Module 3 Final PDF

Sustainable Urban Mobility
in Developing Countries
Module 3
Public Transport Services
In Cooperation with
Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries
– Module 3 –
Public Transport Services
Published The United Nations Institute for Training and research (UNITAR)
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Copyright: Copyright © 2010

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
ISBN: 978-92-9182-060-3
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FOREWORD
“We cannot talk about urban transport until we know what type of a city we want.
And to talk about the city we want is to talk about the way we want to live. Do we want
to create a city for the poor, the children, and the elderly, and therefore for every other
human being, or a city for automobiles? The important questions are not about
engineering, but about ways to live. A premise of the new city is that we want society to
be as egalitarian as possible. For this purpose, quality of life distribution is more
important than income distribution. The equality that really matters is that relevant to a
child: Access to adequate nutrition, recreation, education, sports facilities, green spaces,
and a living environment as free from motor vehicles as possible. The city should have
abundant cultural offerings; public spaces with people; low levels of noise and air
pollution; and short travel times.
Cars destroy the common silence; pollute the air; and require extremely costly
road space and infrastructure that absorbs scarce public funds. While only an upper
middle class minority uses cars, despite enormous costs and injustice, the system works.
But it would not be possible for every citizen to use a private car for his or her mobility;
otherwise jams would be massive and high velocity roads would destroy the human
qualities and structure of the city. Many developing cities are moving in this direction.
Bangkok, Manila, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur and other cities are already notorious for severe
traffic congestion, despite relatively low levels of motorization.
Urban transport is a political rather than a technical issue. The technical aspects
are relatively simple. The difficult decisions relate to who is going to benefit from the
models adopted. Do we dare to create a transport model different from that in the so-
called advanced world cities? Do we dare create a transport system giving priority to the
needs of the poor majority rather than the automobile owning minority? Are we trying to
find the most efficient, economical way to move a city’s population, as cleanly and as
comfortably as possible? Or are we just trying to minimize the upper class’s traffic jams?”
These questions are posed by Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogotá
(Colombia), who introduced a number of sustainable transport measures in his city1.
This Course on Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries is designed to

provide answers for Peñalosa’s questions and learn about solutions and alternative
approaches in urban transport planning that target a more sustainable transport system
in Developing Cities. For this purpose, six modules have been developed that focus on
the following main topics:
Module 1: Urban Growth and Strategies for Sustainable Urban Transport

Module 2: Municipal Mobility Management
Module 3: Public Transport Services
Module 4: Management, Financing and Institutions
Module 5: Energy and Environment
Module 6: Social Issues and Safety
These modules together form a complex picture on what sustainable transport can
be and how it may be implemented.
Local Development Programme

UNITAR
1
Peñalosa, E., 2005: Urban Transport and Poverty, GTZ Sourcebook Module 1a, Eschborn
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This course on Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries has been

initiated by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), in
collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).
The substantive content of this module was provided by Dr. Niklas Sieber (editor)
a Transport Economist, Regional Planner and University Lecturer from Germany, based
on extensive material provided by GTZ. This publication was prepared under the
supervision of the Local Development Programme of UNITAR and GTZ, especially Mr.
Manfred Breithaupt, Mr. Armin Wagner and Mr. Carlos Pardo for reviewing the module.
Special thanks are due to the aforementioned individuals and institutions for their
support and contributions.
Table of Contents
1. MASS TRANSIT OPTIONS ........................................................ 1
1.1 Concept and terminology ............................................................................. 1
1.2 Choosing a Mass Transit System: ................................................................. 2

1.2.1 Passenger Capacity.................................................................................... 3
1.2.2 Operating speed ........................................................................................ 4
1.2.3 System costs ............................................................................................ 5
1.2.4 Required space ......................................................................................... 6
1.2.5 Planning and construction ........................................................................... 7
1.2.6 Flexibility and environment ......................................................................... 8
1.2.7 Conclusions .............................................................................................. 8
2. BUS POLICY AND PLANNING ................................................ 11
2.1 Policy objectives and implementation strategies ....................................... 12

2.1.1 Policy objectives...................................................................................... 12
2.1.2 Implementation strategy .......................................................................... 13
2.2 Urban bus planning ................................................................................... 14

2.2.1 Planning process ..................................................................................... 14
2.2.2 Planning indicators .................................................................................. 15
2.2.3 Data collection ........................................................................................ 17
3. PLANNING BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEMS ........................... 19
3.1 Planning stage I: Project preparation ........................................................ 22

3.1.1 Project creation and commitment .............................................................. 22
3.1.2 Legal basis ............................................................................................. 22
3.1.3 Development team .................................................................................. 23
3.1.4 Work plan and timeline ............................................................................ 23
3.1.5 Planning budget and financing ................................................................... 23
3.2 Planning stage II: Analysis ........................................................................ 23

