IMPACT OF BRTS ON CITIES

SEMINAR -II ASSIGNMENT

LITERATURE REVIEW

IMPACT OF BRTS ON CITIES

SUBMITTED BY -

SAVITRI KUMARI

2120200098

SEMESTER –VI

DEPT.OF PLANNING

SPAV

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IMPACT OF BRTS ON CITIES

Savitri Kumari

Department of Planning

School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada

Keywords: Transportation system, Transportation Problems, BRTS

INTRODUCTION

Any settlement needs mobility within its boundaries to connect various places within the settlement and outside its boundaries to connect the settlement with other settlements.

People tend to opt for personal modes of transport for mobility, unless there is a strong network of public transport system. The system needs to fast, reliable and cheap. Here arises

the need of a mass transit system. BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) is fast reliable and cheap. Most of the million plus cities are facing with serious problem of pollution and congestion;

they are looking for cost effective, efficient, modern and sustainable means of public transport solutions. BRTS are increasingly being recognized as amongst most effective solution for

providing a cost effective and high quality public transport service in urban areas for both the developed and the developing nations . BRT involves coordinated improvements in a transit

system’s infrastructure, equipment, technology , and operations that give preferential treatment to buses on urban roadways. BRT encompasses a variety of approaches, including

high capacity buses using exclusive bus ways with other vehicles, and improving bus service on city arterial streets. When public transit service is frequent and reliable, more people use it in

place of their cars. High-quality bus rapid transit systems, like all urban transport, can affect the quality of life, productivity, health, and safety of people living in cities. These impacts have been explored in varying depth in the existing research as travel time benefits, environmental impacts, public health and safety benefits, and urban development changes.

LITERATURE REVIEW FOR THE STUDY

The increasing demand for urban mass transit mobility is now being addressed by various cities in India, following the best practices in the world. A sustainable transport system must

provide accessibility and mobility to all urban residents in a safe and environment friendly mode of transport. The rapid growth in the number of motor vehicles has resulted in severe

traffic congestion and air pollution in many cities of the country. Bus rapid transi t (BRT) is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. The goal of these systems is to approach the

service quality of rail transit while still enjoying the cost savings and flexibility of bus transit so the city can be self-sustainable. Safe, versatile, flexible and economic, the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) also known as the High Capacity Bus System (HCBS) is increasingly being adopted by cities in India as well as throughout the world. This paper summarizes key trends

of transport system, and the issues to be considered for the development of BRTS to mitigate c i t i e s .

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CHARACTERISTIC OF BRT SYSTEM

As we look at the length, area and population of cities, as it increases the type of BRT and level of BRT changes from a basic bus service to a Full BRT service. The other factors that affect the type of BRT system may include local preferences and culture, population density, distribution of trips, climate, geography, topography, available financial resources ,local technical capacity and knowledge, existing business and institutional structures, and, perhaps most importantly, the degree of existing political will to implement a high‐quality system.

Figure 1: Some Characteristics of BRTS

ADVANTAGES OF BRT OVER OTHER TRANSITSYSTEMS

BRT has generally the following advantages: • BRT having more flexibility than Light Rail, It can able to phase in service rather than having

to wait for an entire system to be built, and it can also be used as temporary system until Light Rail is built.

• Bus Rapid Transit routes can also be adjusted and rerouted over time to serve new developments and dispersed employment centers that may have because of development

outside the city centre. • Bus Rapid Transit can respond to changes in employment, land‐use, and community patterns.

• On the other hand, Light Rail Transit lines are fixed and cannot easily change to adjust to new patterns of housing and employment.

• Compared to other mass transit alternatives, the BRT is by far the most cost-effective means of providing rapid transit service—about 10‐20 percent of the cost of light rail and 1‐10 percent of Metro. • Although Bus Rapid Transit sometimes uses rail‐style park‐and‐ride lots, Bus Rapid Transit Routes can also collect riders in neighborhoods and then provide rapid long distance service

by entering a bus way or HOV (high occupancy vehicle) facility. Transit agencies have considerable flexibility to provide long distance service without requiring a transfer between vehicles.

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• In performance of transit system, two elements are ridership and system speed. While

ridership varied considerably, the largest ridership on Bus Rapid Transit and Light Rail systems were quite similar. Speed varied but that Bus Rapid Transit projects were generally faster. This

was likely due to the nature of the Bus Rapid Transit systems; express bus operations or operations with longer stop spacing have higher speeds.

