US BRT lagging behind China, Columbia

Comprehensive systems deployed

Jay Blazek Crossley, Jul 06, 11.

Nationwide, implementation of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems is lagging compared to China, Columbia, and others, according to a new report from the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (pdf).

“The cities that have delivered this vision most successfully while cutting the most carbon are not in the United States or even Europe. They are in South Africa, Colombia, India, and China,” according to the New York Times:

David Goldberg, communications director for Transportation for America, said one good fit for BRT would be along the highways that spike out from cities. These would help bring people to the struggling strip malls that they would normally ignore in a time of pricey gas.

The road’s already there, he said, BRT could be the catalyst to help these far-flung neighborhoods transform into neighborhoods less dependent on driving.

Nevertheless, Goldberg said BRT is “not a panacea by any means.” He thinks the very flexibility of buses—their ability to drive anywhere—may be a weakness.

When a city puts rail lines down, he said, businessmen take note. “The fixed guideways stay there for a long, long time, and so investors know that it’s going to be there,” Goldberg said.

Soon, they are setting up businesses along the rail lines. Property values rise along the tracks, and the buildings get taller. Instead of just shuttling people from their homes, Goldberg argued, trains shape neighborhoods.

Bus lines can change, and so Goldberg’s not so sure they can do the same: “It’s the perception of permanence that’s kind of the unknown factor with BRT.”