BRT Rising in the Sights of International Transit Community
IVsource.net
9 October 2000

A brief look at the role of Bus Rapid Transit in the worldwide transit scene, based on a recent international workshop in Washington.

The workshop took advantage of the presence in Washington, DC of executive-level transit leaders from around the world, in town for the International Transportation Symposium being held the same week.  FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez hosted the meeting, which included talks by Kenoichi Aoyama (Deputy Director, Japanese National Police Agency), Richard White (General Manager, WMATA), Bill Millar (President, APTA), and Petra Mollet (Chief of Staff, International Public Transport Union).

Discussions centered on Intelligent Transportation Systems, improving transit delivery, mobility access for the disabled, and future trends in transit.

Coming Soon: Rapid Transit Growth

Judging from the presentations and comments from the audience, it appears that transit is poised to grow dramatically worldwide in the coming decade, powered by both the urbanization of developing countries and the greater flexibility offered to consumers in developed countries through the use of smart fare cards.

Bill Millar noted that US transit funding in the FY2001 Appropriations Bill is in the range of $6B, which represents a new record level of investment.  Transit usage is growing steadily in at least some regions, such as Washington, which has experienced 11% growth in bus ridership in FY2000 alone -- the system now delivers an average of 475,000 trips every weekday.

... But Will BRT be Included?

The key point of concern for the IV community is what role Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems will play in this coming expansion.  If comments at this workshop are any indication, BRT has in fact "come of age" as a transit alternative, and is widely recognized to require, typically, less than half the capital costs of a rail system.

Not every BRT system will include IV components -- in fact, easily less than half are likely to include electronic guidance for precise docking and narrow lane operation.  However, if BRT systems comprise even a small percentage of new builds envisioned as part of the overall transit expansion, this will result in a non-trivial set of IV systems worldwide.

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... on the workshop, contact Rita Daguillard, FTA's Director of International Programs, at rita.daguillard@fta.dot.gov.

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