• Ridership on Bus Rapid Transit and Light Rail systems varies widely and depends, in part, on frequency of service, number of stops, hours of operation, and customer demand. For example, ,ridership on 4 bus ways ranged from 7,000 riders per day to about 30,000 per day and averaged about 15,600 riders per day. For 13 bus lines on HOV lanes, ridership ranged from 1,000 to about 25,000 riders per day, with an average ridership of about 8,100. In addition, the ridership on the two arterial street Bus Rapid Transit lines in Los Angeles was about 9,000 to 56,000 per day, with an average of 32,500 per day. In addition, ridership can vary greatly with vehicle sizes and passenger capacity between Light Rail and bus vehicles, which can affect vehicle based comparisons as mentioned in feasibility report by RITES and TRIP Delhi. • Distance Speeds generally depends on the characteristics such as distance between stops, Fare‐collection methods, the degree to which the tracks or roadway are exclusive to transit Vehicles or share right‐of‐way with cars and other vehicular traffic, type of the intersection and geometric design of the road.

BRTS SYSTEM IN INDIAN CITIES

Indian cities, of all sizes, face a crisis of urban transport. Despite investments in road infrastructure, and plans for land use and transport development, all cities face the e v e r i nc re a s i ng problems of congestion, traffic accidents, air, and noise pollution. India’s transport crisis has been made worse by the extremely rapid growth of India’s largest cities in a context of low incomes, limited and outdated transport infrastructure, rampant suburban sprawl, sharply rising motor vehicle ownership and use, deteriorating bus services, a wide range of motorized and non-motorized transport modes sharing roadways, and inadequate as well as uncoordinated land use and transport planning. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is growing in popularity throughout the world. The reasons are its

passenger and developer attractiveness, its high performance and quality, and its ability to be built quickly, incrementally, a nd economically. BRT also provides sufficient transport

capacity to meet demands even in the largest metropolitan regions. In India, it is started first in Pune city then in Delhi partial corridor is started from 21st April

2008, and also proposed in other cities. BRT is being implemented in Indian cities of Ahmadabad, Surat, Rajkot, Bhopal, Indore Pune, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Jaipur and

Delhi. The BRT projects in these cities are sanctioned under JNNURM and in Delhi it is funded by Govt. of Delhi. Ahmadabad, Bangalore Hyderabad and Chennai have recorded a higher

growth rate than Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta. In the year 2002 Ahmadabad has recorded the highest per capita motor vehicles in India.

TRAVEL TIME IMPACTS

Several design elements of high-quality BRT systems can help to quicken passenger boarding

and alighting times reducing overall travel times: •Level boarding: station platforms level with bus floors; no bus stairs to walk up or down;

•Pre-paid boarding: fares collected off-board the buses, typically at the station entrance; •High-capacity buses with multiple doors: several, often wide, doors for boarding.

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Bus rapid transit systems can have positive environmental impacts by reducing greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change as well as local air pollutants, which lead to citywide air pollution and smog. Reductions in vehicle emissions can be achieved in several ways, including reducing vehicle-kilometers travelled (VKT) and improving the fuel efficiency and technology of the buses. Passengers shifting from single-occupancy vehicles to high-occupancy BRT buses reduce overall VKT in the city. Likewise, many BRT systems consolidate informal systems comprised of low-occupancy vans that may use older and more polluting fuels and vehicle technologies. New articulated or bi-articulated BRT buses can carry many more passengers per bus kilometer and many are capable of meeting the most requirement emissions standards.

REDUCTIONS IN GREENHOUSE GASES

Eleven BRT systems across Mexico, Colombia, China, India and South Africa have registered their carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2) emissions reductions through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism or other emissions verification schemes.

REDUCTIONS IN LOCAL AIR POLLUTANTS

Local air pollutants such as carbon monoxide and particulate matter, pose environmental and public health concerns. By forcing the retirement of less -efficient, older transport vehicles,

BRT systems can have a positive impact on smog, local pollution, and the health of city residents.

PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS

Bus rapid transit systems also provide valuable public health benefits to society in three key

ways: reduced road fatalities and injuries, reduced personal exposure to harmful air pollutants, and increased physical activity for BRT users. Local air pollutants primarily impact individual

health; this benefit is treated as a public health impact.

