «A world-class BRT system would not only have fully dedicated lanes that keep the buses separate from traffic, and off-board fare collection, but also beautiful iconic stations with platforms that allow people to step directly onto the bus.»

The NYS2100 commission is co-chaired by Rockefeller Foundation Chairwoman Judith Rodin and financier Felix Rohatyn. (Rockefeller also funds Transportation Nation.)

The Governor’s office didn’t comment on the draft report, and an MTA spokesman, Adam Lisberg, said the report’s recommendations had not been shared with the MTA.

During storm Sandy, the MTA’s temporary «bus bridge,» which replaced subway service during the period when all the East River tunnels were flooded, came as close to New York has seen of having a true BRT. Though there were long lines to board the buses, the buses, aided by police officers stationed at every corner, zipped through city streets. The ride from the East Village to Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn took about 12 minutes.

The city has also installed several «select bus service» lines, which adopt some features of BRT, including off-board payment.

«BRT corridors that serve as connectors to the subway system would provide riders with muliple options for connections and access to the core,» the report said.

The draft report suggests creating a bus line that would run the length of southern Brooklyn, connecting the D, F, B and Q lines, and a east-west corridor connecting neigborhoods like Bedford Stuyvesant to lines that run through Brownstone Brooklyn, Midwood, and Coney Island.

The draft report notes that transit ridership has increased 60 percent since 1990, but bus line speeds overall have decreased by 11 percent.
 
 
 
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New Postdoctoral Research Position

The Department of Transport Engineering and Logistics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, host of the BRT Centre of Excellence, is currently looking for a postdoctorate or experienced researcher to work in our research group. We have a number of ongoing projects on different public transportation issues in which the successful applicant could participate, leading some projects and collaborating with other researchers at the BRT Centre on others. Individuals with research interests in any area regarding public transportation, ranging from the most strategic to the most operational aspects are especially encouraged to apply (i.e. planning, urban studies, design, financing, economics, demand modeling, operations and control).

The researcher can also work with the new Centre for Sustainable Urban Development (CEDEUS) currently being developed as a collaborative project between our department and other areas of the University. We welcome applicants with the ability to carry out interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects and an interest in the role transportation plays in urban sustainability.

Job Description: We are seeking applicants with a PhD or industry experience in an area related to public transport. Candidates need not be fluent in Spanish at the moment of applying; we welcome applications from within and outside Chile. They must exhibit excellent oral and written communication skills and an aptitude for teamwork. It is advantageous to have earned a Ph.D. in a public transport related field, with a demonstrated research potential. While industrial experience is desirable, a strong commitment to rigorous and relevant research is essential. We offer the attractive opportunity of a job working in the field of public transport within an international and interdisciplinary academic setting.

Requirements: Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in related discipline or be about to complete it. It is important that the applicant be able to work collaboratively, and international experience is desirable. Review of applications starts immediately and the positions will remain open until a successful candidate has been found. The position starts in the beginning of 2014 and is for a period of 2 years; however, this is flexible for the right candidate.

Information and application: To apply, interested applicants should forward their CV including a publication list, contact details of three reference writers and a one page description of their experience and research interests related to this position. Please send application information and/or request more information by sending an e-mail to Prof. Juan Carlos Muñoz (jcm@ing.puc.cl).
 
 
 
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The Limits of Bus Rapid Transit: A Cape Town Case Study

Source: The Atlantic Cities

Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, has been touted by its proponents as something close to a miracle for cash-strapped cities, capable of easing congestion and improving public transportation without breaking the bank. By separating buses from the irregularities of traffic and dramatically decreasing passenger load times, BRT can approach the same capacities and speed as costlier rail service. By filtering out the main components of delay—traffic and on-board payment—buses can travel faster, maintain reliable schedules, and potentially turn a profit.

In the 1970s, the city of Curitiba in Brazil demonstrated how dedicated lanes—the iconic pre-payment tubes came later—tapped the latent potential of buses to transport millions of people a day more affordably than rail. Instead of building subway-related infrastructure for $90 million per km (or $144 million per mile), local officials prioritized the new buses on existing streets for $200,000 per km (or $320,000 per mile). The costs savings are startling and worth restating: it was 99.8 percent cheaper to roll out BRT in Curitiba than build a subway.

Since then, BRT has been enthusiastically deployed in 147 cities spread over six continents. But as developing countries in Africa and Asia have pumped millions of dollars into new buses, reengineered streets, and stylish loading stations, the results have been disappointing in cities like Cape Town, New Delhi, and Bangkok. Local officials in these cities are finding considerable resistance from drivers and private transit operators, lower than projected ridership, and ballooning costs that threaten the long-term viability of their BRT programs.

