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Bus Rapid Transit Systems have achieved important benefits in terms of travel time savings, increased ridership, land development impacts, and improved safety. In same cases travel time reductions resulting form the introduction of BRT services have sometimes exceeded 40%. As various US city cases show, bus operations in exclusive freeway lanes or busways have achieved important travel time savings. Some of them were achieved by increasing the spacing between stops and by providing up to 10 seconds of additional green time at signalised intersections using a signal priority system. Ridership increases have also been reported demonstrating that BRT can attract and retain new, and even discretionary riders. Evidence suggests that many of the new riders were previously motorists and that improved bus service results in more frequent travel. For example, Adelaide´s Guided Busway reported a 76% gain in ridership at a time when overall system ridership declined by 28%. The travel time savings associated with buses operating on their own rights-of-way have also achieved operating costs and safety and environmentally benefits. For example, Bogota´s Transmilenio busway had 93% fewer fatalities. In addition, a 40% drop in pollutants was recorded during the first 5 months of operation. Curitiba uses 30% less fuel per capita for transportation than other major Brazilian cities. This has been atributed in part to the success of the BRT system. Like other BRT rapid rail transit modes, BRT stations can provide a point for transit-oriented development. If local governments implement land use planning policies that encourage development near BRT facilities, chances of succes increase even more. Source: TCRP Report 90 - Bus Rapid Transit, USA |
