A Study of Beirut Rapid Transit System Using Probabilistic Approach

A bus rapid transit (BRT) system began operation in Jakarta City, Indonesia, in January 2004 and led to a modal shift from private to public modes of transport. This modal shift from car and motorcycle to BRT reduced the emission intensity of primary pollutants, such as NOx and CO. We applied a combined structural equation model and an artificial neural network to evaluate the impact of the BRT system on the concentration of secondary pollutants in the roadside areas in the BRT corridors. An empirical analysis was carried out using data collected at five continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations located near to the BRT TransJakarta corridors in 2005. The establishment of our structural equation model gives a better understanding of the cause–effect relationship among the factors influencing roadside ambient air pollution, and was useful in simplifying the complexity of our artificial neural network model for predicting the modal shift’s impact on the PM10 values and concentration of O3. The introduction of the BRT system, and the modal shift it produced, had a greater influence on rapidly decaying pollutants, such as PM10, than on O3 because of the exposure to near-source microenvironments, such as the roadside of the TransJakarta corridors.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems are cost-effective and efficient transport systems in high-density urban centers. Given the high level of traffic congestion and air pollution in Vietnam, the introduction of BRT is significant due to the ever-growing number of motor vehicles in the country. In this study, we look at the economic viability of BRT in the city of Can Tho. The study adds to the literature on a developing country’s content by calculating the costs and benefits of BRT. A feature of the study is the calculation of the benefits by estimating motorists’ willingness to pay for the shift from motor vehicles to BRT. The results show that the benefits of reducing accident risk, reducing pollution emissions, and avoiding other adverse effects are adequate to offset the costs. Due to its adaptability, BRT is an excellent candidate for consideration in a wide variety of other conventional vehicles. When the local government lacks the financial resources necessary to execute BRT, the choice to invest in BRT may be anchored on the public’s willingness to pay. Therefore, if government implementation seems unfeasible, private partners may engage in its development. This research contributes to the growing literature on implementing BRT projects and the WTP approach by examining the project’s benefits and costs and addressing potential needs.

Sustainable public transport systems may be achieved by adopting electric bus locomotion. The problem being addressed by this research is the development and case application of a computation methodology of the social benefit cost ratio of an electric bus transport project in India and identification of whether it can significantly favour the situation of environment friendly transport. The underlying theory behind this approach is if the environmental and social dimensions of an infrastructure project are considered in addition to the financial dimensions for the purpose of project appraisal, a holistic evaluation can be achieved and such an evaluation can give an edge to the approval of environmentally friendly projects. The evaluation has been performed using the present worth analysis of various types of benefits and costs associated with the implementation of the electric bus rapid transit system in a city. The variables considered in the researched methodology are benefits which are revenue, savings in vehicle operating costs (VOC), environmental benefits, savings in travel time, reduction in accidents and non-consumption of fossil fuel, and costs which are infrastructure investment costs, cost of the bus fleet, maintenance cost, replacement costs, cost of system operation and maintenance and additional electric power generation. The outcome as indicated by the value of the social benefit-cost ratio (SBCR) illustrates that such projects can be positively justified from point of view of the benefits gained by the society as well as fruitful returns and value addition of infrastructure investment in the long run. The research contributes by validating that social benefit-cost analysis (SBCA) can be used for the evaluation of sustainable transport system appraisals in order to make their realisation more favourable.

Purpose: This study aims to analyse the patronage levels of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Lagos State, Nigeria, before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: Primary data were collected through an online survey distributed via Google Forms, gathering socio-economic and travel information from respondents. Regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing trip frequency on the BRT system during each phase of the pandemic. Results: The findings revealed significant changes in transport costs and trip frequencies across the three periods. Before the pandemic, 55.64% of respondents spent between N501 and N1000 weekly on transport, while 56.41% spent N1501 and more weekly after the pandemic. The factors influencing trip frequency were seat availability, travel stability, driver attitude, ease of boarding and alighting, safety, travel time, and reliability. Theoretical Contribution: This research contributes to understanding the nuanced effects of COVID-19 on public transportation, particularly within the context of BRT systems in Lagos State. Practical Implications: The study suggests that strategic attention should be given to the lessons learned from COVID-19 to develop appropriate strategies for future unforeseen circumstances.