3.2.1 Background and situational description ....................................................... 24
3.2.2 Stakeholder analysis ................................................................................ 24
3.2.3 Transport data collection .......................................................................... 24
3.2.4 Transportation modeling ........................................................................... 25
3.3 Planning stage III: Communications .......................................................... 26
3.4 Planning stage IV: Operations ................................................................... 26

3.4.1 Basis for corridor selection ........................................................................ 27
3.4.2 Feeder services ....................................................................................... 27
3.4.3 Service options ....................................................................................... 28
3.4.4 Passenger capacity .................................................................................. 28
3.4.5 System management and control .............................................................. 29
3.4.6 Customer service plan .............................................................................. 29
3.5 Planning stage V: Business and regulatory structure ................................. 31
3.6 Planning stage VI: Infrastructure .............................................................. 31

3.6.1 Busways, feeder and integration infrastructure ............................................ 31
3.6.2 Stations, terminals, depots and control centre ............................................. 32
3.6.3 Infrastructure cost analysis ....................................................................... 32
3.7 Planning stage VII: Technology ................................................................. 33

3.7.1 Vehicle technology................................................................................... 33
3.7.2 Fare collection and fare verification systems ................................................ 34
3.8 Planning stage VIII: Modal integration ...................................................... 35
3.9 Planning stage IX: Impacts ....................................................................... 35
3.10 Planning stage X: Implementation plan ................................................... 36
4. LIGHT RAIL AND METRO SYSTEMS ........................................ 38
4.1 Commuter rail services .............................................................................. 38
4.2 Metros ....................................................................................................... 39
4.3 Light Rail Transit ....................................................................................... 41
5. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT

SERVICES..................................................................................... 43
5.1 Competition ............................................................................................... 43

5.1.1 Open market .......................................................................................... 44
5.1.2 Competition for the market ....................................................................... 44
5.2 Regulating authorities ............................................................................... 45
5.3 Regulating the transport industry .............................................................. 46
5.4 The paratransit market .............................................................................. 47

5.4.1 Features of the paratransit market ............................................................. 47
Regulation of the paratransit market .................................................................. 48
List of Figures
Figure 1 Capital cost for selected MRT systems ......................................................... 5

Figure 2 Same investment cost, but different length .................................................. 6
Figure 3 BRT Bus stop in Bogotá, Colombia .............................................................. 7
Figure 4 Comparison of investment costs for MRT ..................................................... 9
Figure 5 Paratransit in Bamako, Mali (left) and Cairo, Egypt ..................................... 11
Figure 6 Uncoordinated buses in Delhi, India .......................................................... 13
Figure 7 Modern Bus ........................................................................................... 14
Figure 8 The planning cycle ................................................................................. 15
Figure 9 Data collection for O/D analysis................................................................ 25
Figure 10 Illustrative comparison between trunk-feeder services and direct services .... 27
Figure 11 BRT Control Centre in Los Angeles .......................................................... 29
Figure 12 System map of TransMilenio, Bogotá, Colombia ........................................ 30
Figure 13 Real time passenger information system in Singapore ............................... 30
Figure 14 Cross-section of a median busway with on bus lane per direction ................ 31
Figure 15 Facilities for modal integration ............................................................... 35
Figure 16 Commuter rail train in Germany ............................................................. 39
Figure 17 Heavy Metro systems in Germany ........................................................... 40
Figure 18 Modern tram in Germany....................................................................... 42
List of Boxes
Box 1: BRT in Quito, Ecuador ................................................................................. 7

Box 2: Improvements in Bogotá after introduction of the TransMilenio ....................... 11
Box 3: Bogotá’s BRT system TransMilenio .............................................................. 20
Box 4: Light Metro system in Karlsruhe, Germany ................................................... 41
Box 5: Route associations in Thailand.................................................................... 49
List of Tables
Table 1: Comparison of essential features of MRT systems ......................................... 4

Table 2: Cost components for MRT systems ............................................................. 6
Table 3: Planning Indicators ................................................................................ 16
Table 4: An illustrative timeline for a Bus Rapid Transit project (1) ............................ 21
Table 5: An illustrative timeline for a Bus Rapid Transit project (2) ............................ 22
Table 6: BRT construction cost breakdown, Bogotá’s TransMilenio ............................. 33
Table 7: Standard vehicle types and passenger capacities ........................................ 34
Table 8: Capital Costs of Metro Systems ................................................................ 40
Table 9: Efficiency of bus operations in Delhi, 1995 ................................................. 43
Table 10: Effects of competition on bus transport in London ..................................... 43
Table 11: Classification of markets and competition ................................................ 44
Table 12: Counter-Balancing Measures for Different Bus Industry Structures in
Developing Cities ............................................................................................... 47
Acronyms
ALS Area Licensing Scheme

