BRT Standard

Last updated
Document defining the 2016 BRT Standard 2016 BRT Standard Cover.png
Document defining the 2016 BRT Standard

The BRT Standard is an evaluation tool for bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors around the world, based on international best practices. [1] The Standard establishes a common definition for BRT and identifies BRT best practices, as well as functioning as a scoring system to allow BRT corridors to be evaluated and recognized for their superior design and management aspects. [2] [3]

Contents

The Standard was conceived by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) in 2012 to ensure that BRT corridors worldwide meet a minimum quality standard and deliver consistent passenger, economic, and environmental benefits. This is of particular relevance in countries where "BRTs qualify for special funding from national or provincial governments. In addition to serving as an overview of BRT design elements, the Standard can be used to evaluate existing BRT corridors and certify them as a Basic, Bronze, Silver, or Gold rated corridors. Corridors which fail to meet minimum standards for Basic ratings are not considered to be BRT. [4] The latest edition of the Standard was published in 2024. [5]

BRT systems which do not meet the BRT standard ("Not BRT" by the ITDP), but is marketed as BRT, meet the phenomenon known as "BRT creep".

History and Purpose

First released in 2012, the BRT Standard was created “to establish a common definition of bus rapid transit (BRT) and ensure that BRT corridors more uniformly deliver world-class passenger experiences, significant economic benefits, and positive environmental impact”. The Standard was developed in response to a lack of consensus among planners and engineers as to what constitutes a true BRT corridor. Without a clear definition, the term BRT was used for corridors that provided only minor improvements in bus service and lacked the elements of BRT that make it competitive with light rail or metro alternatives. This caused a backlash against the BRT "brand", and confusion as to its benefits. [6]

A TransJakarta bus on a dedicated bus lane, an exclusive right-of-way separated from heavy traffic. Bundaran Senayan Transjakarta stop.jpg
A TransJakarta bus on a dedicated bus lane, an exclusive right-of-way separated from heavy traffic.

The 2014 edition made some improvements to the methodology, including adjustments to the corridor definition, infrequent-service penalties, and increased emphasis on basics. In order to allow BRT corridors in downtown areas to qualify as BRT, the definition of a BRT corridor has been reduced to a minimum of 3 km (1.9 mi) in length. [7] The peak and off-peak frequency design metrics have been removed, and penalties for low peak and off-peak frequencies have been added. An additional point was added to each of the BRT basic elements, to put greater emphasis on the basic elements of a BRT corridor. [7]

The 2016 edition proposed six major changes, including greater focus on safety and system operations, separation of the design score and the full score (i.e. including both design and operations), improved dedicated right-of-way definition, new types of busway alignments, and partial points for onboard fare validation. [8]

The latest BRT Standard, 2024 edition, is the product of feedback from BRT practitioners around the world. Suggestions were formulated into concrete proposals and evaluated by the BRT Standard Technical Committee, a group of leading BRT engineers, designers, and planners. The Standard has been refreshed by adding, combining, and revising elements based on expert feedback and increasing deductions for operations. The most significant changes include an expanded focus on gender, safety, and access; more attention to climate, greening, and resiliency; an improved passenger and customer experience; and a new focus on business operations. [9]

Technical Committee and Institutional Endorsers

The Technical Committee of The BRT Standard comprises experts on BRT. This committee serves as a source of technical advice with respect to BRT and is the basis for establishing the credibility of The BRT Standard. The Technical Committee certifies corridors and recommends revisions to The Standard as needed.

The Institutional Endorsers are an integrated group of institutions in the fields of city building, public transport systems, and climate change with decision-making abilities over the BRT Standard certification process. The endorsers establish the strategic direction of the BRT Standard, ensure that BRT projects ranked by the scoring system uphold the goals of the BRT Standard, and promote the BRT Standard as a quality check for BRT projects. [9]

Definition of BRT

Center of roadway or bus-only corridors keep buses away from the busy curbside, as seen here in San Francisco, USA. Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit 01.jpg
Center of roadway or bus-only corridors keep buses away from the busy curbside, as seen here in San Francisco, USA.
BRT stations should be at level with the bus for quick and easy boarding, as seen here in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. BRT Bus Station in Dar es Salaam 01.jpg
BRT stations should be at level with the bus for quick and easy boarding, as seen here in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