Cape Town’s MyCiTi Integrated Rapid Transport system is a world-class BRT system in miniature (one that I was able to observe on a recent unrelated research trip funded by VREF). With only phase 1A operational, MyCiTi serves three trunk routes and additional feeder lines. On the trunk routes, passengers enjoy modern buses, striking pre-boarding payment depots that eliminate passenger bottlenecks, contactless card payment, clear signage, and journeys along newly engineered red lanes that ensure predictable travel speeds free from congestion in neighboring mixed traffic lanes during peak hours.

Newer and more advanced doesn’t always mean better. The innovations of BRT, namely lane separation and pre-payment, are strategies to avoid delays caused by traffic and high passenger loads. When those conditions don’t exist, BRT doesn’t guarantee improved travel speeds. Research from the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Transport Studies shows that the time required for MyCiTi buses to align with pre-boarding payment depots only saves time when approximately five or more passengers enter and exit. When passenger loads fall below five, which is the rule rather than the exception along the primary trunk route, MyCiTi buses idle longer at stops and operate slower than traditional buses.

When Curitiba introduced BRT to the world in the 1970s it only separated its buses from traffic. It wasn’t until the 1990s that it decided to add pre-boarding payment depots. As daily ridership increased from 50,000 to over 2,000,000, it made sense to reduce the time spent waiting for passengers to enter and pay as they boarded the buses one at a time. Cape Town doesn’t even have half the bus ridership Curitiba did in the 1970s. Daily ridership has risen from about 6,000 to 20,000 daily rides since MyCiTi’s launch, but there’s still a long way to go before pre-payment begins to yield meaningful travel time savings.

International consultants and local advocates built MyCiTi to an idealized standard that’s inappropriate for Cape Town. In trying to replicate Bogota’s TransMilenio BRT system, the South African government has contributed nearly $900 million to build and run MyCiTi through its Public Transport Infrastructure and Systems Grant program. Much of this money has been used for one-time capital expenses, such as the construction of ineffectual pre-payment depots and the reengineering of roads.

Cape Town feels the financial burden of MyCiTi. Since 2010, the city and federal governments have spent $20 million to operate MyCiTi, but generated only $4 million in revenues. MyCiTi’s inability to sustain itself financially has delayed needed network expansion and alienated private operators who are supposed to run and manage the system over the long-term.

The University of Cape Town’s Roger Behrens, Herrie Schaelkamp, and Pablo Salazar-Ferrero argue that the ongoing uncertainty surrounding MyCiTi threatens the city’s ability to negotiate with minibus-taxi owners—the proposed future operators of MyCiTi according to the original plan—which in turn hinders efforts to expand services as promised, build ridership, and reach public transportation-dependent users marooned in low-income, densely populated townships like Khayelitsha, which is 20 miles southeast of downtown and home to over 500,000 residents.

BRT has great potential to revolutionize the image and efficacy of public transport in the 21st century, but officials need to show greater sensitivity to city-specific context rather than chasing a technological ideal. What worked in Bogota is not working in Cape Town. Public transportation riders will be better served when their public servants continuously monitor, revisit, and tweak these new systems.

 
 
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Opinion Pieces: The need for a set of effective performance measures

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.

February 2012

One of the challenges of public transport service delivery is the measurement of performance and compliance with contractual conditions. These challenges were the main focus of a workshop on performance measurement and compliance at Thredbo 12 (Durban South Africa September 2011). The types of performance measures, incentive and penalty regimes, benchmarking and the associated risks in performance measurement were discussed. Other relevant issues included items such as public transport sustainability, transparency in decision making, innovation (e.g. engineering choices regarding technologies), and the overall benefit of public transport to society. It was also pertinent to consider what evidence exists about the wider impacts of transport interventions on macro policy goals (e.g. the environment, reduction in accident rates, traffic volumes, mode switch etc.); the benefits of integration within the transport system and between transport and related economic sectors.

After 3 days of debate and discussion a number of key recommendations were put forward which I believe represent a healthy direction for performance measurement and benchmarking in each State in Australia. The workshop identified nine critical key responsibility areas (KRA) and a key example of a key performance indicator (KPI):
 

 
The workshop concluded that stable frameworks lead to partnerships and trust (and this is where the government sector should take the lead). In terms of KPIs it was concluded that a simple and relevant KPI regime when implemented leads to informed design of contracts which leads to feedback / continues process (government sector). However, it is recommended that the set of KPIs need to be in the contract but levels need to be in schedule (government sector). Setting up appropriate structure to manage performance regime (government sector) is not just for compliance but also to assist operators.