BAC Blood alcohol concentration
BLT Build-Lease-Transfer
BOO Build-Own-Operate
BOOT Build-Own-Operate-Transfer
BOT Build-Operate-Transfer,
BrAC Breath alcohol concentration
BRT Bus Rapid Transit
CDM Clean Development Mechanism
CER Certified Emission Reduction
CH4 Methane
CNG Compressed Natural Gas
CO Carbon Monoxide
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
DBFO Design-Build-Finance- Operate
DBOM Design-Build-Operate-Maintain
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
ERP Electronic Road Pricing
GDP Gross domestic product
GEF Global Environmental Facility
GHG Greenhouse Gas
GNP Gross National Product
GPS Global Positioning System
GTZ German Technical Cooperation
HOV High-Occupancy Vehicle
I/M Inspection and maintenance
ICT Information and communications technologies
IEA International Energy Agency
IMT Intermediate Means of Transport
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ITDP Institute for Transportation & Development Policy
ITS Intelligent transport systems
JI Joint Implementation
LDV Light Duty Vehicle
LEZ Low Emission Zone
LOS Level of Service
LPG Liquified Petroleum/Propane Gas
LPT Local Public Transport
LRT Light rail Transit
MPT Motorised Private Transport
MRT Mass Rapid Transit
N2O Nitrous Oxides
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NMT Non Motorised Transport
NMV Non Motorised Vehicle
NOX Nitrogen Oxide
NPV Net Present Value
OECD Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development
P&R Park & Ride
Pkm Passenger kilometre, unit to measure transport volume for
PM Particulate Matter
PM10 Particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm
pphd Passengers per hour and direction
PPP Purchasing Power Parity
PPP Public Private Partnership
PT Public Transport
ROT Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer
ROW Right-of-way
ROW Right-Of-Way
rpm Rotations per minute
SUTP (GTZ) Sustainable Urban Transport Project
SUV Sports Utility Vehicle
TDM Transport Demand Management
TFL Transport for London
tkm Tonne kilometre, unit to measure transport volume for goods
TOD Transit-Oriented Development
TSP Total suspended particles
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
VOC Vehicle Operating Cost / Volatile organic compounds
WBCSD World Business Council for Sustainable Development
WHO World Health Organisation
WRI World Resources Institute
3
µg/m Pollutant concentration of air pollutants in microgram per square
Module 3 Public Transport Services
1. Mass Transit Options2
Choices on public transit options are choices about a city’s future. Will there be
congestion? Will there be high levels of air and noise pollution? Will transport be
affordable? Will services be available to all? The type of public transit system will have a
big impact on the answers to these questions. Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) can, in principle,
contribute to the achievement of all the main objectives of urban development policy. It
can improve efficiency of the city economy by reducing travel costs and by maintaining a
higher level of city-centre activity and the associated economies of agglomeration than
would otherwise be the case. The impact of poverty can be directly be reduced where
MRT is the major carrier of the poor, and indirectly reduced through the benefits the poor
receive from economic prosperity. It can also improve the quality of life - immediately,
through shifting movements to more environmentally benign modes of transport, and in
the longer run, by supporting a more environmentally favorable land-use structure.
This chapter explains which Mass Transit options exist and how to choose the right option
for your city.
Source: Bamako, Mali (Sommer) and Bogota, Colombia (Breithaupt); Gtz Photo CD 2004
1.1 Concept and terminology
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), also referred to as public transit, is a passenger transportation
service, usually local in scope that is available to any person who pays a prescribed fare.
It usually operates on specific fixed tracks or with separated and exclusive use of
potential common track, according to established schedules along designated routes or
lines with specific stops. It is designed to move large numbers of people at one time. The
following are the most common types of MRTs in operation today:
Heavy rail transit

A heavy rail transit system is a transit system using high-performance trains, electrically
powered rail cars operating in exclusive rights-of-way, usually without grade crossings,
and with high platform stations.
Metro
Metro is the most common international term for subway, heavy rail transit, though it is
also commonly applied to elevated heavy rail systems. In this module we use “metro” to
refer to urban grade-separated heavy rail systems. They are the most expensive form of
MRT per kilometer, but have the highest theoretical capacity.
Commuter rail systems

Commuter rail or suburban rail is the portion of passenger railroad operations that carries
passengers within urban areas, or between urban areas and their suburbs, but differs
from Metros and LRT in that the passenger cars generally are heavier, the average trip
2
Adapted from Wright,/Fjellström 2005: Mass Transit Options, GTZ Sourcebook Module 3a and Wright (2004):
GTZ Training Document on Mass Transit.
Page | 1
lengths are longer, and the operations are carried out over tracks that are part of the
railroad system in the area.
Light Metros
Light Metros may be regarded as an intermediate means between LRT and heavy Metro.
Lighter than heavy Metro, they carry larger passenger numbers than LRT at lower costs
than Metros. They use tracks with exclusive right-way but they are able to mix with road
traffic as well. Vehicles are often high floor and more robust than LRT vehicles.
Light Rail Transit