BRT is a high-capacity bus-based transit system that delivers fast, reliable, high quality, safe, and cost-effective services at relatively low cost, metro-level capacities. It achieves that through dedicated bus lanes that are median aligned, off-board fare collection, level boarding, bus priority at intersections, and fast and frequent operations. [10] [11] Because BRT contains features similar to a light rail or metro system, it is much more reliable, convenient and faster than regular bus services. The three main delays facing public transport are 1) boarding and alighting, 2) intersections, and 3) traffic congestion. BRT solves for all three. With the right features, BRT is able to avoid the causes of delay that typically slow regular bus services, while also improving service quality, safety and security, and passenger experience. [11]

Basic characteristics

There are five essential characteristics of a BRT corridor. [12]

Standard Scoring

The BRT Standard has defined 5 main categories for design with 32 metrics totaling 100 points and an operational deductions category that has 13 metrics totaling 77 points. Together, these form the total score for the corridor. Both design and operations are critical to creating a high quality BRT corridor. Design decisions are often locked in planning and construction. We often see corridors score well here, getting a bronze or above in design, but then do poorly in operations, dropping their overall score.

While operational deductions may bring the overall score down, these are aspects that can be easily improved in order to improve the score. From there, the updated scoring details can be found in the 2024 BRT Standard with detailed guidance on how to score. The Standard only evaluates a corridor and not a whole system, since different corridors can vary widely in design and quality. Certifying a BRT corridor as Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Basic sets an internationally recognized standard for the current best practices for BRT and can only be done with the full score (Design + Operational Deductions) six months after opening to allow usage and operations to be more representative of longer-term patterns. The combination of the design evaluation (positive points) and operational evaluation (negative points) gives the final score from the BRT Standard. [13]

Criticisms

The BRT Standard has been noted as a one-size-fits-all tool that is not context sensitive. Also, pro-car politicians' opposition to public transit may result in higher construction costs and greater land acquisition needs whenever a public transit agency sets a Gold Standard goal. In one recent case in Indianapolis, State Senator Aaron Freeman, a former auto industry lobbyist and an aggressive opponent of public transit, threatened to introduce a bill that would kill the IndyGo Blue Line project that was aiming for Gold classification unless IndyGo agreed to share lanes with private civilian cars for at least 70% of the BRT route. Freeman's hostility towards public transit resulted in high costs and land acquisition needs for IndyGo to meet his demands so he would withdraw his anti-transit bill. Freeman withdrew his bill when IndyGo complied with his demands, but by complying, IndyGo faced such difficulty constructing the Blue Line right-of-way that the project was cancelled by city-level political decision-makers. [14] Aaron Freeman's opposition to public transit has been praised by notable anti-transit activist Randal O'Toole, who has attacked BRT proposals on his "Antiplanner" blog. [15]

In response to that criticism, those in favor of the Standard point out that the overwhelming majority of the Standard elements work well and would also benefit lower demand systems. Above all, BRT designers should take advantage of the flexibility inherent in bus systems and consider lower-standard busway sections to avoid physical or political constraints, especially where such sections can later be upgraded to address future demand increases.

There are many situations where lower-grade BRT or non-BRT bus schemes are the appropriate solution to upgrade public transit. The Standard should not be a reason to forgo such improvements. However, in many cases, the Standard provides a scoring tool that can motivate cities to develop high quality mass transit corridors where possible under the city's prevailing financial and spatial conditions. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bus rapid transit</span> Public transport system

Bus rapid transit (BRT), also referred to as a busway or transitway, it serve Trolleybus, Electric bus and Public transport bus service system designed to have much more capacity, reliability, and other quality features than a conventional Bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes roadways that are dedicated to buses, and gives priority to buses at intersections where buses may interact with other traffic; alongside design features to reduce delays caused by passengers boarding or leaving buses, or paying fares. BRT aims to combine the capacity and speed of a light rail transit (LRT) or mass rapid transit (MRT) system with the flexibility, lower cost and simplicity of a bus system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Richmond Transit Company</span>

The Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) is a local government-owned public service company which based in Richmond, Virginia. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 9,833,200, or about 36,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transjakarta</span> Bus Rapid Transit service in Jakarta

Transjakarta or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenced operations on 15 January 2004 to provide a fast public transport system to help reduce rush hour traffic. The system is considered as the first revolutionary public transit mode in the capital city of Indonesia. The buses run in dedicated lanes (busways), and ticket prices are subsidised by the regional government. Transjakarta has the world's longest BRT system, which operates about 4,300 buses. Transjakarta aims to have 50 percent of its fleet be electric buses by 2027. By 2030, the aim is for the entire Transjakarta ecosystem to use electric buses. As of November 2023, it serves an average of 1.134 million passengers daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerald Express</span> BRT system in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon

The Emerald Express (EmX) is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It is provided by the Lane Transit District (LTD) which is the public transit authority in Lane County, Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway</span> Bus rapid transit line in Pittsburgh

The Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway is a two-lane bus-only highway serving the city of Pittsburgh and many of its eastern neighborhoods and suburbs. It was named after Martin Luther King Jr. in recognition of the eastern portion of the route's serving many predominantly African-American neighborhoods, such as Wilkinsburg and East Liberty. It is owned and maintained by Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metrobus (Istanbul)</span> Bus rapid transit route in Istanbul, Turkey

The Metrobus is a 52 km (32.3 mi) bus rapid transit route in Istanbul, Turkey. The system has 44 stations that follow the city's ring road via Avcılar, Zincirlikuyu and the Bosphorus Bridge to Söğütlüçeşme using dedicated bus lanes for almost the entire length of the route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HealthLine</span> Bus rapid transit line in Cleveland, Ohio

The HealthLine is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line run by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland and East Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The line runs along Euclid Avenue from Public Square in downtown Cleveland to the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland. It began operation on October 24, 2008. Its current name was the result of a naming rights deal with the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland. The HealthLine is denoted with a silver color and abbreviated simply as HL on most RTA publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Busway</span> Busway in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The West Busway is a two-lane bus-only highway serving the western portions of the city of Pittsburgh and several western suburbs. The busway runs for 5.1 miles (8.2 km) from the southern shore of the Ohio River near Downtown Pittsburgh to Carnegie, following former railroad right-of-way on the Panhandle Route. It broke ground on October 27, 1994 and is owned and maintained by Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the public transit provider for Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh region. The transit thoroughfare was opened in September 2000. Following the naming convention of each busway being designated by a color, bus routes that use the West Busway begin with a "G" for green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Busway</span> Busway in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The South Busway is a two-lane bus rapid transit highway serving southern portions of the city of Pittsburgh. The busway runs for 4.3 miles (6.9 km) from the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel across the Monongahela River from Downtown Pittsburgh to the Overbrook neighborhood of the city, bypassing the crowded Pennsylvania Route 51. It is owned and maintained by Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the public transit provider for Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute for Transportation and Development Policy</span> American non-profit organization

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is a non-governmental non-profit organization that focuses on developing bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, promoting biking, walking, and non-motorized transport, and improving private bus operators margins. Other programs include parking reform, traffic demand management, and global climate and transport policy. According to its mission statement, ITDP is committed to "promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter B. Hook</span>

Walter B. Hook is an urban planner and expert in the field of sustainable transportation policy and practice. Since 2015, Dr. Hook has been a Principal at BRT Planning International, LLC, a boutique BRT planning firm. From 1993 until 2014, Hook worked as the Chief Executive Officer for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), a nonprofit agency that promotes environmentally sustainable and equitable transportation policies and projects in the developing world. Under the auspices of ITDP, Hook worked on the design and implementation of numerous bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and is considered a leading expert on BRT design and policy. He collaborated extensively with Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, and creator of the TransMilenio, one of the world's premier BRT systems. Additionally, Hook has campaigned for sustainable transport and urban planning practices in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cebu Bus Rapid Transit System</span> Mass transit system in the Philippines

The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit System is a mass transit system under construction in Cebu City, Philippines. It is expected to become the first operational bus rapid transit project in the Philippines. Only one line has been planned in detail so far, but scheme developers note the potential to develop a larger network comprising the adjacent cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, and Talisay, all of which, together with Cebu City, form part of the Cebu metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bus rapid transit creep</span> Systems that fail to meet requirements of "true BRT"