This lead to a series of recommendations:

• Performance measures should be simple and practical but still informative
• Who has control over these KPIs? Policy, regulators expectations? Who bears the risks?
• We need to understand the relationships and obligations of parties / trust
• There should be minimum standards to address the backlog with respect to establishing performance measurement regimes, particularly in the context of creating a formal market which encourages public transport measurement and compliance
• There remain fundamental issues of data availability / integrity / relevance
• Further work is required to establish how much information can be released back in to the market

I acknowledge the contribution of John Nelson and Rico Merkert who co-chaired the workshop.
 
Food for thought.
 
 
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Route choice modelling on metro networks: time, transfers, crowding, topology and socio-demographics

Understanding mode and route choices on a public transport system

Will bus travellers walk further for a more frequent service? A Stated preference investigation

Network planning of bus services requires addressing the trade off between frequency and coverage. Planning for good coverage of bus services using the rule of thumb that people will walk four hundred meters to access bus based public transport services means sharing the available budget between many services. For the same budget, the alternative approach […]

Citizens, Complexity and the City – Lessons from citizen participation in urban (transport) planning in Santiago Chile, 1997-2012

Twentieth century, citizen “revolts” against highway projects have influenced thinking about public transport (Toronto, Vancouver, New York), governance (Portland), and cycling (The Netherlands) to this day. Less is known about how these emerge in developing countries, and what they can tell us about citizens’ role in innovation to achieve more socially just, good and livable cities. Using a complexity-based approach, this dissertation explores lessons from an anti-highway movement in Santiago, Chile (1997), which challenged authoritarian planning paradigms inherited from the Pinochet regime (1973-1990). In 2000, these leaders of diverse communities founded a citizen institution, Living City (Ciudad Viva), which today is a prize-winning, citizen-led planning institution.

Participation is recognized as important to community development, health and urban planning. Nonetheless, a rich literature notes many limitations. Is improving participation just a matter of “getting the process right”? Or does it require re-formulating frameworks to redistribute power, fostering self-generating civil society organizations, and treating democratization as ongoing rather than a “steady state”?

Re-formulating frameworks has far-reaching implications. It requires acting consistently with the premise that the local is central to change in human living systems, and the need to create the civic “infrastructure” conducive to citizen learning and the emergence of multiscalar citizen organizations, able to mobilize ecology of actors for innovation. To effectively address the challenges of climate change, loss of biodiversity, the social determinants of health, the “obesity epidemic” and other issues, the answers lie in city neighbourhoods and human settlements.

If we aspire to good, just and livable cities, uncertain futures require planning for change. This research suggests that we can identify dynamics likely to leverage significant change and activate capacities throughout a system. This requires moving to an inclusive planning paradigm that fully integrates citizen planners.
 
 
Download the full thesis here.

Survey methods to inform policy decision makers on environment, energy, climate and natural disasters

Método de calibração de um modelo veículo seguidor para BRT e ônibus em corredor segregado

The car-following model is the heart of the traffic simulation software and it is able to replicate real traffic conditions in a controlled environment when properly calibrated. Still today there is resistance on the car-following model calibration and, even though many papers report calibration forms of this model, there are scarce references in the literature […]

30 years of transport in Latin America: 15 years back, 15 years ahead

Source: The CityFix, by Darío Hidalgo

Fifteen years ago, Latin America passed a tipping point on the road to becoming a global leader in advanced bus systems, proving that municipalities can inspire meaningful change through a combination of leadership, institutional support, and funding. Today, Latin America has fifty cities with advanced bus systems – bus rapid transit (BRT) and bus corridors – moving close to sixteen million passengers every day (BRT Global Database). Most of the advances happened in the last fifteen years, inspired by the remarkable experiences of the cities of Curitiba, Brazil; Quito, Ecuador, Bogotá, Colombia; and México City. Several barriers have been overcome in the process, but there is still a long road ahead. Latin American cities need to adequately address key institutional and financial barriers to continue advancing integrated public transport systems and providing examples for the rest of the world in the next 15 years and beyond. Cities need to reinforce their efforts in two key areas: the first being quality and associated subsidies for operation, and the second being systems integration. These ideas were shared during a presentation by EMBARQ at the World Bank, on February 27, 2013. The presentation was part of the Sustainable Development Network (SDN) Week 2013, in which the World Bank brings together its staff from all over the world to advance knowledge and enhance dialogue with country members and external partners. EMBARQ’s presentation illustrated the example of Bogotá and how it has influenced other cities and countries in the region. It also highlighted some outstanding issues in the process of expanding bus systems into city-wide integrated public transport networks. In the session, experiences in transport institutional reforms in Romania and India were also presented.