A light rail transit (LRT) system is a metropolitan electric railway system characterized by
its ability to operate single cars or short trains along exclusive rights-of-way at ground
level, aerial structures, in subways, or occasionally in streets, and to board and discharge
passengers at track or car floor level. LRT systems include tramways, though a major
difference is that trams often operate without an exclusive right-of-way, in mixed traffic.
Bus Rapid Transit

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a form of customer-oriented transit combining stations,
vehicles, planning, and intelligent transport system elements into an integrated system
with a unique identity. BRT typically involves busway corridors on segregated lanes -
either at-grade or grade separated - and modernized bus technology. However, apart
from segregated busways BRT systems also commonly include: rapid boarding and
alighting; efficient fare collection; comfortable shelters and stations; clean bus
technologies; modal integration; sophisticated marketing identity; excellence in customer
service.
Bus lane
A bus lane is a highway or street reserved primarily for buses, either all day or during
specified periods. It may be used by other traffic under certain circumstances, such as
while making a turn, or by taxis, bicycles, or high occupancy vehicles. Bus lanes, widely
used in Europe even in small cities, are increasingly applied in developing cities such as
Bangkok, where counter-flow buses can move rapidly through peak period congestion.
Busway
A busway is a special roadway designed for exclusive use by buses. It may be
constructed at, above, or below grade and may be located in separate right-of-way or
within highway corridors. Some form of
busway system is a feature of many Bus
Rapid Transit systems.
It must be emphasized, that no clear

definition of the above MRT systems exist,
but rather country-specific definitions
dominate. Additionally, the systems
themselves show convergence and
overlapping functions. For example trams
are not only using heavy rail infrastructures
and providing conventional rail services, but
also mix with urban road traffic and operate
like buses. Modern Busway in Rouen, France
Source: Wright,/Fjellström (2005): Mass
Transit Options, GTZ Sourcebook Module 3a
1.2 Choosing a Mass Transit System:
Mass rapid transit can contribute both to city efficiency and to the needs of the poor in
the largest cities, as well lessen inequalities and disconnects between marginalized
communities and productive city centers, but it can also impose a heavy fiscal burden.
Page | 2
Alternative transport methods should be evaluated in terms of their realistic applicability

in terms of overall management possibilities, operational requirements and fiscal
requirements, More expensive systems should only be adopted within an integrated
planning and financing structure ensuring system sustainability, effective coordination of
modes, and affordable access for the poor.
The following features are essential for the choice of the appropriate MRT system:
Cost Capital costs (infrastructure costs)

Operating costs
Design and Planning and implementation time
Operation System capacity
Scalability
Flexibility
Diversity versus homogeneity
Management and administration
Availability of urban space and spatial distribution of urban population
Performance Travel time / speed
Service frequency
Reliability
Comfort
Safety
Customer service
Image and perception
System upgrading
Impacts Economic impacts
Social impacts
Environmental impacts
Urban impacts
1.2.1 Passenger Capacity
The World Bank compiled comparative data on nine MRT systems built between 1995 and
2004. The systems, given in Table 1, comprise metro, light rail, suburban rail and busses
(BRT). The first observation is that metros have the highest peak capacities ranging
between 30,000 and 50,000 passengers per hour and direction (pphpd), while BRT
systems manage a maximum of 15 to 35,000 passengers, depending on the type of the
system. The BRT system in Quito has lower capacities with only one lane per direction
and one stopping bay and thus is a cheap system with little requirements regarding
urban space. The Bogotá system consists of two lanes and four stopping bays and
requires more space. The latter system allows larger peak capacities, but requires more
space and generates higher investment costs. The maximum recorded ridership of most
LRT systems is limited to approximately 12,000 passengers per hour and direction.
Page | 3
Table 1
Comparison of essential features of MRT systems
Source: World Bank (2002): Cities on the Move, p.113
The necessity for very high capacity flows in part depends upon the structuring of a
system. Cities such as London and New York are fairly dense and enjoy high usage of
their Metro systems. However, peak capacities are only in the area of 20,000–30,000
pphpd. This occurs, because these systems feature multiple lines distributing passenger
flows about the city. In cities such as Hong Kong and Sao Paulo, the higher capacities are
achieved by offering a limited number of lines and then feeding large passenger numbers
into a single corridor. Thus, in a sense, the high capacity figures become inevitable.
However, such situations can be avoided by offering more distributed systems.
Whether a city is utilizing bus or rail transit systems, system designers may wish to keep
capacity figures within manageable bounds. If a system is operating at over 50,000
pphpd and a technical or operational problem occurs, the entire system can become
overwhelmed with passenger backlogs very quickly. Further, very high capacity lines can
be uncomfortable and unsafe for passengers if tight passenger “packing” becomes
necessary.
1.2.2 Operating speed
Table 1 shows as well that the speed of the analyzed metro systems is at 45-50km/h
faster than LRT (20-50) and BRT that reach 20-30 km/h. However, comparisons with LRT
systems in the USA show that BRT may be even faster than LRT. It has to be taken into
account as well, that not the operating speed is decisive, but the average speed including
waiting and walking time at which passengers travel from origin to destination. BRT
Page | 4
might compensate their slowness through a denser network. However, comparative data
are presently not available.
Figure 1
Capital cost for selected MRT systems
Source: Wright (2004): Mass transit, GTZ Training Course
1.2.3 System costs
The most important feature in Table 1 is the capital cost for infrastructure, technical
assistance, equipment and vehicles. Here the big advantage of BRT system appears
compared to metro systems. While the capital costs of metro systems range between 40
and 90 million US$/km, and for LRT 10 and 50, the BRT systems only comprise a small
fraction of the costs, ranging between 1 and 10 million US$/km. However, it has to be
borne in mind, that the expensive metro systems given in Table 1 are often in tunnels or
elevated, which increases the costs tremendously. This might be as well the reason, why
the LRT system in Kuala Lumpur is so expensive. BRT systems operate at grade and cost
will increase tremendously if tunnels are constructed which might be necessary if not
enough urban space is available (see 0). BRT cost increase as well if high capacity
systems, such as in Bogotá are built.
In practice, these benefits do not always accrue. Costs of rail investments