On February 1, 2004, a 12.9-km (8-mi) bus rapid transit (BRT) line began revenue operation in Jakarta, Indonesia. The BRT line has incorporated most of the characteristics of BRT systems. The line was implemented in only 9 months at a cost of less than US$1 million/km ($1.6 million/mi). Two additional lines are scheduled to begin operation in 2005 and triple the size of the BRT. While design shortcomings for the road surface and terminals have impaired performance of the system, public reaction has been positive. Travel time over the whole corridor has been reduced by 59 min at peak hour. Average ridership is about 49,000/day at a flat fare of 30 cents. Furthermore, 20% of BRT riders have switched from private motorized modes, and private bus operators have been supportive of expanding Jakarta's BRT. Immediate improvements are needed in the areas of fiscal handling of revenues and reconfiguring of other bus routes. The TransJakarta BRT is reducing transport emissions for Jakarta and providing an alternati...

Selecting corridors for implementing bus rapid transit (BRT) projects in most communities is relatively straightforward; however, in cities such as New York, this is far more complicated because of the large numbers of corridors with many characteristics compatible with BRT provision. This paper describes the framework developed to evaluate and screen corridors in New York City for five demonstration BRT projects. A mechanism was identified to reduce the number of candidate corridors from 80 to 36 at an early stage. An evaluation framework building on the previous work and detailed field observations further refined the list from 36 corridors to 15. The evaluation included two key considerations: the potential benefits of BRT implementation in a given corridor and the potential ease of implementation of BRT in that corridor. The study team defined a series of measures to reflect these key considerations (four measures for each). The relative ranking of the 36 corridors showed how each corridor performed with respect to these measures. The results of the evaluation yielded the 15 corridors that moved to the conceptual development phase of the study. This paper describes the steps taken in reducing the universe of candidate corridors for BRT implementation and provides a sequential, transparent, and cost-effective approach to the issue of corridor identification that can be applied in any urban area.

Transport forms the heartbeat of the economy, not only in South Africa but also globally. Over time the South African government has invested a great deal of resources in transport projects such as taxi recapitalization rail technology as well as bus rapid transit (BRT). The BRT project has been a point of discussion in terms of the value which it can bring to key stakeholders, particularly to commuters and the country’s economy at large. BRT is basically an urban public bus transport strategy which seeks to alleviate congestion, mostly in the Metropolitan areas. In this paper the significance of the BRT strategy is highlighted as this may guide future public transport project investment. As a strategic move, the decision for government to roll out BRT is evaluated in terms of blue ocean strategy (BOS) principles and red ocean strategy (ROS) elements. BOS strategy suggests that an organization operates in its own created market space where competition is rendered irrelevant, whereas with ROS organization relies on having a competitive edge in order to outsmart its rivals. The preliminary findings suggest that there are some elements of both BOS principles and ROS that are relevant to BRT projects. BRT is seen as a useful public transport investment particularly for countries with developing economies elements such as South Africa. However, stakeholder buy-in and cooperation should be promoted to preserve the strategic and social gains brought about by BRT and other integrated public transport projects

The paper outlines the history and bus rapid transit (BRT) system development in Taipei City. The system performance is illustrated based on the figures derived from official reports, and ridership is forecast for a new light industrial area in the Neihu district of the city if the BRT strategy can be implemented there. The paper also proposes a set of feasible strategies for creating an ameliorated public transportation environment which will ensure a sustainable transportation development in Taipei City.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is characterized by higher speed, higher comfort level, and larger capacity than conventional bus service. Although many cities worldwide have adopted BRT in recent years, there is an absence of scientific and quantitative approach for BRT network planning. The problem of BRT planning in an existing transportation network is very complex with constraints of road geometrics, regulations, right of way, travel demand, vehicle operations, and so on. This paper focuses on developing an optimization model for BRT network planning, where an integer programing model is established to identify station locations and route layout with the objective of maximizing the number of trips served by the network, subjected to constraints including distance between stations, cost of construction, road geometrics, etc. The detour factor of the BRT route, which is an important indicator but widely ignored in previous studies, is also taken as a constraint. A heuristic method is applied to generate optimal solutions to the integer programming model, followed by a case study using the transportation network and travel demand data in Luoyang, China. The numerical results show that the method is valid and can therefore be applied to improve BRT network planning and the sustainable transportation system development.