Leadership of Latin America in bus systems: the experience of Bogotá and its influence

Fifteen years ago, the city of Bogotá, Colombia, changed its priorities from moving cars to moving people through the creation of investments and institutions for non-motorized and public transport. Bogotá created pedestrian spaces and bikeways, started controlling the use of cars by placing administrative restrictions and increased fuel taxes, and implemented a bus rapid transit (BRT) system inspired from Curitiba, Brazil. Today, after 15 years of implementation, Bogotá has been able to keep the share of public transport above 70% of total trips, increased non-motorized transport from 8% to 13%, and reduced private car use from 18% to 15% — all while personal income continued to increase. One key outcome of this initiative has been the reduction of traffic fatalities from 1,200 to 500 a year.

Since the reforms in Bogotá, 117 cities around the world have adopted advanced bus systems; a large number of them directly finding inspiration in Bogotá. This inspiration resulted in advanced systems in many cities in Mexico (León, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Guayaquil), but also in Lima, Peru; in Lagos, Nigeria; in Cape Town, South Africa; in Ahmedabad, India; and in Guanghzou, China to name a few. Latin America is championed advanced bus systems in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Perú, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Panamá, Guatemala, and experiencing a strong growth in Brazil in the wake of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
 
Although the reform is “work in progress,” it has shown interesting results: in 2012 we saw the introduction of BRT in the historic district of Mexico City, with Metrobus Line 4; the introduction of the first BRT corridor, Transoeste, in Rio de Janeiro; and the expansion of the TransMilenio BRT in Bogotá. These and other systems have achieved large gains in travel time, safety and reliability, as well as reductions in energy consumption and emissions, and improvement to the urban landscape.
 
Despite the advances in Latin America, there have been common issues. The two key areas for improvement are the quality of service, and the integration into full-scale integrated transport systems.
 
Raise the appeal of bus systems by improving quality of service and funding
 
Better quality of service is important to keep these systems attractive to the public, and offer them as a real alternative to cars and motorcycles. To provide this quality of service, bus operators have been required to pay for new buses, and pay for advanced systems for fare collection and control systems outside of their base revenues from the sale of tickets, or “fare” revenue. This difficult financial planning has resulted in very high occupancy levels, more passengers charged resulting in higher revenues to pay for the investments. Latin American systems were planned for 160 passengers in articulated buses, which mean more than 6 standing passengers per square meter. This is not acceptable for everyday commuters, and several systems have witnessed declining user acceptance levels because of the lack of quality of operations.
 
Latin America can look to European cities such as Stockholm, Sweden; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Copenhagen, Denmark as models for attention to quality, as well as to Singapore and Shanghai in China where the capture of value from land development and vehicle property fiscal tools finance operations beyond revenues from fare collection. This approach of additional sources of funding is needed in Latin America to increase the level of comfort and the overall number of passengers using public transport.
 
Looking toward city-wide integrated public transport
 
The second area of improvement for Latin American advanced systems is in the integration with other modes of transports. As advanced bus corridors developed, they also lacked the connections with other public transport services. Some initiatives for citywide public transport integration are ongoing. Santiago, Chile, implemented a citywide reform in a process that ultimately proved painful. Nevertheless, five years later the city has solved most of the issues, after deciding to subsidize operations permanently and renegotiating the contracts with private providers of bus services, to better align incentives and introduce improved controls. Transantiago has undergone full integration with a high quality metro and impressive reductions in air pollution, and greenhouse gases emissions. Traffic accidents involving all sorts of buses have declined in half over the past five years, from more than 6,000 to less than 3,000 according to national statistics (CONASET).
 
The example of citywide public transport integration in Santiago is being now attempted in Cali, Medellin, and Bogotá, in Colombia and has been announced in México, Lima, and Quito. Assuring the delivery of a service of quality throughout the user experience of the transport system is the key to these efforts. Most Brazilian cities have already advanced integration, as a result of a strong private sector and solid government institutions, and are expected to continue advancing integration during the next years.
 
