The BRT Standard is an evaluation tool for Bus Rapid Transit corridors around the world, based on international best practices. The Standard establishes a common definition for BRT and identifies BRT best practices, as well as functioning as a scoring system to allow BRT corridors to be evaluated and recognized for their superior design and management aspects.
Contents
- History and purpose
- Technical committee and endorsers
- Definition of BRT
- Basic characteristics
- Best practices
- Scoring
- Scored BRT corridors
- Criticisms
- References
The Standard was conceived by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) in 2012 to ensure that BRT corridors worldwide meet a minimum quality standard and deliver consistent passenger, economic, and environmental benefits. In addition to serving as an overview of BRT design elements, the Standard can be used to evaluate existing BRT corridors and certify them as a Basic, Bronze, Silver, or Gold rated corridors. Corridors which fail to meet minimum standards for Basic ratings are not considered to be BRT. The latest edition of the Standard was published in 2014.
History and purpose
First released in 2012, the BRT Standard was created “to establish a common definition of bus rapid transit (BRT) and ensure that BRT corridors more uniformly deliver world-class passenger experiences, significant economic benefits, and positive environmental impact”. The Standard was developed in response to a lack of consensus among planners and engineers as to what constitutes a true BRT corridors. Without a clear definition, the term BRT was used for corridors that provided only minor improvements in bus service and lacked the elements of BRT that make it competitive with light rail or metro alternatives. This caused a backlash against the BRT "brand", and confusion as to its benefits.
The 2014 edition made some improvements to the methodology, including adjustments to the corridor definition, infrequent-service penalties, and increased emphasis on basics. In order to allow BRT corridors in downtown areas to qualify as BRT, the definition of a BRT corridor has been reduced to 3 km (1.9 mi) in length. The peak and off-peak frequency design metrics have been removed, and penalties for low peak and off-peak frequencies have been added. An additional point was added to each of the BRT basic elements, to put greater emphasis on the basic elements of a BRT corridor.
Technical committee and endorsers
The BRT Standard was developed and continues to be updated by a technical committee, with strategic direction and guidance from several organizations. The 2014 Technical Committee consisted of: Manfred Breithaupt (GIZ),Wagner Colombini Martins (Logit Consultoria), Dario Hidalgo (EMBARQ), Walter Hook (ITDP), Colleen McCaul, Gerhard Menckhoff (retired, World Bank), CarlosFelipe Pardo (Despacio), Scott Rutherford (University of Washington), Pedro Szasz, and Lloyd Wright (Asian Development Bank). The Standard further incorporates advice from, and has the institutional endorsement of ITDP, GIZ, ClimateWorks Foundation, UN Habitat, Barr Foundation, UNEP, ICCT, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Definition of BRT
The BRT Standard creates a concrete “minimum standard”, identifying several critical design elements that must be present for a corridors to qualify as BRT. For each element, a best practice is identified, along with benchmarks for partial achievement of the feature.
Basic characteristics
There are five essential characteristics of a BRT corridor.
Best practices
In addition to BRT basics, the Standard identifies several categories of BRT elements and characteristics which contribute to superior BRT corridors:
Scoring
Points are awarded for those elements of BRT corridors that most significantly improve operational performance and quality of service. The points act as proxies for a higher quality of customer service (speed, comfort, capacity, etc.). For each element identified in the BRT Standard, a maximum point value is assigned. A given BRT corridor is then rated based on how closely it achieves the best practice of this element.
The BRT Standard created a “minimum definition” for BRT corridors. To qualify as BRT, a corridor must score above an 18/33 in the BRT basic elements. Once qualified as a Basic BRT, a corridor can earn up to 100 points. To recognize superior performance, the Standard awards corridors scoring between 85-100 a Gold rating, between 70-84 a Silver, and 55-69 a Bronze. Many bus corridors with some BRT-like aspects fail to qualify as true BRT. Corridors which fail to meet minimum BRT standards are classified by the ITDP as "Not BRT".
Scored BRT corridors
The following cities have had their BRT corridors evaluated and scored using the 2013 BRT Corridor Standard. Each corridor is ranked at either Gold, Silver or Bronze level of quality. In the United States only five corridors ranked as true BRT corridors, one Silver and four Bronze level, while two other US corridors evaluated are rated "Not BRT".
Criticisms
The BRT Standard has been criticized by some because the potential unintended consequences it may have on transport policies in some cities. In response to that criticism, it has been said that the Standard should be understood as a scoring tool that can motivate cities to develop high quality mass transit corridors rather than low-end corridors that are only presented as BRT by name.