Urban congestion has been a big impediment to socio-economic development which has led to endless search for ways to curb it. In Dar es Salaam, the government opted for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to encourage public transport usage. The belief is that, with the presence of BRT, private vehicle users will change their travel behaviour towards public transport usage. However, the shift towards using public transport is considered unstable because transport planners believe soft transportation policy won’t produce long term effects. This sceptical belief led to the expansion of roads that motivate private vehicle usage due to the reduction of driving costs. The interplay of scepticism of transport planners and an inclination to switching to private vehicle usage affects the long term impact of implementing a BRT system. This study adopted for a descriptive design to explain the factors that influence public transport usage. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire along the BRT phase one network and were subjected to descriptive analysis and principal component analysis. Results depicted lower levels of using BRT buses as a primary commuting option. Results further indicated that, about using BRT buses, commuters stated that travel time reduction and reliability, service accessibility and assurance and trip safety and tangibles were key service quality factors. Thus, BRT faces a low adoption rate; hence private vehicle usage has increased along BRT corridors. To increase and ensure the sustainability of BRT, it is imperative that the quality of service be improved and road expansion to city centre be abated.

This communiqué provides a summary of the production- and consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions accounts for Saskatchewan, as well as their associated trade flows. It is part of a series of communiqués profiling the Canadian provinces and territories.1 In simplest terms, a production-based emissions account measures the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions produced in Saskatchewan. In contrast, a consumption-based emissions account measures the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions generated during the production process for final goods and services that are consumed in Saskatchewan through household purchases, investment by firms and government spending. Trade flows refer to the movement of emissions that are produced in Saskatchewan but which support consumption in a different province, territory or country (and vice versa). For example, emissions associated with the production of Saskatchewan crops that are exported to Alberta for processing and sale in an Alberta grocery store are recorded as a trade flow from Saskatchewan to Alberta. Moving in the opposite direction, emissions associated with the production of Alberta natural gas that is sold to a Saskatchewan utility and used to heat Saskatchewan homes are recorded as a trade flow from Alberta to Saskatchewan. For further details on these results in a national context, the methodology for generating them and their policy implications, please see the companion papers to this communiqué series: (1) Fellows and Dobson (2017); and (2) Dobson and Fellows (2017). Additionally, the consumption emissions and trade flow data for each of the provinces and territories are available at: http://www.policyschool.ca/embodied-emissions-inputs-outputs-datatables-2004-2011/.

In many Chinese cities, bus rapid transit (BRT) has been promoted as the answer to urban transport needs and, as such, would supplant cycling as a significant mode of transportation. Expectations of the effects of new BRT systems indicate that cycling trips will be absorbed into these new public transit systems. These assumptions about future travel behavior are investigated in the context of Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, China. A large sample origin–destination survey of traditional and electric bicycles was completed to serve as the basis for comparison with current bus trips and projected travel by BRT. Quantitative methods were used to analyze trip characteristics across modes and the potential travel benefits of BRT. Results from an extensive, qualitative survey of cyclists complement these data, and the survey considered the perceptions of cycling and key reasons for mode choice. Evidence from a comparison of the modal characteristics of traditional cycles, electric bicycles, bus services, and BRT indicates that cycling provides a highly attractive, already existing alternative to public transport. This challenges the assumptions of a substantial modal shift after the implementation of BRT systems and begs for an alternative approach to urban transport system design—one that integrates China's cycling culture. Recommendations on the basis of these findings explore the possibilities for the systematic integration of cycling and BRT.