The global model for advanced integration remains in Europe, in places like Madrid, Spain (Consorcio de Transportes de Madrid), London, England (Transport for London) and Paris, France (STIF). Operations of metro, trams, suburban trains, BRT, and local and regional buses are managed under consolidated institutions, which plan and fund operations and investments in public transport networks in an integrated way.
 
The next 15 years: peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange
 
International stakeholders like the multi-development banks and international NGOs are instrumental in the process of technical and operational assistance to bring public transport improvements to more cities in Latin America. These stakeholders need to continue their support and increase knowledge sharing to build on the strong base of experience from the past fifteen years. One of the most important ways to build capacity is through peer-to-peer collaboration.
 
With peer-to-peer collaboration and initiative in public reform, Latin America has an unparalleled opportunity in the next 15 years to remain a leader in the development of advanced public transport systems and build upon its historic success.
 
For more information, please see my presentation on Public Transport Reform in Latin America.
 
The author encourages feedback, comments, and questions from readers.
 
Benoit Colin and Elise Zevitz also contributed to this piece.
 
 
 
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Calibração de modelo microscópico de chegadas e partidas de ônibus em estações BRT

BRT Design Workshop Boston Briefing Book

Volvo Buses gathers BRT experts as part of future city solution strategy

We were asked by Volvo Buses (through VREF) to organize a short Workshop to the Executive Directors of Volvo Buses in Gothenburg. The Workshop was finally delivered on February 11 and 12 in the Rosared Mansion, 40 kms away from Gothenburg. The Centre was represented by Rosario Macario, Haris Koutsopoulos, Darío Hidalgo, Ricardo Giesen and myself. We had two other speakers: Joaquin Losada, one of the owners of the multinational bus operation firm Fanalca, and Graham Smith from HSBC (the only bank that has an office specially devoted to BRT projects). The Workshop was attended by around 15 of the most important executives in Volvo buses. The Workshop was very vivid, raising a great discussion on what the role of a leading firm like Volvo should be to support a successful BRT industry. We invited them to get involved beyond their role of producing and selling the buses the cities need, since the same great buses can be part of a failed or of a successful system. We need Volvo to think “out of the bus” and collaborate with cities on other aspects that are crucial for delivering a mobility solution that reaches the expectations. For example, infrastructure, interaction with pedestrians and bicycles, management, control, etc .

This is the text Volvo shared internally about the workshop:

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is not a one man show. It is a solution that involves stakeholders such as city planners, authorities, banks, bus manufacturers and bus operators. As part of the Volvo Group city solution strategy, Volvo Buses gathered this week key stakeholders and experts to discuss, share best practices and inspire to the next step in further developing Volvo Buses BRT strategy.

BRT solutions are growing on global basis, and operate today in 149 cities. Additional 84 cities are in the planning phase, which is a great opportunity for the Volvo Group. «Bus Rapid Transfer is a corner stone in Volvo Buses long term strategy towards sustainable bus transport solutions. We have a leading position globally within this area», says Håkan Karlsson, CEO, Volvo Buses.

«Historically we have a strong presence in BRT solutions in South America, but now we need to expand our BRT plans to other parts of the world. I think megacities in Asia have huge potential from a mass transportation perspective along with smaller European cities where the purpose is more related to improving quality of life in the city centre» he continues.

«It will however require a business approach that focuses on the total offer and solution and we need to get involved outside the bus. I am very satisfied with the seminar and it will serve as a base for developing and concretizing the next step in Volvo Buses BRT strategy».

Participants in the meeting were among others Fanalca Group, HSBC, Volvo Group, EMBARQ, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Anneli Hulthén, Mayor and Chairman of the City Executive in Gothenburg.
 
 
 
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BRT Knowledge Sharing in Asia, the Latin American Way

Source: The CityFix

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, along with CEPT University, launched the Asia BRTS Conference that was held on September 6-8, 2012, with the goal of improving knowledge, sharing experiences and advancing the concept of bus rapid transit (BRT) in India and across Asia. Currently, more than 25 Asian cities have implemented BRT systems and bus corridors, with varying degrees of success; and many more are at different stages of planning and implementation. The conference comes at a critical point in the evolution of BRTs in Asia. Recognizing that while existing debates have focused on architecture and engineering, there is a lot to learn from successful cities about engaging stakeholders, branding and communication, network selection, and operations planning.

