Public Transport - Bus service algorithm / checklist

Nice piece doc. But can we do one more thing - define BRTS once? Here is how I'd define it

A public transportation system based on standard and non-proprietory rolling stock operable on regular city roads that is designed to carry high volumes of passengers at speeds that are higher than the average encountered in average city traffic conditions.

Above is BRTS to me. Now, I see multiple versions.

• BRTS-heavy - Would still be cheaper than say a metro or mono. But asks for dedicated infrastructure like lanes and stations
• BRTS-lite - Medium investment option, with highly focused investments to provide perception of speed and reliability over car use. Examples: dedicated lanes or tunnels only in busy areas, or at crowded intersections
• Mixed-mode - To me, the successful 335E Volvo service which gurantees me a nice bus every 10 minutes is alos BRTS. Buses operate in mixed traffic conditions, but frequency is aimed at carrying big volumes. Speeds may not be better than avg speed of cars, but better quality rolling stock is "perceived" ot be faster than competeting public-transport options (regular BMTC buses)

How does this sound? Would you add more versions of BRTS here? Or am I making the term too generic?

ASJ /SB, Noted your discussions - many good points have emerged. I wish to add that in our larger cities, full-BRT is difficult to implement on many roads due to narrow road widths & such full-BRT systems can only be planned in a limited manner, where road space is available. This being the case, any plan for full-BRT must take account of other available modes of transport for change over/s & quick dispatch of commuters through those areas that are not served by full-BRT systems. It is quite obvious that a few fragmented full-BRT services by themselves will most likely fail. Further, Metro by itself might also fail. But, if they are planned to complement & work together to offer reliability, are fast /frequent during peak hours, apart from offering comfort /convenience /safety /quality, etc. then, the chances for success for both are far better. Where it is not possible to have full-BRT to support Metro as a feeder, the next option should obviously be partial-BRT, which enjoys priority only through signals & available dedicated road lanes along part of their routes. This would perhaps be suitable in dense CBD areas with narrow roads. In residential zones, BRT is not required & conventional bus services might be sufficient since traffic delays would be much lesser. Our planners have so far not focused on developing integrated approaches to solve problems for daily commuters, yet. However, for Bangalore, once the Metro is up & running, they will hopefully see it out there & the TTMCs as also satellite bus stations will come handy in reducing congestion.

Right approach, doc. Would add another tab to the basic algorithm - before we go for BRTS 1. Have they good passenger information system in place : (Clarity on route numbers, bus routes on bus stops, timings , GPS based real time arrival times etc) 2. Smart card system for ticketless travel : Other than easing things for passengers, will create the data neccesary for route rationalisation.

Suhas