BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) 快速公交

[ynk23]

beautiful devolopment in chinese cities, indian politicians should learn from chinese politicians. in pune (india;s 5th richest city) u can see indian politicians ability?

[Myouzke]

a little bit late

Chinese Cities Find Bus-Only Lanes an Alternative to Cars and Subways

By SAQIB RAHIM of ClimateWire
Published: July 16, 2010

As the world hurtles toward 2 billion cars, an increasingly important issue for the climate will be this: How will China's citizens get to work?

With their rising incomes and access to freshly paved roads, many will be tempted to emulate Americans and buy cars. Some will ride the gleaming rail networks funded by Beijing. But in the past two years, China has also become the world's fastest-growing market for high-speed city buses.

In February, the southern city of Guangzhou rolled out China's latest effort, a 14-mile stretch of a main road striped with bus-only lanes down the middle. The sleek buses race between raised stations that resemble train stops. Ridership has already shattered the figures of other bus systems in Asia. Now the system beats out the ridership of every metro line in mainland China except Beijing's.

The approach is called bus rapid transit, or BRT, and it has already proven itself in some Latin American megacities, such as Bogotá and Mexico City.

Particularly in the developing world, cities have turned to BRT to address crippling traffic. It's a bargain compared to subways and other metro trains, whose infrastructure costs make them four to 10 times more expensive. The simplicity of building BRT means a system can be up and running in less than five years, compared to train systems that can take a decade or more.

About a dozen Chinese cities have working BRT systems today, and dozens more are in the works.

The movement is largely driven by demographic reality: According to McKinsey Global Institute, Chinese cities will add 350 million people -- roughly the U.S. population -- by 2030.

Most will have migrated to cities from the countryside, searching for their share of China's dynamic growth. All will need power, water and a way to get to work.

Can a love affair with cars be cooled?

Beijing and local governments have encouraged cars by subsidizing fuel and building roads; tales abound of middle-class Chinese falling in love with the SUV. But the authorities have also plunged money into transit.

"The Chinese are understanding very well the challenge ahead. The challenge ahead is that with the growth of personal income and activity, there's a greater need of mobility," said Dario Hidalgo, senior transport engineer for EMBARQ, a group researching international transport at the World Resources Institute.

"And they are not adopting necessarily the same model that the U.S. has adopted in trying to solve all their mobility needs through the construction of highways and increasing the capacity of their road network," he said.

Guangzhou is a thoroughbred in the Chinese economy; in 2007, its gross domestic product grew 16 percent. Jennifer Turner, who directs the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said Guangzhou makes about 60 percent of the world's toys and about a fifth of all cell phones.

"They're responsible for an insanely large hunk of China's GDP. It's really the industrial powerhouse of China," she said.

That economic muscle had already made Zhongshan Avenue, a key vein running through the city center, one of the busiest bus corridors in the world.

Yet traffic was glacial. Giving buses priority lanes and signals made no difference in the zig-zagging free-for-all between cars, buses and unflinching pedestrians.

Getting rid of glacial traffic flows

A U.S.-headquartered nongovernmental organization, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, approached Guangzhou's then-mayor with a far-out proposal: Dig up the middle of Zhongshan Avenue. Set up sparkling bus terminals and give the buses their own lanes. Relegate cars to the edges.

On top of that, ITDP recommended timing the traffic lights, setting up computers to take rider fares automatically and feed them constant bus information, and sizing the stations according to where they were.

To further convince the mayor, Zhang Guangming, ITDP sent him and top city officials to South America, home of the best BRTs in the world. In São Paulo, Brazil, Zhang was captivated by the buses freewheeling in their dedicated lanes. He asked Guangzhou officials and ITDP to investigate whether it could work there, and by late 2004, plans were being laid.

The idea was polished, but the execution was rocky.

BRT wasn't new in China, but the Guangzhou project was of an entirely new scale, said Karl Fjellstrom, ITDP's lead on the project.

"You can imagine in some of the most congested locations in the city, we were taking 24 meters out of the middle of the road," he said. "So, very controversial during the construction. It took a lot of political courage by the mayor."

Drivers complained that they had to use side streets. Bus riders stood in the baking heat and pounding rain because the bus shelters had been removed. The news media piled on: They said the project was a boondoggle, sure to fail within a few years.

Mayor Zhang wasn't an elected official, so he didn't have to face voters at the ballot box. He preserved the least popular aspects of the system, such as the 200-meter-long bus stations that allow multiple pickup points.

Since the system opened in February, it has set several world records for BRT. It handles 800,000 trips a day, more than any of Guangzhou's train lines.

Meanwhile, Zhang has been promoted to Communist Party secretary for Guangzhou.

Comprehensive statistics on the system won't be available till Fall, but ITDP said that according to an accounting method being developed by the U.N. Environment Programme, Guangzhou's BRT reduces about 20,000 tons of CO2 a year -- the equivalent of the emissions from about 4,000 cars in the United States.

