BRT Standard

The BRT Standard is an evaluation tool for bus rapid transit corridors around the world, based on international best practices.[1] 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.[2]

Document defining the 2016 BRT Standard

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. This is of particular relevance in countries where "BRT"s qualify for special funding from national or provincial governments. 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.[3]^:34 The latest edition of the Standard was published in 2016.[4]

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 corridor. 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.[5]

TransJakarta bus on the dedicated bus lane, an exclusive right-of-way separated from heavy traffic

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 a minimum of 3 km (1.9 mi) in length.[6] 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.[7]

The 2016 edition proposed six major changes, including greater focus on safety and system operations, separation of the design score and the full score (i.e. including both design and operations), improved dedicated right-of-way definition, new types of busway alignments, and partial points for onboard fare validation. [8]

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.[9] The current (2020) Technical Committee consist of: Aileen Carrigan (Bespoke Transit Solutions)*, Aimee Gauthier (ITDP), Angelica Castro (Transconsult)*, CarlosFelipe Pardo (NUMO), Dario Hidalgo, Gerhard Menckhoff (retired, World Bank)*, Leonardo Canon Rubiano (World Bank)*, Lloyd Wright (Asian Development Bank)*, Manfred Breithaupt (GIZ), Paulo Sérgio Custodio, Pedro Szasz, Ricardo Giesen (BRT CoE), Wagner Colombini Martins (Logit Consultoria), Walter Hook (BRT Planning International), Xiaomei Duan (Far East Mobility)*. The Standard further incorporates advice from, and has the institutional endorsement of ITDP, Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), ClimateWorks Foundation, UN Habitat, Barr Foundation, UNEP, ICCT, World Resource Institute (WRI) Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Unless indicated by an asterisk (*), each committee member also represents his or her institution.

Definition of BRT

The BRT Standard creates a concrete “minimum standard”, identifying several critical design elements that must be present for a corridor to qualify as BRT. For each element, a best practice is identified, along with benchmarks for partial achievement of the feature.[10]

Basic characteristics

There are five essential characteristics of a BRT corridor.[11]

• 

  Example of a dedicated lane through busway fencing in Indore, India
  Dedicated right-of-way — An exclusive right-of-way is vital to ensuring that buses can move quickly and unimpeded by congestion. Enforcement of the dedicated lane can be handled in different ways, such as delineators, bollards, or colorized pavement. Non-physical barriers can additionally be used for enforcement, such as onboard cameras, regular policing at points of frequent encroachment, and high fines for corridor violation by non-authorized vehicles.
• Busway alignment — Alignment of the bus lane so that conflicts with other traffic can be minimized. Options include exclusive bus-only corridor, median (central reservation) aligned, busway that runs adjacent to an "edge condition" like a waterfront or a park with few intersections, and curb aligned (but curb aligned only where there are infrequent intersections to cause traffic conflicts and delays).

Example of a dedicated lane through busway separation in Bangkok, Thailand

• 

  Example of off-board fare collection through a barrier controlled method
  Off-board fare collection — Collecting fares before boarding or validating fares on-board, through a “barrier controlled” or “proof-of-payment” method, is one of the most important factors in reducing station dwell time as it permits boarding and alighting through all bus doors rather than obliging boarding passengers to enter through a single-door (normally next to the driver). This reduces total travel time, thus improving the customer experience and facilitating faster bus turn-around, i.e. fewer buses are needed to serve a given level of passenger demand.
• Intersection treatments — There are several ways to minimize bus delays at intersections, all of which are aimed at increasing the green signal time for the bus lane. Forbidding turns across the bus lane and minimizing the number of traffic-signal phases where possible are the most important. Traffic-signal priority when activated by an approaching BRT vehicle is useful in lower-frequency corridors, or to call for an intermediate (extra) BRT phase at locations with multi-phase signal control.
• Platform-level boarding — Having the bus-station platform level with the bus floor is one of the most important ways of reducing boarding and alighting times per passenger. The reduction or elimination of the vehicle-to-platform gap is also key to customer safety and comfort. A range of measures can be used to achieve platform gaps of less than 5 cm (2.0 in), including guided busways at stations, alignment markers, Kassel curbs, and boarding bridges.