The conference had local and international experts, including those from the Ministry of Urban Development, the Asian Development Bank, the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities, the Latin American Association for Integrated Transport Systems and Bus Rapid Transit (SIBRT), the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), and EMBARQ. The Asia BRTS Association (ABA) was launched as an international network of Asian cities, transit authorities, operators, policy and decision-makers, technical institutes, and the public transport manufacturing and service industry.
 
 
 
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Impacts of Regulatory Schemes on Innovation: The Case of Urban Public Bus Transport in Santiago

Impacts of Regulatory Schemes on Innovation: The Case of Urban Public Bus Transport in Santiago

Innovation is starting to play an important role in the provision of urban public bus transport. This paper analyses the implications of different contractual interactions, on both technological (i.e., vehicles and infrastructure) and service operation innovation, in private and public procurement of urban bus services in Santiago, Chile. Our findings indicate that the contractual framework […]

Accounting for travel time variability in the optimal pricing of cars and buses in a multimodal transport corridor

This paper addresses the problem of optimal pricing of both cars and buses in a multimodal transport corridor including externalities of congestion, bus crowding and travel time variability. A social welfare maximisation approach is implemented and applied to Sydney, Australia. To characterise travel time variability, a mean-variance model is embedded in the model and a […]

Crowding in public transport systems: Effects on users, operation and implications for the estimation of demand

The effects of high passenger density at bus stops, at rail stations, inside buses and trains are diverse. This paper examines the multiple dimensions of passenger crowding related to public transport demand, supply and operations, including effects on operating speed, waiting time, travel time reliability, passengers’ wellbeing, valuation of waiting and in- vehicle time savings, […]

Incentive Schemes for Bus Drivers: the case of the public transit system in Santiago de Chile

Although many authors have studied regulatory schemes for bus operators of public transport provision, little attention has been given to incentive schemes towards bus drivers in terms of economic incentives and labour conditions. Therefore, there is a need to analyse incentive schemes for bus drivers since the level of performance of the bus system it […]

Transjakarta buses to be much more flexible soon

Source: The Jakarta Post

The Transjakarta Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will operate more articulated buses to cope with the increase in people using public transport, an official says.

Ten of the new articulated buses — manufactured by Chinese bus manufacturer Zhongtong — went on the road last week in Corridor 1, the route between Blok M in the south and Kota in the north.

An articulated bus can accommodate up to 160 passengers, while a normal single bus can only transport 85 passengers.

“We will cut waiting time with these buses. Some of the old buses will be retired and replaced with these new buses,” Transjakarta chief Muhammad Akbar said on Saturday.

“The new buses should balance the expected increase in Transjakarta passengers this year,” he said.

At the moment, Transjakarta carries 320,000 passengers per day.

Corridors 1 and 8 (Lebak Bulus to Harmoni) will have 66 new “flexible” buses early this year.

Another 36 buses will run on the new Corridor 12 (Tanjung Priok to Pluit via Manggadua in the north of the city) that is expected to open this January.

The natural-gas-fueled buses are equipped with closed circuit television (CCTV) to ensure the safety of passengers.

“CCTV footage can be used as an evidence should any crime occur in the buses. It is also useful for the drivers to monitor the passengers,” he said.
Fika Rahmi, 23, a Transjakarta passenger, said that the CCTV would be very useful to prevent crime and sexual abuse of female passenger using the service.

“Even though the buses already provide female-only spaces, they are cramped most of the time, and the passengers are intimidated, be it from harassment or pickpockets. I think CCTV will help prevent these things happening in the future,” she said.

“However, these new facilities should be looked after by the passengers. The interiors of most of the buses nowadays are wrecked, the doors are jammed and the overhead straps are detached. I don’t know how long these CCTV cameras will last if the passengers don’t change their attitude,” said the advertising agency employee.

Lariza Adisty, 23, hopes the new articulated buses will cut the waiting time and be less crowded.

“One of the reasons that people are reluctant to travel with Transjakarta is because the buses are overcrowded most of the time. It’s not as comfortable as it could be. It is really not much different from the non-air conditioned minibuses,” she said.
 
 
 
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Valuation of housing and neighbourhood attributes for city centre location: a case study in Santiago

A stated choice (SC) experiment was designed to study the locational preferences of new CBD residents in Santiago de Chile. Eight attributes were analysed, separated into two SC games. The first was associated with neighbourhood characteristics (accessibility, green areas, commercial services and cultural services) and the second with dwelling characteristics (flat size, gym and pool […]

London in motion

Source: Jay Gordon
 

 
This visualization merges all 16 million daily transactions made on London’s Oyster card with vehicle-location data from the city’s 8,500 buses to infer the travel histories of that day’s 3.1 million Oyster users. After inferring the times and locations of each bus boarding and alighting, bus and rail transactions are combined to reconstruct each cardholder’s daily travel history.
 