Most of that comes from the fact that the buses can move faster without cars in the way; the BRT can also use longer buses, which means fewer total vehicles are needed.

Eliminating 200,000 tons of carbon

Walter Hook, ITDP's executive director, thinks the BRT also loosens traffic in other parts of town. Cars can move more quickly without buses crowding the lanes; pedestrians and bicyclists can also breathe a bit easier. If one were to include these indirect impacts -- not a trivial point, Hook said -- the Guangzhou BRT may save as much as 200,000 tons of CO2 a year.

Worldwide, BRT tends to draw converts: Between 10 and 15 percent of riders are thought to be riding in lieu of driving their cars.

Observers agree that cities aren't choosing BRT for its climate benefits and that beating congestion still rules the roost.

But as these cities gain wealth, handle more movement, and begin to choose their infrastructure, there's the hope that they won't lock themselves into an auto-centric system. Millions of future commuters could have a much smaller carbon footprint, without even knowing it.

Hidalgo of EMBARQ said the main effect of BRT is a "future effect of decreasing the need for people to move to cars and motorcyles." That's why, for many cities, merely maintaining the share of travel that's done by transit is considered a victory.

Om Prakash Agarwal, a senior urban transport specialist at the World Bank, said most cities looking to fight traffic are considering BRT first.

Nevertheless, he said, BRT doesn't suit the most crowded areas. If a city needs to move more than 20,000 people per hour in a given stretch, the World Bank will recommend a conventional metro train.

The bank still devotes the lion's share of its transport lending to highways, but Agarwal said "urban transport," which is mostly transit, is the fastest-growing area.

Carbon emissions aren't explicitly measured in these projects, he said, but they are a "co-benefit" that's considered alongside a project's ability to reduce traffic.

Copyright 2010 E&E Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/07...ern-10489.html

[darkhorses]

Originally Posted by ynk23

beautiful devolopment in chinese cities, indian politicians should learn from chinese politicians. in pune (india;s 5th richest city) u can see indian politicians ability?

yeah...they really messed up pune brt badly.Pune deserves better.

[big-dog]

Line 1 opened On Jan 18 2010, line2 opened in July 2010

Photos taken in Jan 2010 on Line 1 opening


















(www.chinabrt.org)

[big-dog]

22.5km, opened Feb 10 2010





































(www.chinabrt.org)

[BarbaricManchurian]

Wow, looks really similar to Jakarta (the urban environment and the BRT)

[NCT]

The station platforms are really long - guess it's part of the government's health programme for the people. Bus-stop marathons anyone?

OK seems different routes have their own dedicated sections of the platform.

[big-dog]

there are multiple BRT lines at each station and the new BRT bus is quite long.

[fragel]

Although I am not very fond of the idea of BRT, I have to admit it is an economic way to alleviate traffic burden.

BTW, here is an awesome website with tons of BRT pictures and info.
http://www.chinabrt.org/

Besides the cities mentioned and some foreign cities, it also covers Hangzhou, Dalian, Ji'nan and Kunming. It doesn't have info about Yancheng though.

[fragel]

The local government offered 50 days of free ride of the newly introduced BRT.







by wangzixiang
image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[big-dog]

Xiamen Chenggong Road BRT is a waste Who should be responsible for it?

原定快速公交线不开通 数千万元站点成摆设

http://www.sina.com.cn 2010年12月07日14:57 海峡导报
花费数千万元建设的BRT站点 花费数千万元建设的BRT站点



　　成功大道不开通BRT！两天前，副市长潘世建在接听市长专线时透露。政府的这一决策，获得了许多市民的支持，但是已经花费数千万元建设的BRT站点，如今积满灰尘，破的破，生锈的生锈，有的甚至成为流浪汉的家，造成严重的资源浪费。

　　BRT迟迟没动静

　　BRT成功大道线近期走厦门大桥出岛，经园博苑，远期从杏林大桥出岛。这是去年的规划方案。

　　据了解，BRT成功大道线计划设置19个站点：厦港枢纽站、文曾路站、谊爱路站、吕岭路站、仙岳路站、金湖路站、安兜站、机场大道站、联检站、航海学院站、园博苑站、杏林村站、厦门十中站、内茂立交站、杏北新城站、中亚城站、厦工机械站、灌口镇政府站、灌口枢纽站。

　　到了2009年底，岛内成功大道线已经具备了通车条件，似乎开通在即。然而，时至今日一年过去，BRT仍未见动静。

　　岛内位于成功大道的7个BRT站点都已建成，双向共14个。据知情人士介绍，14个站点造价要数千万元。

　　开通BRT隐患大

　　为什么成功大道不开通BRT？今年9月份，市交通委主任林金平在接听市长专线时指出，根据调研，成功大道沿线以桥隧居多，客流量不够多，如果要开通BRT，必须封闭两个车道作为BRT专用道，这样做“不划算”。

