A BRT success story

From the Race Poverty Environment blog.

The BRT—A Success Story

"The popularity of Curitiba’s BRT has effected a modal shift from automobile travel to bus travel. Based on 1991 traveler survey results, it was estimated that the introduction of the BRT had caused a reduction of about 27 million auto trips per year, saving about 27 million liters of fuel annually. In particular, 28 percent of BRT riders previously traveled by car. Compared to eight other Brazilian cities of its size, Curitiba uses about 30 percent less fuel per capita, resulting in one of the lowest rates of ambient air pollution in the country. Today about 1,100 buses make 12,500 trips every day, serving more than 1.3 million passengers—50 times the number from 20 years ago. Eighty percent of travelers use the express or direct bus services. Best of all, Curitibanos spend only about 10 percent of their income on travel—much below the national average. "

Update:

I ran across this video of the Curitiba BRT from Street Films. Streetfilms also has a video on the Los Angeles BRT. The LA transit director calls it a "Rail Emulator", it is Light Rail without the rail. And also from Streetfilms, NYC's first BRT is getting good reviews. And finally, Streetfilms covers the Bogata version of BRT, which I consider the master BRT design.

Talking about multipliers, this report:

Summary Information

"A major objective of the Los Angeles Metro Rapid program is to provide high quality rail emulation service at a reasonable capital cost. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation, conducted the Metro Rapid Demonstration Program—a BRT full-deployment feasibility project—along two major arterials: Wilshire-Whittier and Ventura. The Metro Rapid program along these arterials was implemented in June 2000.

A critical element of the Metro Rapid Program is the Transit Priority System (TSP). This system serves to improve on-time performance, provide real-time next bus arrival information to passengers waiting at bus shelters, and assist fleet management by recording travel time for each bus run. The traffic signals along the BRT routes were outfitted with the TSP technology to allow priority movement of BRT buses. At selected bus shelters along the roadside, highly visible dynamic message signs were installed to provide riders with the arrival time of the next bus.

The TSP system was deployed at approximately 211 intersections, covering 42.4 miles along both Metro Rapid lines. The total cost for the system was $4,243,000 which equates to approximately $20,000 per intersection, or $100,000 per mile."

It the intelligent signals reduce wait times at the typical intersection for 10,000 passengers a day by 2 minutes, that is 300 hours a day or $2,400 in savings at minimum wage. The intelligent signals pay for themselves in 8-10 months, a very high payoff.

And this report about South American BRT plans:

"This summer, the bus rapid transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, earned the distinction of being the world’s first mass transport project to be approved (PDF) for participation in the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). As such, it is a model for similar transport-related CDM initiatives in the pipeline worldwide. Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, Laos, Panama, and Peru are all establishing or planning mass transport systems based on rapid buses, according to the Andean Development Corporation, the multilateral financial institution that helped develop the bid."