are often underestimated and passenger flows overestimated.
World Bank (2002)
Page | 5
Table 2 Figure 2
Cost components for MRT systems Same investment cost, but different length
Source: Wright (2004),

Mass Transit Training Document , GTZ, p.23
A comparison of the costs components of MRT systems (Table 2) shows that next to
management and organizational costs, the ground conditions and the urban constraints
and topography have a large influence on the costs. In Developing Countries, where
labor costs are relatively low, staff costs only play a minor role for MRT systems. These
changes during the development process when labor costs increase. A comparison of
total costs, including annualized capital costs, of MRT systems in St Louis, USA shows
that the LRT has slightly lower costs than the bus system.
1.2.4 Required space
If space is getting scarce and elevated rails or tunnels have to be built, the investment
costs increase tremendously. As Figure 3 shows, high capacity BRT systems have a
special need for space, since two lanes in each direction are required in order to allow for
overtaking of fast buses. Additionally, four stopping bays are necessary to allow fast
access and egress. The infrastructure requires 40m width as depicted in Figure 14 with
two additional lanes. This entails a separation effect that is comparable with a motorway
and has negative impacts on urban quality of life. Additionally, long bridges have to be
built to give passengers access to bus stops. With such a system up to 35,000 pphpd
may be transported during peak hours. Often this space is not available in the central
business districts, downtown or historic town centers. The usual solution would be to
build costly tunnels. Quito, Ecuador, solved this problem by dedicating entire one-way
streets to its BRT system. However, the maximum capacity amounts to 15,000 pphpd as
given in Table 1.
Page | 6
Figure 3
BRT Bus stop in Bogotá, Colombia
Source: Breithaupt, Gtz Photo CD, 2004
1.2.5 Planning and construction
The planning and construction time is another argument in favor of BRT systems. The
project development and planning process is generally quicker for BRT than for rail-based
MRT systems. The BRT planning process for a ‘world class’ BRT system, , takes about one
year and costs around US$400,000–US$2 million. Due to the relatively low costs,
financing is also generally easier and quicker for BRT than for rail-based systems. The
simpler physical infrastructure of Bus Rapid Transit means that such systems can also be
built in relatively short periods of time, often in less than 18 months. Underground and
elevated rail systems can take considerably longer, often well over three years. This time
difference has a political dimension. Mayors who are elected for only three or four years
can oversee a BRT project from start to finish.
Box 1
BRT in Quito, Ecuador
Quito’s trolley-bus system and recent Eco-Via addition are dramatic examples of BRT
cost-effectiveness and the applicability of BRT even under stressed economic
conditions. Ecuador has experienced several tumultuous years of political and
economic misfortune. However, in the midst of a rather chaotic scene, Quito has
developed and expanded an impressive transit system featuring 25 km of exclusive
busways. The system covers all operating costs with a fare of only US$0.20.
Quito’s existing fleet of privately run buses has taken an environmental and health toll
on the city. Until recently, the average bus age of the private sector fleet has been 17
years, with some units as old as 35 years. The electric trolley-bus also delivers
additional environmental gains through the substitution of diesel-fuelled buses with
units powered by hydro-generated electricity. The overwhelming popularity of the
Quito trolley-bus has exceeded expectations and in a sense created an unexpected
problem. With over 200,000 commuters now using the system daily, its maximum
capacity has been reached, and thus has prompted calls for further expansion. The
municipality plans to deliver an additional 73 kilometres of busways in the near future.
For cost reasons, Quito’s new Eco-Via line utilises Euro II diesel buses rather than
continue with electric trolley technology. Likewise, the planned expansion will be
utilising clean diesel technology for its buses.
Page | 7
1.2.6 Flexibility and environment
Unlike rail-based options which are by nature more fixed, BRT allows a great deal of
flexibility for future growth. Making new routings and other system changes to match
demographic changes or new planning decisions is fairly easily accomplished. Since buses
approach and leave busways at intermediate points, many different routes can serve as
passenger catchment area, with fewer passenger transfers than would be required in a
fixed guided system.
Environmental issues are another factor influencing the decision which system to choose.
Metros, LRT, suburban trains and electric buses have the advantage of zero local
pollution and - provided that the electricity is produced from renewable sources - low
global environmental impacts. Buses often use diesel and thereby contribute to urban
pollution; LPG or LNG vehicles reduce environmental pollution, etc.
1.2.7 Conclusions
After comparing MRT options, in general one can conclude that BRT systems have a
number of advantages compared to rail based systems. These are lower costs, shorter
planning time and higher flexibility. Figure 4 gives an overview on investment costs and
passenger capacities of the MRT systems: BRT systems (red) have the highest cost
efficiency and carry 15,000 for single lane systems per hour per direction and up to