Each pixel represents a 100-meter square section of Greater London, and the brightness of each of the three RGB color components indicates the number of riders in one of three categories. Green indicates the number of passengers in the transit system, whether on a bus or in one of several rail modes. Blue indicates the presence of riders prior to their first transaction of the day or after their last: it is assumed that the location of a rider’s first or last transaction approximates their place of residence. Red indicates cardholders who are between transit trips, whether transferring, engaging in activities, or traveling outside the transit system.
 
By matching Oyster transaction records to data from the iBus vehicle-location system, buses are shown to traverse the street network at their observed speeds, and their brightness reflects the number of passengers on board. Rail customers tap their cards when entering or exiting stations, but their waiting times and choices of line and transfer location are not known (in this version). Rail passengers are therefore shown traveling in straight lines at constant speeds, interpolated between their entry and exit taps.
 
For more information about the algorithms and software underlying this visualization see the thesis, which was written while a member of the MIT Transit Research Group with the invaluable support of Transport for London.
 
 
 
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U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $32 Million to Build Silver Line Bus Rapid Transit in Grand Rapids

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration
 
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced last October an agreement to provide $32 million for the city of Grand Rapids to build the Silver Line bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which will offer faster and more convenient access to major downtown employers along the city’s busy commercial corridor. FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff was joined by Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, Kentwood Mayor Richard Clanton, Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll, and local officials at a signing ceremony in Grand Rapids.

“President Obama is committed to bringing more transportation choices to Michigan and across the country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Bringing a new bus rapid transit service into downtown Grand Rapids offers efficient, affordable access to jobs, medical care and educational opportunities for thousands of area commuters, students, and seniors.”

The new Silver Line will be operated by Interurban Transit Partnership, known as The Rapid. The 9.6-mile route will serve major employers, including St. Mary’s Medical campus, the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and the Cook-DeVos School of Nursing, which together employ about 29,000 area residents. Compared to non-BRT service, the new Silver Line will be faster because it eliminates the need for a transfer between stops and uses dedicated bus lanes for much of the route.

“The Silver Line is a great example of bus rapid transit that’s done right,” said Rogoff. “The new service will shave commuting times nearly in half for many workers traveling to and from the Medical Mile, while helping to reduce congestion on US 131.”

The Federal Transit Administration is providing approximately $32 million to The Rapid for the nearly $40 million project, including $19 million through its Capital Investment (Small Starts) Program and $13 million through its Bus and Bus Facilities grant program. The remaining cost is covered by state funding.
 
 
 
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Rio de Janeiro Works to Improve Road Safety on Transoeste BRT

Source: EMBARQ

Experts recommend measures to reduce traffic safety risk.

During the first week of September, a group of 20 EMBARQ specialists and international experts visited the Transoeste bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor in Rio de Janeiro to analyze the road safety conditions of the stations, the corridor, and its surrounding areas.

EMBARQ network staff worked together with road safety expert Carsten Wass on a road safety inspection to help decision makers identify safety issues along the BRT corridor and stations. The goal was to propose effective measures to reduce the risk of crashes and save lives.

A formal document of analysis and recommendations will be delivered to the city’s Secretary of Transport.

On the first day, the experts visited Transoeste’s Center of Operations and analyzed data about the crashes in the BRT area. Later, they were divided in three groups, each of them responsible for a stretch of the corridor, for field analysis on the following days. During the field inspection, the groups talked to technicians from Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Secretariat of Transport and Rio’s Traffic Agency. At the end of each day, the three groups gathered to list and discuss the main safety problems found along the corridor.

The experts had an official meeting at Rio’s Municipal Secretariat of Transport to present the problems identified during the inspection and make recommendations for safety improvement.

The meeting also included EMBARQ Brazil’s President and member of our CoE, Toni Lindau, and the director of Strategic Relations and Development, Rejane D. Fernandes.

Carlos Maiolino, Rio’s Sub-Secretary of Transport, welcomed the group. Carsten Wass facilitated a presentation to sum up the main problems found by the technicians.

Maiolino thanked EMBARQ for the inspection and committed to do an internal evaluation based on the final report’s recommendations. “The areas that present risk to people’s safety will be reviewed and transformed,» he said.