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.[10]

The BRT Standard created a “minimum definition” for BRT corridors. To qualify as BRT, a corridor must:

• be at least 3 km in length (1.9 miles);
• score at least 4 points for busway alignment;
• score at least 4 points for dedicated right-of-way; and
• score at or above a 20/38 in the BRT basic elements.

The BRT Basics, as outlined in Section 3 above, have the following maximum scores: BRT Basics [38 points]

• Dedicated right-of-way (8 points)
• Busway alignment (8 points)
• Off-board fare collection (8 points)
• Intersection treatments (7 points)
• Platform-level boarding (7 points)

In addition to the BRT Basics, five additional categories of BRT design and planning elements are scored. These categories and elements have the following maximum scores:

Service Planning — [19 points total]

• Multiple routes (4 points)
• Diverse services - express, limited-stop, and local (3 points)
• Control Center (3 points)
• Located in Top Ten Corridors (2 points)
• Optimized demand profile (3 points)
• Multi-corridor network connections (2 points)
• Hours of operation including late-night and weekends (2 points)

Infrastructure — [13 points total]

• Passing lanes at stations (3 points)
• Minimizing vehicle exhaust emissions (3 points)
• Station set back from intersections(3 points)
• Center stations (2 points)
• Pavement quality (2 points)

Station Design and Station-Bus Interface — [10 points total]

• Safe and comfortable stations (3 points)
• Number of doors on bus (3 points)
• Docking bays and sub-stops at high demand stations to improve bus flow (1 point)
• Reasonable distances between stations (2 points)
• Sliding doors in BRT stations (1 point)

Communications — [5 points total]

• Branding (3 points)
• Passenger information (2 points)

Integration and Access — [15 points total]

• Integration with other public transportation (3 points)
• Secure bicycle parking (2 points)
• Bicycle lanes (2 points)
• Bicycle-sharing integration (1 point)
• Pedestrian access and safety (3 points)
• Universal accessibility (3 points)

Once qualified as a Basic BRT, a corridor can earn up to 100 points. After the score for the (1) BRT Basics, (2) Service Planning, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Stations, (5) Communications, and (6) Integration and Access is complete, points can be subtracted from the total score to account for operational weaknesses. These deductions prevent awarding high quality recognition to BRT corridors that have significant operational, management, or performance problems. The operations deduction elements (up to 63 points total) include the following maximum deduction:

• Low commercial speeds (10 points)
• Peak passengers per hour per direction (pphpd) below 1,000 (5 points)
• Lack of enforcement of the right-of-way (5 points)
• Significant gap between bus floor and station platform (5 points)
• Overcrowding (5 points)
• Poorly maintained infrastructure, including busway, buses, stations, and technology systems (14 points)
• Low peak frequency (3 points)
• Low off-peak frequency (2 points)
• Permitting unsafe bicycle use (2 points)
• Lack of traffic safety data (2 points)
• Buses running parallel to the BRT corridor (6 points)
• Bus bunching (4 points)

To recognize superior performance, the Standard awards corridors scoring between 85-100 a Gold rating, between 70-84.9 a Silver, and 55-69.9 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". [3]^:34

Scored BRT corridors

The following cities have had their BRT corridors evaluated and scored using the BRT Corridor Standard. Each corridor is ranked at either Gold, Silver, Bronze or Basic level of quality.[12]

In 2011, two US corridors evaluated, the Silver Line in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts, and the Select Bus Service (SBS) in New York City, were rated "Not BRT".[3]^:34[13]

In 2014, only six US corridors were ranked as true BRT corridors, two Silver and four Bronze level.[14][8]

In 2016, no new systems reached Gold standard. Rio de Janeiro and Uberaba in Brazil; Cartagena and Bucaramanga in Colombia; and Hartford, Connecticut in the United States each had one Silver status corridor;[8] also the Delhi Bus Rapid Transit System in India (a Basic BRT) was dismantled.