25,000 with double lanes. High capacity BRT systems carry up to 35,000 pphpd, but
increase costs considerably and require much urban space at a width of a 6-lane-
motorway. This often is not available, unless historic town centers are impaired or major
separation effects are taken into account.
LRT systems (yellow) have similar capacities, lower space requirements, but costs are
considerably higher. Therefore, LRT systems seem to be more appropriate for richer
countries, where more comfort is demanded and staff costs dominate the costs of the
service providers.
If passenger capacities are above 25,000 pphpd or higher speeds are required, or space
is scarce, light Metro systems (orange) are more suitable, since they are able to carry up
to 40,000 pphpd at costs slightly higher than LRT systems.
Heavy Metros (brown) and Commuter Railways (blue) have high capacities as well as
costs. If BRT proves to be not adequate to serve large quantities of passengers in
Megacities or in Central Business Districts, an integrated approach may be chosen, where
buses are used as feeder systems to the (light) Metro.
Page | 8
Figure 4
Comparison of investment costs for MRT
Source: OSK-Consult 2009
* The very high double lane BRT pphpd is achieved in Bogota, with a number of
measures, such as extra large stations, express buses, not calling at every bus stop, etc.
This requires 2 dedicated bus lanes per direction, space taken away from mixed traffic;
other cities may wish to opt for a rail based high capacity system).
Corridor capacity
Source: Botma & Papendrecht, TU Delft 1991 and own figures
Page | 9
Further reading on Mass Transit Options
Wright,/Fjellström (2005): Mass Transit Options, GTZ Sourcebook Module 3a
World Bank (2002): Cities on the Move, Chapter 8
Wright (2004): Mass Transit, GTZ Training Document
Page | 10
3
2. Bus Policy and Planning
This chapter provides guidelines for the planning and regulation of bus systems in large
cities in the developing world. The term ‘bus’ includes all road-based, frequent, fixed
route passenger services, including all sizes of bus from 9-seat microbuses to the largest
rigid 12-metre double-deckers and bi-articulated buses. This chapter is about policy
objectives and implementation strategies as well as planning approaches for bus
systems. Details of BRT planning will be specified in Chapter 3.
In many cases, the informal sector, known as paratransit, dominates the urban Public
Transport system. It typically comprises small vehicles, in small-scale or individual
ownership, often self-regulating or controlled by illicit groups, often with vehicles hired to
drivers on a daily basis. Paratransit often develops spontaneously to fill gaps in the
capacity or quality/price range of formal public transport. Paratransit entails a large
number of deficits, such as unscheduled services, long waiting times (queuing system),
bad interconnections between routes, low safety standards, high environmental impacts,
small vehicles contributing to congestion and last not least low comfort. Formal bus
systems are planned in a manner that these deficits are overcome.
Figure 5
Paratransit in Bamako, Mali (left) and Cairo, Egypt
Source: Sommer (left) and Fjellström (right) GTZ Photo CD 2004
Box 2
Improvements in Bogotá after introduction of the TransMilenio
Public Transport is one of many elements to restore quality of life in our cities. City
officials from Bogotá, Colombia have invested in urban renewal with a strong focus on
quality of life. Facing degradation in the life of its citizens, the city developed a
program around transport and the urban fabric. After the implementation of a BRT
system TransMilenio Phase 1 in 2000, the following benefits were observed:
• 32% reduction in travel time for users
• 75% reduction in injuries,
• 92% reduction in fatalities
• 43% reduction in SO2
• 12% reduction in Particulate Matters PM-10
For more information about TransMilenio, please consult Box 3.
Source: UITP 2003.
3
Adapted from Meakin (2006): Bus Regulation and Planning, GTZ Training Document, Meakin (2004): GTZ
Sourcebook Module 3c
Page | 11
2.1 Policy objectives and implementation strategies
2.1.1 Policy objectives
If policies are well defined, then there are clear guidelines for taking decisions. Without
policies, actions can be haphazard, inconsistent, and biased. Once policies are in place,
strategies and plans can be derived, which can be used to guide day-by-day decision
making. Thus, drafting, adopting and maintaining a coherent and realistic Public
Transport policy, which is within the constraints of available resources, is fundamental to
bus regulation and planning. Public transport policy will be one component of a wider
urban transport policy which will state broader urban development policies, including
social, economic, environmental and land use objectives.
The Public Transport policies of different cities in the same country may be based on the
same principles, which may be defined in national legislation. There may therefore be a
national policy for urban public transport, which defines objectives, strategies, priorities
and programs for the country. The three policy principles that have provided the basis of
the successful Public Transport policies in Singapore and Hong Kong over some thirty
years provide an excellent starting point and are recommended for large, densely
populated cities: i) develop transport infrastructure, ii) improve the Public Transport
system, and iii) manage the demand for road use. A policy for Public Transport should
address, among other issues:
• the principles governing planning and investment, including the planning

