Implementing BRT: Making the Busway Work for You

This article looks at bus rapid transit (BRT), examining some of the common advantages that BRT has over rail and discusses common challenges to BRT implementation and strategies to overcome them. BRT is extremely flexible because it does not require a large investment in infrastructure, nor does it require extensive land acquisition. As a result, it can be implemented in stages, allowing its ridership to develop over time. Still, some investment is needed, and with the right branding and designs for BRT stops, it can have much of the appeal of a rail line at a fraction of the expense. A BRT system can operate on exclusive transitways, HOV lanes, expressways, or ordinary streets. It uses Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies, takes advantage of traffic signal technologies, uses innovative fare collection and boarding systems, and often ties in with land use policies such as transit-oriented development. Only 35 Metropolitan Statistical Areas have populations greater than 1.5 million people, the typical threshold for supporting surface rail, and even in many of those, building rail may be prohibitively costly. Experiences of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority are described. A major challenge is avoiding the politicization of route choice and design and avoiding linking the BRT system to one proprietary technology.