In 2017, Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, received Gold status for its design, the first such corridor in the United States. Approximately six months after the system becomes operational, the ranking is scheduled to be reassessed.[15][16][17]

In 2019, MAX in Fort Collins, Colorado and the South Dade Transitway in Miami-Dade County, Florida, both in the United States, although not formally assessed, received preliminary rankings of at least Basic BRT.[18]

ITDP Bus Rapid Transit Rankings, continually updated on the ITDP website:[19]

City	Country	BRT System: Corridor(s)	BRT Standard Version	Rating
Belo Horizonte	Brazil	MOVE: Cristiano Machado[20]	2014	Gold
Curitiba	Brazil	Rede Integrada de Transporte: Linha Verde	2013	Gold
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	TransCarioca	2014	Gold
Guangzhou	China	GBRT: Zhongshan Avenue	2013	Gold
Bogotá	Colombia	TransMilenio: Américas, Calle 80, Calle 26, NQS (Norte-Quito-Sur), Suba, El Dorado	2013	Gold
Medellin	Colombia	Metroplús	2013	Gold
Guatemala City	Guatemala	Transmetro: Eje Sur	2014	Gold
Guadalajara	Mexico	Macrobús	2013	Gold
Lima	Peru	Metropolitano	2013	Gold
Buenos Aires	Argentina	Metrobus: 9 de Julio	2014	Silver
Brisbane, Queensland	Australia	Brisbane BRT: South East Busway	2013	Silver
Belo Horizonte	Brazil	MOVE: Antônio Carlos[21]	2014	Silver
Curitiba	Brazil	Rede Integrada de Transporte: Corridor North, Corridor South, Corridor East, Corridor West, and Corridor Boqueirão	2013	Silver
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	BRT Rio: Transolímpica	2016	Silver
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	BRT Rio: TransOeste	2014	Silver
Sao Paulo	Brazil	Expresso Tiradentes	2013	Silver
Uberlândia	Brazil	Estrutural Sudeste	2014	Silver
Uberaba	Brazil	Vetor Leste-Oeste	2016	Silver
Chengdu	China	Chengdu BRT: Erhuan Lu	2014	Silver
Lanzhou	China	LBRT: Anning Road	2013	Silver
Xiamen	China	Xiamen BRT	2014	Silver
Barranquilla	Colombia	TransMetro	2013	Silver
Bogotá	Colombia	TransMilenio: Autonorte and Caracas	2013	Silver
Cali	Colombia	MIO	2013	Silver
Cartagena	Colombia	Transcaribe: Portal - Bodeguita	2016	Silver
Pereira	Colombia	Megabús	2013	Silver
Quito	Ecuador	MetrobusQ: Ecovia, Trolebus, and Central-Norte	2013	Silver
Île-de-France	France	Trans-Val-de-Marne (TVM): Antony-La Croix de Berny - Saint-Maur-Créteil	2014	Silver
Rouen	France	TEOR: Line 1, Line 2, and Line 3	2013	Silver
Guatemala City	Guatemala	Transmetro: Eje Central	2014	Silver
Ahmedabad	India	Janmarg: Narol-Naroda	2013	Silver
Jakarta	Indonesia	TransJakarta: Corridor 1 (Blok M to Kota Station)	2014	Silver
Mexico City	Mexico	Metrobús: Line 1, Line 2, and Line 3	2013	Silver
Mexico City	Mexico	Metrobús: Line 5	2014	Silver
Mexico (state)	Mexico	Mexibús: Line 3	2013	Silver
Monterrey	Mexico	Ecovía: Lincoln-Ruiz Cortines	2014	Silver
Johannesburg	South Africa	Rea Vaya Phase 1A	2013	Silver
Istanbul	Turkey	Metrobüs: Avcılar - Söğütlüçeşme	2014	Silver
Cleveland, Ohio	United States	Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority: HealthLine	2013	Silver
Hartford, Connecticut	United States	Connecticut Transit: CTfastrak[8]	2016	Silver
Caracas	Venezuela	BusCaracas: Line 7	2014	Silver
Buenos Aires	Argentina	Metrobus: Juan B Justo	2013	Bronze
Brasília	Brazil	Expresso DF Sul	2014	Bronze
Goiânia	Brazil	Eixo Anhanguera	2014	Bronze
Recife	Brazil	Via Livre: Via Livre Norte/Sul	2016	Bronze
São Paulo (state)	Brazil	Corredor Metropolitano, São Mateus – Jabaquara (ABD)	2013	Bronze