ROAD SAFETY IMPACTS

While research on the road safety impacts of BRT systems is less developed than some of the other impact areas, recent studies shows that BRT corridors can have a positive impact on

traffic safety by reducing the frequency of traffic incidents, injuries and fatalities even When controlling for citywide trends in accidents.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IMPACTS

BRT passenger surveys have shown that the vast majority of BRT passengers switch to BRT from the existing bus or minibus services.

OTHER BRT IMPACTS

In addition to the travel time, environmental and public health benefits, there are other

important impacts of BRT systems related to urban development and land use, employment, crime rates, and even public tax revenues

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URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND PROPERTY IMPACTS

Benefits of transportation infrastructure investments get capitalized in land values, While over the longer term, land uses may change (Cervero and Kang 2011).

LAND VALUE CHANGES

The reductions in travel time and the improvements in quality of service associated with the

implementation of a new transit line often get capitalized into land values, as residents and businesses are willing to pay a premium to be closer to transit stations. The magnitude of the

impact tends to vary considerably with market dynamics, property types, and across different regions of the world. Despite the variations, several trends can be observed in the literature.

LAND USE CHANGES

BRT systems may also catalyze changes in the types of development – residential, retail, office, industrial – or the density of development near stations. In addition to accommodating existing travel demand on a corridor, a BRT may induce higher-density development around stations as

a result of increased accessibility and higher pedestrian volumes For example, Ahmedabad’s Janmarg BRT network represents an excellent chance to help shape a more inclusive city

around cost-effective public transit integrated into a broader transport network that includes safe access, non-motorized transport (NMT) networks, and pleasant and inviting public spaces.

EMPLOYMENT IMPACTS

Construction, operation and maintenance (O&M)of BRT systems can create jobs. This may result in net increase in the number of employed people, or merely a shift of workers from one job or sector to another sector. In many cases, BRT systems create new jobs in the formal

economy that replaces informal jobs from the existing traditional transport system.

CRIME IMPACTS

By providing well-lit stations staffed with security personel, security cameras on buses and in stations and pedestrian-scale lighting around stations, BRT systems can create a safer environment in those areas they serve. On the other hand, crowded stations and buses may increase petty crime such as pick-pocketing within the BRT system. In Bogota, petty crime in

the TransMilenio system is still a big and growing concern for users.

TAX REVENUE IMPACTS

The formalization of Bogota’s transportation industry through concession contracts resulted in

increased tax revenues for the national and local governments in the study area. The financial statements from the Trans Milenio system private operators show that between

2005 and 2008 these operators made income tax payments of 32.158 billion 2008 pesos, and 17.476 billion pesos in other tax payments, such as unrecovered VAT, sales, and industry taxes,

as well as vehicle taxes. These revenues were not captured under the traditional bus system .

CONCLUSION

As the population continues to grow , the demand for motorized vehicles will increase as well. The increasing number of vehicles on the road will emit thousands of tons of

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pollutants into the atmosphere every year, affecting not only the city, but the entire

globe. S i n c e India has implemented numerous policies regarding vehicular emissions, but these had little, effect on the quality of the air. This requires planning a system,

which is affordable, reliable and efficient from the user as well as operator’s perspectives. A Bus Rapid Transit System offers an opportunity for creating a system capable of meeting

multiple needs of users and operators which combines facilities, service equipment and intelligent transportation system (ITS) , elements into a permanently integrated system with a quality image and unique identity.

REFERENCES

ITDP. 2007. Bus Rapid Transit Planning Guide. Published by the Institute of

Transportation and Development Policy. NY, USA. www.itdp.org/brt_guide.html.. Anuj jaiswal., Ashutosh Sharma and Yadu krishnan .Potential of bus rapid transit

system for Million plus indian cities: a case study of Janmarg Brts, Ahmadabad, India An Overview . International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Studies/e-issn2249–

8974 Jarzab, J., Lightbody, J. and Maeda, E. 2002. Characteristics of Bus Rapid Transit

Projects: An Overview. Journal of Public Transportation, 5 (2): 31-46.

http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Social-Environmental-Economic-

Impacts-BRT-Bus-Rapid-Transit./2015