Bus systems provide a versatile form of public transportation with the flexibility to serve a variety of access needs and unlimited range of locations throughout a metropolitan area. Buses also travel on urban roadways, so infrastructure investments can be substantially lower than the capital costs required for rail systems. As a result, bus service can be implemented cost-effectively on many routes. Yet, despite the inherent advantages of a bus service, conventional urban buses inching their way through congested streets don’t win much political support. The essence of a Bus Rapid Transit is to improve bus operating speed and reliability on arterial streets by reducing or eliminating the various types of delay.
The bus system of Curitiba, Brazil, exemplifies a model Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and plays a large part in making this a livable city. The buses run frequently — some as often as every 90 seconds — and reliably, and the stations are convenient, well-designed, comfortable, and attractive. Consequently, Curitiba has one of the most frequently used, yet low-cost, transit systems in the world. It offers many of the features of a subway system — vehicle movements unimpeded by traffic lights and congestion, fare collection prior to boarding, quick passenger loading and unloading — but it is above ground and visible. Around 70 percent of Curitiba’s commuters use BRT to travel to work, resulting in congestion-free streets and pollution free air for the 2.2 million inhabitants of greater Curitiba.
Internet: <www.urbanhabitat.org> (adapted).
