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Bus Rapid Transit , Institutional Issues Related to Implementation

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Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology

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Definition of the Subject

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an innovative, high-capacity, lower-cost public transit travel mode that can improve urban mobility to help make bus transit more attractive by enhancing customer quality of service with an ultimate goal of increasing ridership that contributes to relieving traffic congestion. BRT systems can easily be customized to community needs and incorporate state-of-the-art, low-cost technologies as part of their flexible and incremental implementation approach.

For purposes of this entry, the following definition of bus rapid transit taken directly from [1, 2] is used:

Bus rapid transit is a flexible, rubber-tired form of rapid transit that combines stations, vehicles, services, running ways, and intelligent transportation systems into a fully integrated system with a strong image and identity. Bus rapid transit applications are designed to be appropriate to the market they serve and their physical surroundings, and they can be incrementally...

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Abbreviations

Dual-mode buses:

Buses that operate under both manual and partially-to-fully automated control.

Intelligent transportation systems:

A system or service designed to make the movement of people or goods more efficient, safer, more economical, and less polluting. Such systems work by applying advanced and emerging technologies in information processing, communications, and electronics to surface transportation needs. People can use these systems or experience their influence at home, at work, driving in his/her automobile, waiting at a bus stop, crossing a street, riding on a bus, or looking for a parking space. Examples of ITS technologies with transit applicability either already deployed in particular settings or at least under investigation, include advanced vehicle identification systems, electronic fare payment systems, interactive trip planning systems (kiosk, personal computer), transit signal priority systems, safety and security systems, intelligent vehicle systems (e.g., collision warning systems (frontal, side, and rear), precision docking, and lane-keeping assistance systems) and operations management systems (e.g., computer-aided dispatch system, automatic vehicle location systems, automated scheduling and dispatch software, automatic passenger counter systems, and vehicle component monitoring systems).

Multimodal:

Involves more than one mode of transport for passengers.

Quality of service:

The overall measured or perceived performance of transit service from the passenger’s point of view.

Stakeholders:

A person, group, or organization that has direct or indirect stake in an organization or enterprise because it can affect or be affected by that organization’s or enterprise’s actions, objectives, and policies. Key stakeholders in the implementation of a bus rapid transit system include public transit agencies and municipal or state departments of transportation.

Technology push/market pull:

A term customarily used in a company’s business strategy for a new product or innovation that implies that a new invention is pushed through research and development (R&D), production, and sales functions onto the market without proper consideration of whether or not it satisfies a user need. On the contrary, an innovation based upon market pull has been developed by the R&D function in response to an identified market need.

Transit choice riders:

Riders who choose to use transit for their trip making, particularly during peak travel time periods for work-related trips, even though they have other means of travel, especially a motor vehicle, available to them. Such riders may choose transit over other modes for a variety of reasons, including saving money, avoiding driving in congested traffic, being able to use travel time productively for other activities, and helping the environment.

Transit-oriented development (TOD):

A mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport and often integrates features to encourage transit ridership.

Bibliography

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) Program, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94804, USA

    Mark A. Miller

  2. Institute of Transportation Studies, School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Mark A. Miller

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  1. Mark A. Miller
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Correspondence to Mark A. Miller .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. RAMTECH LIMITED, Larkspur, CA, USA

    Robert A. Meyers

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Miller, M.A. (2012). Bus Rapid Transit , Institutional Issues Related to Implementation. In: Meyers, R.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3_495

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