Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

The BRT program addresses resource-efficient, socially- and culturally-inclusive transportation systems that improve and facilitate access in cities.

BRT has a geographical emphasis on rapidly-changing urban environments in Africa and other urban contexts with similar conditions, challenges and opportunities, e.g. India, Southeast Asia, Latin America and China.

We know a lot about technologies, people’s behaviour and perceptions, system operation, finance, and the environmental and climate effects of BRT systems. Nevertheless, research is still needed to investigate and draw conclusions from the different contexts and stories around the world, and to contribute findings to improving policies and practice.

Ongoing Projects:

• The CoE Bus Rapid Transit + (BRT+) was established in 2010 and led by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC) with Prof.Ricardo Giesen as Centre Director. Other core partners are: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Pretoria, the University of Sydney, and EMBARQ – The WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, including its network of centres of sustainable transport.
  
  The main goal of this CoE is to develop a new framework for planning, design, financing, implementation and operation of BRT in urban areas, giving clear guidelines to decision makers on when and how BRT projects can effectively enhance mobility and meet accessibility needs. These guidelines will provide a major contribution to changing the way decision makers address investment and design plans for configuring urban mobility systems. An essential goal of CoE ALC-BRT is to identify elements that are transferable between existing and prospective BRT systems and elements that are project site specific.
  

Completed Projects:

• Integrating paratransit and BRT in the developing world: Global metropolitan case studies and user perspectives led by UC Berkeley, with Prof. Robert Cervero as Project Leader
• Studies and Capacitybuilding of Bus Rapid Transit in China co-led by the China Urban Sustainable Transport Research Center, Beijing and CoE ALC-BRT, with Associate Prof. Xumei Chen and Prof. Juan Carlos Muñoz as Project Leader

Co-produced report

”Transforming Cities with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Systems – How to integrate BRT?” This is the title of a report co-produced between UITP, the International Association of Public Transport, the BRT+ Centre of Excellence, and VREF.

The Bus rapid Transit (BRT) systems emerged in Latin America as an innovation that could transform cities and the way people move. While they constitute a first step towards integrated public transport networks (IPTN) and could be a catalyst for urban development they should not be treated in isolation as a mere substitute for rail infrastructure where public funds are scarce. The report argues that BRT impacts and performance depend on local conditions. It draws on the global knowledge of the VREF CoE BRT+ and experiences from a number of BRT systems across the world. The report is available in English, Spanish, French and Chinese.

READ IT HERE (Pdf):
Ciudades en transformación con sistemas BRT
Transforming Cities with BRT systems
Transformer les villes aves les systemes de BRT
通过快速公交系统 (BRT) 推动城市转型

To know more about the activities proposed by BRT+, please visit  http://www.brt.cl
More info about UITP can be found at https://www.uitp.org/