Since 2010, EMBARQ Brazil has been working closely with Rio de Janeiro to make public transport safer, more efficient, less polluting, less time demanding and to provide a better quality of life to Rio’s population.

EMBARQ Brazil conducted a road safety audit of Transoeste corridor in 2011, when the corridor was still in the design phase. Since then, the project has improved. After the system was launched, new challenges related to safety arose.

“Transoeste is an incredible system, that is integrating a part of the city. But we noticed it needs some little adjustments, especially focused on people,” said Claudia Adriazola, EMBARQ’s director of Health and Road Safety.

“It’s a unique chance to have so many experts, coming from all around the world, to exchange knowledge. It is an important work”, Carsten Wass said.

Avenida das Américas, the street where most of the 56 kilometers of Transoeste are installed, is traditionally one of the roads with the highest number of crashes in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

In 2011, before the BRT was implemented, Avenida das Américas registered 15 fatalities and 742 injuries.

Although the BRT system has been organizing the traffic in the area, crashes still happen. Local inhabitants are not used to the new system and behave in a dangerous way. For example, pedestrians walk in the BRT corridor; cyclists use it as a cycleway; drivers do not respect traffic lights and zebra-crossings; and many pedestrians cross the street in risky areas. Also, the design of stations and the corridor have gaps that make it easy for people to adopt risky attitudes.

«People know what they have to do in traffic. For example, they know they shouldn’t cross when the light is red, but they do it because sometimes they do not measure the danger. For this reason, there must be physical barriers to prevent them to take risky attitudes,» said Adriazola.
 
 
 
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Opinion Pieces: A Community of “Experts”- The Citizen Panel

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.

January 2012

We now have a suggestion that a community of people drawn randomly from the population may be able to add value in helping public infrastructure organizations find ways through the maze of complexity in prioratising infrastructure that will make a difference.

As I engage in the debate on how we can improve the infrastructure we have, transport in particular, I come up against a major barrier about the definition of infrastructure which seems to focus on a restricted definition of major projects (indeed Infrastructure Australia’s current definition of major infrastructure projects is based on a $100m plus cost outlay). Anything below that at present is not considered, and hence State governments are ‘forced’ to come up with high cost ‘solutions’ if Infrastructure Australia is to assist.

Some ideas I have been promoting (at least for discussion) seem to have fallen on very deaf ears. These include ensuring that all bus lanes are truly uncontaminated by merging along their pathway with mixed traffic (killing off any gains in time saving and service reliability of buses), growing the number of buses massively in order to deliver real gains in public transport connectivity and frequency that is sufficiently substantial to be attractive to current car users (something I argue is unlikely to be the case with very expensive single corridor projects such as heavy rail projects in various capital cities).
 
Food for thought
 
 
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Rajkot City Launches BRT Pilot Corridor

Source: ITDP

Rajkot, a fast-growing city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, launched a BRT pilot corridor last October, which replicates the world-class Janmarg BRT in Ahmedabad. The new corridor, called Rajpath, runs parallel to the 150 Feet Ring Road, a rapidly developing area with new shopping malls and residential construction.

Rajpath is a major step toward a formal public transport system in Rajkot, a city of 1.6 million. Rajpath features BRT best practices such as median stations and at-level boarding. Electronic ticketing with smart cards is planned but not yet implemented. Planners also chose to follow Ahmedabad’s approach to contracting and institutional oversight by retaining a private bus operator who receives payment on a per-kilometer basis.

The Rajkot Municipal Corporation made several trips to Ahmedabad, during which ITDP India presented on the value of developing a gold-standard BRT. ITDP team shared information on best practices with RMC staff and shared concepts they had worked on for Pune BRT which eventually lead to Rajkot changing its design. Initially, the Rajkot BRT, Rajpath, was planned with curbside stations and intended to operate using regular buses, emulating the Delhi BRT but Ahmedabad’s example proved a stronger one. ITDP played a key role in the creation of Ahmedabad’s Janmarg BRT system, the best practice example in the region.

Rajkot BRT system integrates the best practices of Ahmedabad BRT, like at-level boarding, off-board ticketing, high-quality median stations and performance based bus operations contracts, with high-quality pedestrian and cycling infrastructure based on Delhi BRT corridor design. RMC is also exploring increased density along the corridor to allow more residents to live and work near BRT stations. Currently, RMC is conducting trial runs of Rajpath BRT on a pilot 11 km corridor. There are plans to expand the system to three corridors and a total length of 63 km.
 
 
 
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