　　许多市民抱以同样的想法，认为成功大道开通BRT存在三大弊端：成功大道是快速路，车流快，开通BRT会与其他车辆相互干扰，不安全；成功大道的隧道比较长，不适合通行公交车；BRT站点离居民区较远，上下客不方便。

　　厦门市正在推进轨道交通计划以代替BRT。副市长潘世建上周六接听市长专线时表示，和轨道交通相比，BRT存在很多不足，厦门正在紧锣密鼓地进行轨道交通的前期规划设计等工作。

　　站点成流浪汉的家

　　闲置的站点怎么办？导报记者昨天下午沿途查看，这些BRT站点已经沾满灰尘，成了摆设，垃圾随处可见无人清理，设施生锈。

　　在成功大道的文曾路站，二楼的站点过道上，摆着扫把、箩筐等清洁工具，地上放着一双男士皮鞋，墙壁挂有一个女士黑背包，里面有热水壶、面包和耳机带等，俨然成了“清洁楼”。

　　成功大道的金湖路口站，则变成流浪者的家。站点的过道上，铺了一张床单，上面趴个人，盖着棉被，睡得正香。吕岭路口站，墙壁上挂着一条破旧的毛毯，显然也已经被流浪者占用。

　　据BRT场站公司介绍，成功大道BRT站点的产权还没移交到该公司，目前只是由其代管，派人清洁、巡视，至于今后怎么使用，他们并不清楚。

　　建议

　　BRT站点改成警务室

　　市政协常委、民盟厦门市委副主委朱奖怀认为，成功大道BRT站点的平面和空间两个部分，可以进行充分利用。

　　他建议，把BRT站点的部分空间隔出来，用作警务室。除了治安警务室之外，还可以改成路政、交警等部门的执勤点。

　　在文曾路站，导报记者发现该站点成为清洁工的休息室。朱奖怀认为，还可以隔出一点空间用作道班房，让道路维护、路面保洁的工人有一个休息、喝水的地方，他们太辛苦了。

　　至于BRT站点的墙面，朱奖怀提议，把适宜的墙面拿来作灯箱广告，一来可以美化环境，二来可以做一些商业和公益的广告。“也许多年以后，广告的收入已经抵平了站点的建设费用。”他说。

　　成功大道可开大站公交

　　交通问题专家林地球指出，虽然成功大道不通BRT，但是可以通大站公交，利用现有的公交站点，但不必全部利用，普通公交是300-500米一个站，大站公交停靠的距离可以更远一些。

　　他设想，大站公交可以从白城出发，经过成功大道以后走几个方向：走厦门大桥出岛，或者到高崎机场。“成功大道不堵车，开通大站公交以后，赶时间的人愿意乘坐，以后人会越来越多。”他说。

　　议见

　　数千万元买个教训

　　当初建得热火朝天马不停蹄，建完后打入冷宫成为摆设，成功大道BRT就像是一个玩笑。

　　朱奖怀认为，BRT站点是按照站点的设计来建，不管如何利用和改造，资源浪费已经成为一个不争的事实，按照建一座站点几百万元来计算，14个站点就要数千万元，这笔钱已经浪费。

　　成功大道BRT的最大玩笑在于，站点建成之日也是它的死亡之日，它没有启用过，今后启用的可能性也几乎为零。它死在了摇篮里。

　　不走BRT是政府部门的正确决策，也是花费了数千万元之后买来的教训，今后，重大项目的可行性研究，务必以此为鉴。

http://news.sina.com.cn/s/p/2010-12-...21597072.shtml

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2010-12-09/071921607773.shtml

[BarbaricManchurian]

BRT's only useful if the government doesn't have enough money for real rapid transit. The govs in China can definitely "find" some way to pay for a real subway system, so why waste money on a system that's gonna be obsolete in a few years anyway?

[hmmwv]

Originally Posted by BarbaricManchurian

BRT's only useful if the government doesn't have enough money for real rapid transit. The govs in China can definitely "find" some way to pay for a real subway system, so why waste money on a system that's gonna be obsolete in a few years anyway?

Maybe because it takes too long to build subway, the central government is reluctant to approve more metro lines, and there are too many routes that need to be covered. It's a massive undertaking to cover most part of the city with subway lines, like Shanghai. But a BRT will be the economical way to relieve traffic congestions in areas not served by subway. It's almost like saying why build conventional rail road when HSR is available.

[Restless]

Originally Posted by BarbaricManchurian

BRT's only useful if the government doesn't have enough money for real rapid transit. The govs in China can definitely "find" some way to pay for a real subway system, so why waste money on a system that's gonna be obsolete in a few years anyway?

Subways aren't suitable for routes with a low number of riders.