process itself and the criteria to be used in choosing between investment
alternatives;
• the principles governing operations, competition and the regulatory

framework, including measures to safeguard the public interest through the
system of regulatory controls, quality assurance and certification, and
improvement of safety and environmental standards;
• the principles governing pricing, cost recovery, taxation and subsidies,

including the setting of fares and tariffs, infrastructure financing mechanisms
and the use of subsidies to achieve essential non-commercial goals, such as
maintaining unremunerative services or infrastructure; and
• the principles governing institutional arrangements, including the respective

roles of the public (government) and private sectors and the organization of
public-sector functions.
A coherent and realistic Public Transport policy,

which is within the constraints of available resources,
is fundamental to bus regulation and planning.
Page | 12
Figure 6
Uncoordinated buses in Delhi, India
2.1.2 Implementation strategy
The policy statement will be supported by strategies. Strategies are the measures taken
to implement policies. They should include targets and a time frame. In a developing
city, strategies are likely to include the following steps:
• establishing priorities for the allocation of road space between the competing
demands of utilities, frontages, pedestrians, non-motorized vehicles, Public
Transport vehicles and stops, parked vehicles and moving vehicles;
• improving road capacity by traffic management and enforcement measures to

improve the average bus speeds to a target of 15-18km/h, achieving this by
bus priority measures where necessary;
• building more effective institutions to implement policies and plans;
• containing or reducing the role of paratransit modes to a target level, by

confining them to secondary routes by a progressive strategy of creating
competition and imposing restrictions, and consolidating fragmented
ownership into companies or cooperatives to facilitate control;
• revising the road traffic and transport legislation and the licensing system to
create appropriate powers;
• ensuring that Public Transport services provide comprehensive, safe, adequate

coverage of the city, and that they provide a full range of quality, including
premium services (air-conditioned, all-seated);
• ensuring the provision of adequate bus infrastructure including stops, shelters,
bus bays, terminals and turn around facilities;
• giving priority to pedestrian routes accessing bus stops and terminals.
Page | 13
• deciding whether fares should be controlled to ensure affordability by lower-

income or disadvantaged groups, whether fares should be reduced by
subsidies and, in that case, how to ensure efficiency and demand
responsiveness.
The combination of targets to be adopted will depend on the current status and
performance of the bus system. Performance may be measured with reference to a
variety of criteria: i) performance achieved in other cities with comparable conditions, ii)
objective performance criteria, and iii) feedback from users and potential users, either
unsolicited complaints and suggestions or by systematic attitude surveys. When the
policy-making process is launched, it is advantageous to identify champions for
significant policy reforms and a lead organization; for example, the city transport
authority or agency.
2.2 Urban bus planning