Ottawa, Ontario	Canada	OC Transpo: Transitway	2013	Bronze
Santiago	Chile	Transantiago: Avenida Grecia; Avenidas Las Industrias - Seirra Bella/Carmen; Pedro Aguirre Cerda - Exposicion Buscunan Guerrero; Santa Rose Norte; Santa Rosa Sur	2014	Bronze
Beijing	China	Beijing BRT: Line 1: Nanzhongzhou, Line 2: Chaoyang Road, Line 3: Anding Road, Line 4: Rucheng Road – Fushi Road	2013	Bronze
Changzhou	China	Changzhou BRT: Tongijang Road – Laodong Road – Lanling Road – Wuji Road – Mingxin Road (North-South), Huaide Road – Yanling Road – Dongfangxi Road (East-West)	2013	Bronze
Jinan	China	Jinan BRT: Xierhuan	2014	Bronze
Jinan	China	Jinan BRT: Lishan Lu, Beiyuan Daije, Erhuandonglu, Gongyebeilu-Aotizonglu	2013	Bronze
Lianyungang	China	Lianyungang BRT: Xingfu - Hailian - Xiangangcheng - Gangcheng	2014	Bronze
Urumuqi	China	Urumuqi BRT: Corridor 1 (Beijinglu - Xiebelu - Yanzijianglu)	2014	Bronze
Yancheng	China	Yancheng BRT: Kaifang Dadao - Jiefang Nanlu	2014	Bronze
Yinchuan	China	Yinchuan BRT: Huanghe East - Nanxun - Qinghe	2014	Bronze
Zaozhuang	China	Zaozhuang BRT: B1	2014	Bronze
Zhengzhou	China	Zhengzhou BRT	2014	Bronze
Zhongshan	China	Zhongshan BRT: Zhongshan 2nd-5th Rd - Jiangling Rd	2014	Bronze
Guayaquil	Ecuador	Guayaquil BRT: Guasmo-Río Daule and Bastión-Centro	2013	Bronze
Quito	Ecuador	Metrobus: Corredor sur occidential, Corredor sur oriental	2014	Bronze
Nantes	France	Semitan: Nantes Busway Line 4	2013	Bronze
Ahmedabad	India	Janmarg: RTO - Maninagar	2013	Bronze
Ahmedabad	India	Janmarg: Sola - AEC	2014	Bronze
Indore	India	iBus Trunk Corridor	2016	Bronze
Surat	India	Sitilink: Udhna - Sachin GIDC	2014	Bronze
Mexico City	Mexico	Metrobús: Line 4	2013	Bronze
Puebla	Mexico	RUTA: Linea 1 Chachapa - Tlazvalacingo	2014	Bronze
Islamabad-Pindi	Pakistan	Metro Bus: Twin Cities	2014	Bronze
Cape Town	South Africa	MyCiTi: Phase 1A	2013	Bronze
Bangkok	Thailand	Bangkok BRT: Sathorn - Rama III	2014	Bronze
Cambridge	United Kingdom	The Busway: Route A	2013	Bronze
Eugene, Oregon	United States	Lane Transit District: Emerald Express Green Line	2013	Bronze
Los Angeles, California	United States	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority: Orange Line	2013	Bronze
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	United States	Port Authority of Allegheny County: Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway	2013	Bronze
Richmond, Virginia	United States	GRTC: Pulse	2016	Bronze
San Bernardino, California	United States	sbX: E Street	2014	Bronze
Recife	Brazil	Via Livre: Via Livre Leste/Oeste	2016	Basic
São Paulo (state)	Brazil	Corredor Metropolitano, Diadema – Morumbi (ABD)	2014	Basic
Changde	China	Changde BRT	2014	Basic
Dalian	China	Dalian BRT	2014	Basic
Hefei	China	Hefei BRT	2014	Basic
Zaozhuang	China	Zaozhuang BRT: B3	2014	Basic
Zaozhuang	China	Zaozhuang BRT: B5	2014	Basic
Pune/Pimpri-Chinchwad	India	Rainbow Bus Rapid Transit System	2016	Basic
Lahore	Pakistan	Lahore Metrobus	2014	Basic
Seoul	South Korea	Seven BRT lines	2014	Basic
Las Vegas, Nevada	United States	RTC Transit: Strip and Downtown Express (SDX)	2013	Basic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	United States	Port Authority of Allegheny County: South Busway	2013	Basic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	United States	Port Authority of Allegheny County: West Busway	2013	Basic

Note: If a transit system is named, but no specific corridors or lines, the entire system is implemented in BRT technology.

