TRANSPORTATION
Pioneering The Bus Rapid Transit
A small Brazilian city, Curitiba, where more than 70% of people happily travel by bus.
Factors Leading to the Adoption of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Until 1940, Curitiba was a sleepy Brazilian city in the state of Paraná marked with a shortage of electricity, paved streets, and sewer lines. Changes in microeconomic factors led to migration towards the city and Curitiba quickly started growing, so much so that more than half of its population now is made up of immigrants from all over Brazil. Today, Curitiba is Brazil’s eighth-largest city with a population of almost 2 million.
So far, it's a pretty common story. But there is something different in the weeds.
In order to cater to the growing population, the officials decided that the city had to be developed before its management got out of control. At first, a system of subways and more roads for automobiles were proposed but their implementation did not see much success. However, in the 1970s a new mayor, Jamie Lerner, who was also an architect, wanted something more cost-effective yet sustainable and started thinking about innovative ways to develop the city.
He designed a bus system that came to be known as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. And this system would be built at a fraction of the cost and time of the earlier proposed subways and light rail systems.
According to the UN, it is estimated that by 2050, urban migration would add 2.5 billion people to the cities around the world. Their sustainable development, hence, has to be prioritised.
Planning and Executing the First BRT Project
Lerner wanted to spur the growth along designated corridors that will be well connected to the bus system instead of unmanaged growth throughout the city. Special focus was placed on connecting the lower-income regions outside the city center. In an uncommon display of wisdom, Lerner also knew that he needed to act fast before bureaucracy slowed things down for him.
In a typical bus system, buses face the same congestion as the other traffic. But in a rapid transit system, buses have dedicated central lanes and the other traffic moves on the outer edges of the road.
In Curitiba, the express BRT lanes were set up to go in and out of the city center quickly and commercial hubs like malls, post offices, and small commercial facilities were encouraged to open in and around the exchange terminals (marked "X" in the image below). The city center was made largely a pedestrian zone.
The exchange terminals are further connected to bus lines feeding local neighborhood traffic. A single bus ticket takes care of all the transfers and a single fare of roughly $1.25 (2012 equivalent) ensures that people coming from far out do not have to shell out a significant amount every day. In fact, this single fare system was adopted only after a few failures in trying to find an ideal payment system.
Other than the bus routes, bus stations were also carefully designed to allow for the quick movement of people. Commuters would purchase the ticket at the station and quickly get into a bus from a pedestal set at a height equal to the bus. This reduces the loading and unloading time and allows buses to have quick stops.
Results Of The BRT Project, Curitiba
Curitiba’s BRT system was successful not just in giving its residents an efficient and safe way to travel, but in also helping the city develop in a planned manner. The government effectively used transportation to guide the growth of the city instead of merely responding to it.
- Compared to $90 million/km for a subway, the bus system was built at $200,000/km.
- 70–80% of Curitiba commuters use the BRT every day, resulting in 25% lower per capita emissions than that of an average Brazilian. Not to forget the congestion-free streets and lower air pollution.
- People from outside the city center took 20–25 mins less to reach there with these buses.
- The single fare strategy has worked and the shorter routes subsidize the longer ones. This makes the buses affordable for lower-income people as well as for people living outside the city.
- Easier access to work and movement made Curitiba’s per capita income 60% higher than an average Brazilian (2004 estimate).
An obvious next step for Curitiba will be to electrify its buses with renewables, as right now it is mostly diesel-powered.
As cities become larger with more and more urban migration, Curitiba is an example of effective planning and execution. It also dispels the concern that the economy and sustainability can not go hand in hand. The model has been successfully introduced in Bogota, Colombia followed by many other cities of the world.