Looking at the case study below, the Guangzhou BRT line looks like it might be better than a subway because a single "trunkline" covers most of the city. Plus it is probably much cheaper and quicker to implement.

http://www.uncrd.or.jp/env/5th-regio...ngzhou_BRT.pdf

[Herzarsen]

Guangzhou, China, Wins Sustainable Transport Prize



The award-winning transport system in Guangzhou, in south China's Guangdong province, includes not only Bus Rapid Transit but wide, tree-lined bicycle lanes and a tie-in to the large city's rail network.

Photograph by Li Huang, Color China Photo/AP

By Josie Garthwaite
For National Geographic News
Published January 24, 2011

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.


A bike-sharing program, wide bicycle lanes lined with trees, and a huge bus system that ties in with the city rail network are all part of the recipe for a winning transportation system in Guangzhou, China, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).

ITDP, an international nonprofit that works with cities on projects to reduce greenhouse gases and improve the quality of urban life, named Guangzhou the winner of its 2011 Sustainable Transport Award at a ceremony Monday night in Washington, D.C.

Guangzhou clinched the prize, said Jessica Morris, senior program director for ITDP, largely because it surpassed expectations. The bus rapid transit system, which opened in February 2010, "carries an awful lot of people," as many as 800,000 a day, she said, making it one of the world's largest. Perhaps more importantly, the new bus system "hooks up seamlessly" with rail as well as "idyllic" bicycle paths and bike-sharing stations, and helps to make the city "more livable."

Serving More Than The Economy

ITDP has been working closely with Guangzhou to build out the bus and bike infrastructure, she said, and the city's recent transportation efforts make it a place that "goes against the idea of a burgeoning Chinese metropolis that's only serving the economy." Experts say that easing congestion and reducing pollution from the transportation sector in China—with its increasingly urban and car-buying population—will require coordination of land-use planning, information technology, and mass-transit development, as well as cleaner vehicles.

(Read more on China’s efforts here: "On China’s Roads and Rails, a Move To Greener Transit.")

Zhong-Ren Peng, who chairs the University of Florida's Department of Urban and Regional Planning and is an expert in transportation planning in China, noted in an email that Guangzhou did much work in transportation and planning in preparation for serving as host to the 16th annual Asian Games in November, just as Shanghai did in preparation for last year's World Expo.

The projects and progress that ITDP seeks to reward are about more than going green. According to Morris, the committee of organizations assembled to nominate and select cities for the prize look for three factors in a "sustainable" transportation system: The system should benefit both the city’s environment and its economy, and it should be equitable, meaning "you should be able to move about your city regardless of income level," she explained.

(Related from National Geographic, "China’s Middle Class: Gilded Age, Gilded Cage")

In recent years, the Sustainable Transport Award has gone to New York in the United States; Paris, France; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Seoul, South Korea; and Bogotá, Colombia. Ahmadabad, India, snagged the award last year for opening what the ITDP described as the country's first full bus rapid transit system.

This year, Guangzhou beat out nominees León, Guanajuato, Mexico; Lima, Peru; Nantes, France; and Tehran, Iran, where the "local climate, topography, and sharp growth in private cars have all conspired to create a lingering air-quality emergency over the city," said Lloyd Wright, Executive Director of Viva Cities, in a news release about the nominations.

Tehran's Effort Amid Controversy

Each of the nominated cities took steps in 2010 to shake up its transportation system, according to ITDP. Tehran's journey has been particularly fraught with controversy, as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran Mayor Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf have clashed over funding for an expanded underground rail system. One of the world's most densely populated metropolitan areas, Tehran also introduced congestion charging and expanded its bus rapid transit. "Even more boldly," according to the ITDP, Tehran's government has "begun the process of reducing fuel subsidies."

Over the weekend, however, the Tehran-e Emrouz newspaper reported that the Iran Foreign Ministry had denied Qalibaf permission to travel to the United States for Monday's conference.

Nantes made it into the ITDP's top five for its efforts to integrate bus and tramway systems, while also promoting bicycling. In Lima, a "long-awaited" first step toward "creating an integrated citywide sustainable transport system," came in the form of a new bus rapid transit system. And León has boosted rail and bus ridership while keeping the portion of trips taken by bicycle or on foot among the largest of any Latin American city at more than 39 percent, according to the ITDP.

Jiangping Zhou, ITDP's Policy Director in Beijing, believes Guangzhou’s efforts could be replicated in other Chinese cities. "If something can happen there," he said, "it can happen in Shanghai and Beijing."

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...ansport-prize/

[big-dog]

Urumqi BRT opened on 8-28-2011

Line 1 and Line 3









Line 3 new buses





pics from sohu.com

[big-dog]

Xiamen BRT





by LE, gaoloumi.com

[big-dog]

Guangzhou BRT

Originally Posted by VECTROTALENZIS