Criticisms

The BRT Standard has been criticized by some because the potential unintended consequences it may have on transport policies in some cities, which may include the Standard leading to inappropriate infrastructure in places that do not require the level of infrastructure and service that BRT offers. Additionally, the BRT Standard has been noted as a one-size-fits-all tool that is not context sensitive. This may be especially noted with BRT Standard elements such as passing lanes, sub-stations requirements, and excessive use of express services which can unduly raise the time that passengers have to wait for their bus.  Also, overambitious standards may result in higher construction costs and, in particular, greater land acquisition (and resettlement) needs. In one recent case, the technical design team insisted on aiming for Gold classification, resulting in high cost and land acquisition needs which could have been avoided with a lower classification; as a consequence the project was cancelled by political decision-makers.

In response to that criticism, those in favor of the Standard point out that the overwhelming majority of the Standard elements work well and would also benefit lower demand systems. Above all, BRT designers should take advantage of the flexibility inherent in bus systems and consider lower-standard busway sections to avoid physical or political constraints, especially where such sections can later be upgraded to address future demand increases.

There are many situations where lower-grade BRT or non-BRT bus schemes are the appropriate solution to upgrade public transit. The Standard should not be a reason to forgo such improvements. However, in many cases, the Standard provides a scoring tool that can motivate cities to develop high quality mass transit corridors where possible under the city's prevailing financial and spatial conditions.[8]

See also

• Bus rapid transit creep — alleged application of the term "BRT" to bus systems that fall short of its design and performance standards

References

1. Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) (2016). "About the Standard: What's New in 2016?". ITDP. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
2. Goldmark, Alex. BRT Systems Getting an International Rating Standard WNYC 01 May 2012. http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/transportation-nation/2012/may/01/brt-systems-getting-an-international-rating-standard/
3. "Recapturing Global Leadership in Bus Rapid Transit: A Survey of Select U.S. Cities". ITDP: Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
4. Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) (2016). "About the Standard: What's New in 2016?". ITDP. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
5. Greenfield, John (2013-03-12). "Taking the Guesswork Out of Rating BRT: An Interview With Walter Hook | Streetsblog Chicago". Chi.streetsblog.org. Retrieved 2013-08-19.
6. "The BRT Standard: 2014 Edition". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
7. "The BRT Standard: 2014 Edition". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
8. "The BRT Standard". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
9. "Institute for Transportation and Development Policy: The BRT Standard 2014 Committee". ITDP. Retrieved 2013-08-19.
10. "Institute for Transportation and Development Policy: Scorecard". ITDP. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
11. "Institute for Transportation and Development Policy: BRT Basics". ITDP. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
12. "2013 Corridor Rankings". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
13. Weinstock, Annie; Hook, Walter; Replogle, Michael; Cruz, Ramon (May 2011). "Recapturing Global Leadership in Bus Rapid Transit" (PDF). Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. pp. 45–46. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
14. Malouff, Dan (2013-01-17). "The US has only 5 true BRT corridors, and none are "gold"". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
15. "Albuquerque, NM Opens First USA Gold Standard BRT on Historic Route 66". Transport Matters. Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. November 27, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
16. "ART System Receives Rare Gold Standard from ITDP". globenewswire.com. November 27, 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
17. "FAQ- Getting to BRT: An Implementation Guide for U.S. Cities". Transport Matters. Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. October 4, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
18. Carrigan, Aileen; Wallerce, Julia; Kodransky, Michael (September 2019). "Getting to BRT: An Implementation Guide for U.S. Cities" (PDF). Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
19. https://www.itdp.org/library/standards-and-guides/the-bus-rapid-transit-standard/best-practices-2013/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
20. "Avaliação BRT MOVE Cristiano Machado". itdpbrasil.org.br. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
21. "Relatório de Recomendações do Sistema MOVE – Antônio Carlos". itdpbrasil.org.br. Retrieved 2017-07-08.