Bus rapid transit creep is a phenomenon where bus systems that fail to meet the requirements for being considered "true bus rapid transit" are designated as bus rapid transit regardless. These systems are often marketed as a fully realized bus rapid transit system, but end up being described as more of an improvement to regular bus service by proponents of the "BRT creep" term. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy published several guidelines in an attempt to define what constitutes the term "true BRT", known as the BRT Standard, in an attempt to avert this phenomenon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BRT Sunway Line</span> Bus line in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

The BRT Sunway Line is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line that is part of the Klang Valley Integrated Transit System servicing the southeastern suburbs of Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. It is the world's first all-electric Bus Rapid Transit system.

sbX Bus rapid transit service in San Bernardino County, California

sbX is a bus rapid transit (BRT) service in San Bernardino and Loma Linda, California, United States. It is operated by Omnitrans, a public transportation agency in southwestern San Bernardino County. The route is internally named by Omnitrans as the Green Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GRTC Pulse</span> Bus rapid transit line in Richmond, Virginia, US

The GRTC Pulse is a bus rapid transit line in Richmond, Virginia, United States, operated by the Greater Richmond Transit Company. The line runs along Broad Street and Main Street in central Richmond, between The Shops at Willow Lawn and Rockett's Landing. It opened on June 24, 2018, and is the third bus rapid transit service to be constructed in Virginia. The Pulse is the first regional rapid transit system to serve Richmond since 1949. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), under its BRT Standard, has given the Pulse corridor a Bronze ranking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albuquerque Rapid Transit</span> Public Transportation in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system serving the Central Avenue corridor in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. There are two lines running between Tramway Boulevard, the Central and Unser Transit Center (CUTC), and the Uptown Transit Center (UTC). It was built in 2016–17 and began limited operation in November 2017, but was subsequently delayed for over two years due to problems with the stations and buses. After the original fleet of electric buses was replaced with diesel buses, the line began regular service on November 30, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metrobus (Miami-Dade County)</span>

The Metrobus network provides bus service throughout Miami-Dade County 365 days a year, operated by Miami-Dade Transit. It consists of about 79 routes and 771 buses, which connect most points in the county and part of southern Broward County as well. As of 2023, the system has 58,282,300 rides per year, or about 198,400 per day in the second quarter of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CMAX</span> Bus rapid transit line in Columbus, Ohio

CMAX is a bus rapid transit (BRT) service in Central Ohio, operated by the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA). The line begins in Downtown Columbus, traveling northeast to Westerville. CMAX is Central Ohio's first bus rapid transit line; it began operation in 2018.

References

  1. ↑ "About the Standard: What's New in 2016?". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  2. ↑ Goldmark, Alex. BRT Systems Getting an International Rating Standard WNYC 01 May 2012. http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/transportation-nation/2012/may/01/brt-systems-getting-an-international-rating-standard/
  3. ↑ Weingart, Eden (2023-12-07). "Could Better Buses Fix Your Commute?". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  4. ↑ "Recapturing Global Leadership in Bus Rapid Transit: A Survey of Select U.S. Cities". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  5. ↑ "The BRT Standard - Institute for Transportation and Development Policy". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy - Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  6. ↑ Greenfield, John (2013-03-12). "Taking the Guesswork Out of Rating BRT: An Interview With Walter Hook | Streetsblog Chicago". Chi.streetsblog.org. Retrieved 2013-08-19.
  7. 1 2 "The BRT Standard: 2014 Edition". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  8. 1 2 "The BRT Standard". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  9. 1 2 "About the BRT Standard". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy - Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  10. ↑ Kimmelman, Michael (2023-12-07). "How One City Tried to Solve Gridlock for Us All". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  11. 1 2 "What is BRT?". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy - Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  12. ↑ "Institute for Transportation and Development Policy: BRT Basics". ITDP. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  13. ↑ "The Scorecard". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy - Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  14. ↑ "What Drives Republican Opposition to Transit?". 13 March 2024.
  15. ↑ "Why do Democrats Support Transit? – the Antiplanner". 15 March 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.