Bus Rapit Transit - "an efficient, modern and relatively speaking, inexpensive way of moving 1.3 million people per day.”

Want a better understanding of Bus Rapid Transit? Watch this video and see for yourself how Bus Rapit Transit works in Bogotá, Colombia. This is an example of "an efficient, modern and relatively speaking, inexpensive way of moving 1.3 million people per day. (Eckerson, C. 2008).

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) existed in just a few cities a few decades ago but has quickly turned into a viable solution for addressing Auckland's growing congestions issues. With approximately 35% of kiwi's now living in Auckland and its population expected to reach 2 million by 2031, perhaps Auckland should be looking at how to include BRT, a relatively cheap, sustainable, and flexible transportation option in comparison with more highway overpasses.

Dr. Hidalgo is the manager of EMBARQ and its Network’s international team of transport engineers and environmental scientists. He acknowledges the fact that there are now 200 bus corridors running over 4,000 kilometres worldwide, and consist of 7,000 stations providing more than 30,000 bus stops. Each day about 1% of the worlds urban population is now using Bus Rapid Transit and both China and India are experiencing significant increases in demand for these services. (World Resources Institute, 2011). The video below illustrates the success of BRT in China.

  

North Shore City’s Northern Busway at
 peak hour. (Searle, M. 2010).



In addition, more cities are catching on as 15 more bus corridors were established throughout the world in 2010. The North Shores Northern Busway was opened in 2008 and has become the spine of an enterprising bus-based public transport system. As of 2010, 80 buses were running per hour at peak times and facilitated reductions in travel times of up to an hour. There is no wonder that the Northern Busway has removed the equivalent of 5,100 cars from the road. (North Shore Council, 2011).

Perhaps the benefits of BRT should not simply be confined to Auckland’s North Shore. A Southern Busway connecting Auckland City to Mount Wellington, and even Manukau could significantly reduce congestion on Auckland’s Southern Motorway, and also result in fewer vehicles occupying the CDB. A busway could even be established linking Auckland City with West Auckland.


Ideas from:
http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/dirt/20074/explosive-growth-bus-rapid-transit-brt
http://wn.com/North_Shore_Busway