Journey time surveys were carried out during spring 2013 as part of an analysis of dwell-time on the Stillorgan Quality Bus Corridor (QBC), a key arterial bus corridor accessing Dublin city centre from its suburbs. The focus of the study was to understand the pattern of dwell-time on the corridor and to identify potential areas, if any, where service levels may be enhanced. The study should provide a beneficial and detailed observation of in-journey bus operations. This in turn can help to understand the impact of ticketing, boarding/alighting and other aspects of journey dwell within a high-level of service bus corridor. The Stillorgan QBC, between Foxrock Church and Leeson Street Bridge, comprises of 28 bus stops, 32 signalised junctions and measures approximately 9km. There are 60 locations, exclusive of running-time delays, where there is the potential for dwell to occur. 21 inbound journey time surveys were carried out in the morning commuter peak period over 7 days between the hours of 07:00 and 10:00, with 3 surveys carried out every day, one in each hour. Approximately 1,200 passenger boardings and 900 alightings were recorded. Individual fare transaction times were also surveyed. Several key findings emerged from the study. Dwell at junctions accounts for 13% of total journey time, with boarding and alighting accounting for 23%. 59% of passengers surveyed alight at four individual stops, and 24% of those surveyed board at two individual stops. Journey times are very variable, with a difference of 23 minutes between shortest and longest journeys (a variance of 110%). This has improved considerably since the last QBC Monitoring Report in 2010 when variances of 259% were recorded. Pre-paid tickets are the most popular and fastest method of payment with 55% of those surveyed using this method. Pre-paid ticket users take on average 7 seconds to board. There is no time-saving for LEAP Card (e-purse) users, who take on average 10 seconds to board (being the same for cash payers). The findings present evidence to support the implementation of off-board ticket purchase and/or the removal of both cash and e-purse ticket transactions from services. Service planning improvements, such as the consolidation of stops, multi-door entry/exit systems and measures to improve performance at junctions, are also suggested.

Medan City as one of the big cities in North Sumatra has developed public transportation, namely the Trans Metro Deli Bus which began operating in November 2020 with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) transportation system as an effort to reduce congestion and reduce the use of private vehicles in Medan City. Currently, there are 5 corridor services that have been provided with the number of Trans Metro Deli buses having 72 buses with 224 bus stops provided. For the K5M Tembung – Merdeka Square route, there are 10 bus fleets and 28 bus stops. This study aims to analyze the performance of the Trans Metro Deli Bus service on the K5M route by observing and collecting data in the field such as load factor, headway, stop time, and travel time, and then compared with indicators used. Medan City as one of the big cities in North Sumatra has developed public transportation, namely the Trans Metro Deli Bus which began operating in November 2020 with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) transportation system as an effort to reduce congestion and reduce the use of private vehicles in Medan City. Currently, there are 5 corridor services that have been provided with the number of Trans Metro Deli buses having 72 buses with 224 bus stops provided. For the K5M Tembung – Merdeka Square route, there are 10 bus fleets and 28 bus stops. This study aims to analyze the performance of the Trans Metro Deli Bus service on the K5M route by observing and collecting data in the field such as load factor, headway, stop time, and travel time, and then compared with indicators used.

Implementing bus rapid transit (BRT) raises many challenging issues of technical, operational, and institutional nature. The present study sets the groundwork for a methodology that can be used to selectively target corridor for BRT modeling in India. Traffic quality parameters, such as traffic flow, speed, travel time, delay time, stop time, and fuel consumption, were modeled to investigate the impact of BRT as compared to present day mixed traffic on traffic and commuter mobility. A microsimulation traffic model was developed for BRT and mixed traffic systems. A developed microscopic model was validated with field measured data using statistical methods and was found good against measured data. A dedicated lane-based public transport system shows the promising results and has to play a significant role in developing sustainable transport systems. These findings can be used to form the basis for developing public transport corridor in present Indian traffic conditions.