A Delhi Busways station. Photo by Madhav Pai.

By Dario Hidalgo and Madhav Pai. Originally published on IndiaTogether.com
Compared to other bus corridors world-wide, the Delhi effort is a very limited one. The current design is only a busway, and the government must push forward to build a full-fledged Bus Rapid Transit system, say Dario Hidalgo and Madhav Pai.

Policies that give priority to public transport, people-powered vehicles and pedestrians are always very positive. The Delhi Busway pilot project - which is generally referred to as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - does all of the above, and hence it should be recognised as a progressive undertaking.

Conceptually, it has a profound sense of equity, as most of the road users in Delhi are walking, biking or riding public transportation vehicles, while the minority - who are rich but influential - are in private motor vehicles. According to data compiled for the Urban Age project, Delhi has less than 5 per cent of its population moving around in cars, 15 per cent in motorbikes and other vehicles, 39 per cent walking and biking and 42 per cent in buses. These statistics alone make a case that the constrained space of urban roads should be allocated in a way that benefits the majority of users.

Beyond equity considerations, space allocation to the most efficient modes of transport also has important sustainability impacts. The resulting financial burden to society as a whole is much lower, and expensive energy sources are used less. Also, emissions into the atmosphere of carbon dioxide as well as toxic substances are lowered, with benefits on the public health front, as well as in the fight against global warming. And overall, less time is consumed in transportation.

These real benefits possibly explain why, in spite of the problematic launch of the busway, and the extremely negative media coverage of it immediately thereafter, the majority of the public still favours the project. Independent commuter surveys conducted by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and NDTV found that bus commuters overwhelmingly support the Delhi Busway. For some, the result may be surprising given the operational glitches and the media blitz declaring the bus corridor a disaster. While there are several things about the pilot project that should be improved, it would be both a strategic and political mistake to scrap it. The outpouring of public support for the new bus corridor by the majority of its users should be heeded. Lessons from the various difficulties encountered so far, and also from the experience of other similar projects elsewhere in the world should be considered and implemented.

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I recently traveled to Santiago, Chile for the World Bank to assess the current state of “Transantiago” - the city’s ambitious and highly controversial transport reform project launched in February 2007. I was pleasantly surprised to find substantial improvements in the system, which was made infamous by its highly-publicized growing pains (for more info, check out an article that I contributed to in The Economist that covers the political fallout from the project).

The photo essay above contains photos of Transantiago I took on my trip. I hope it will provide readers with a closer look at the improving transport situation in the Chilean capital. To see a brief caption for each image, simply click on the photo.

For more info:
- Read more about my World Bank-sponsored assessment mission.
- Watch a short video I took of a Transantiago bus in action.

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An independent commuter survey conducted by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment found that commuters overwhelmingly support the new BRT system in Delhi. For some, the result may be surprising after the initial operational glitches and media blitz declaring the new bus corridor a disaster. While there are several things that should be improved with the new system, as with any project, the outpouring of support for the new bus corridor suggests that it would be both a strategic and political mistake to scrap the project.

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Tathagata Chatterji, an architect and urban planner from Delhi, had a few interesting things to say today about Bus Rapid Transit in India. A few exerts follow:

The context:

The experimental Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Delhi, which reserves a portion of the road space to facilitate fast movement of high capacity buses and prioritises public transport over private, has been facing a barrage of vitriolic media criticism ever since its inception.

Stepping back for a little perspective:

But before we apply permanent brakes — under political and media pressure — on a system which has succeeded in several big cities across the world, we need to pause, reflect and learn the appropriate lessons.

It doesn’t make sense to prioritize street space for cars:

Cars occupy 75 per cent of road space but are used by less than 15 per cent of the populace even in the most affluent Indian cities. In contrast, buses occupy a mere 8 per cent of the road area but are used by almost 20 to 60 per cent of the people. Pedestrians and cyclists constitute an overwhelming 40 to 75 per cent of commuters but are completely marginalised in our planning system as a major part of budget allocations is consumed for road widening or flyover building, which primarily benefit cars and two wheelers.

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This last week Delhi began a trial run for its first bus rapid transit corridor, a 5.8 kilometer stretch in the southern part of the city. To put it mildly, the start has been anything but stellar: a Google News search for “brt delhi” comes up with over 70 news articles from the last week, almost all of them sensationally pessimistic. Here are a few of the headlines: BRT nightmare for school kids on way home, Kids bear the brunt of BRT mess, Delhi bus corridor: Fiasco continues, BRT corridor chaos worse than ever.

From what I’ve heard from our experts in Mumbai, the project has had several hiccups like lack of signage, signal systems not working properly, bus breakdowns, and motorcycles and bicycles entering the bus lanes. But overall these are problems that can be fixed with time and bus operations can be improved.

What seems to be a bigger problem than the hitches and hiccups of the system itself is the destructive roll that the media has played, unfairly skewing the coverage of the trial run to make the problem seem worse than it actually is.

In the video below, for example, you can see footage of cars, rickshaws and motorbikes snared in traffic alongside the bus lane. What you can also see, however, is that in every shot with a passing bus, the bus is jammed packed with people. It’s a clear indication that the system is popular among people who are using it.

Headlines Today on Delhi BRT from EMBARQ Network on Vimeo.

When you watch the news footage though, you will notice that the journalist never interviews a single bus passenger to see what their satisfaction is with the system. All they show is disgruntled car owners who fume about what the bus rapid transit corridor has done to car traffic. Read the rest of this entry »

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Istanbul has faced chronic traffic congestion for decades. Photo by adstream on flickr.

Istanbul is creating 6 new bus rapid transit lines according to The New Anatolian, an English language Turkish newspaper.

The director of Istanbul Electric Tram and Funicular Company (IETT), Mehmet Ozdemir, announced that the city will build 6 bus rapid transit (BRT) lines (including one already underway) and that construction should be finished by the end of 2008.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a cost-effective rapid transit solution that acts like an above ground subway but with extra long articulated “accordion” buses instead of rail cars and physically separated lanes so that the buses don’t have to compete with traffic. Passengers pay at the station before they get on and the buses come frequently, just like in a subway.

Electronic ticketing system in a Mexico City BRT station

But unlike a subway, BRT is typically 1/10th of the cost, so cities can do much more with the money they have available and ideally make a bigger impact on congestion and pollution while managing the forces of motorization and urbanization. Take a look at some videos on BRT here and here.

Done well, these 6 new lines could put a huge dent in the congestion that plagues Istanbul’s streets.

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Via Smart Growth Around America, this video of a hard-hitting, hardhat-wearing journalist who goes underground to explore Beijing’s new subway line and later comes out again to examine the city’s new bus rapid transit line, provides a good sense of what’s going on in Beijing with respect to mass transit. If you don’t have time to watch the whole video, here are a few of its more informative facts:

• 100,000 people use Beijing’s BRT everyday.
• Beijing has 2 BRT lines under construction, and 3 lines in the planning process.
• By 2020 Beijing plans to have the world’s largest subway system

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