Figure 7
Modern Bus
Generally, in a regulated transport
system, the authority prepares
operational plans which are then
implemented by operators who
respond to directives by the authority
and to market incentives. In a
deregulated system, the authority
may not undertake service planning,
but will monitor passenger demand
and the supply of services and may
intervene where the market does not
provide services on routes, or at
times, that are determined as
essential. Photo courtesy of Advanced Public Transport System
2.2.1 Planning process
Bus service planning is a cyclical, incremental process. Stages in the planning cycle are
shown in Figure 8. Monitoring, planning and implementation are the three consecutive
phases of this process, which may be repeated every year where institutional capability
allows or where the transport system is undergoing rapid change, or every two years
where the system is more stable and institutional capability is limited.
The time horizon for planning should be:
• Two to three years for changes such as extending services to a new

development area which requires new infrastructure such as terminals and
depots.
• Two years for network changes which require the acquisition and financing of
significant numbers of large buses, or where a tendering process is involved.
• A one year or six-month planning horizon is sufficient where the network is
small.
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Figure 8
The planning cycle
Source: Meakin 2004
Page | 15
2.2.2 Planning indicators
The resources employed in bus services should be put to the most productive and
efficient use. For this purpose there is a need to evaluate the operational performance of
bus services and the standard of service being provided to users. Carefully chosen
performance indicators can highlight the deficiencies of bus services and indicate where
improvements are needed. Used as a monitoring system, performance indicators
(Table 3) will detect changes in operating trends and provide the means for evaluating
improvements and changes.
Market research on transport services carried out worldwide repeatedly shows that Public
Transport users consider reliability to be the most important quality of a transport
service, followed by service frequency and journey speed. These are key to keeping the
overall generalized cost of travel down. While government policies tend to focus on
keeping fares low, availability and quality of service seem to be viewed as more
important by users. Indicators are listed in Table 3.
Table 3
Planning Indicators
Performance and standards of Service Indicators

Passenger Volumes Average number of passengers per operating bus per day.
Fleet Utilization A well-run bus company will achieve a fleet utilization of 80-85 per cent
Vehicle Kilometers 210-260 vehicle-kilometers per bus per day
Breakdowns in No more than 5 percent of buses in operation each day.
Service
Fuel Consumption Between 29 and 45 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers for large single-deck
buses
Staff Ratios Less than four staff per bus is considered efficient.
Accidents 1.5-3.0 accidents per 100,000 bus kilometers
Dead Kilometers Dead, or off-service, kilometers are incurred when a bus is being operated
without revenue passengers.
Operating Cost The total cost of bus services (operating costs, depreciation and interest) in
mixed traffic and bus-only lanes should be about US¢ 2 per passenger
kilometer for owner-operated services
Operating Ratio Revenues should cover costs and produce a sufficient surplus to provide for
investment and growth. The operating ratio is defined as total revenue
divided by operating costs including depreciation, and should be around
1.05-1.08.
Quality of Service Indicators
Waiting Time In developing countries the average waiting time should be in the region of
5-10 minutes, with a maximum waiting time of 10-20 minutes.
Walking Distance to 300-500 meters of their home or workplace. Distances in excess of 500
Bus Routes meters may be acceptable in low-density areas but the maximum walking
distance should not exceed one kilometer.
Journey Time Passengers should not be expected to spend more than two to three hours
each day travelling to and from work (door to door) in the largest urban
area, and considerably less in a relatively small city.
Interchanges In a large city many commuters might be expected to interchange once but
less than 10% of passengers should be required to interchange more than
once.
Travel Expenditure Recommended not to exceed 10 percent of household income
The key measure of the effectiveness of a bus network is the extent to which it meets the
community’s travel needs. An efficiently planned route network underpins the financial
performance of the sector as a whole and is critical to a competitive tendering or
Page | 16
franchising system. Systematic network planning drives the overall cost effectiveness and
service or customer-oriented nature of the network over time.
In many developing cities the pattern of movement is changing rapidly as new locations
for employment and settlement develop. Matching vehicle types to demand levels, while
maintaining attractive passenger frequencies, is essential to improve competitiveness.
2.2.3 Data collection
Detailed passenger origin/destination data is necessary for network planning. The large
volume of data and complex calculations means that the only practical means to analyze
trip data and evaluate alternative network strategies is to use one of the many
computer-based route network analysis software packages. The software identifies
highest in-demand routes and forecasts passenger volumes that allow the most
appropriate service type and vehicle type to be identified. A forecast of the service’s
potential financial performance can be estimated using this analytical process. It is also
possible to examine alternative fare strategies using the same database and appropriate
fare elasticities.
Accurate estimates of the demand and commercial viability of a route are essential to the
process of designing routes to be awarded by competitive tender. They are also
necessary for the development of the tender criteria: for example, what criteria should
be used to evaluate a bid that specifies a high frequency service with small vehicles
against a bid offering a low frequency service with large vehicles.
To get a true measure of the demand pattern it is necessary to undertake household

surveys. Limiting surveys to the users of the existing transport network excludes those
not using the service. Rather than conduct a citywide household survey – which is a
major exercise – it may be possible to target the newer suburban and commercial areas
for selective detailed surveys. The data from home interviews will be supplemented by
other surveys.
Regular cordon counts are useful. The value of a single cordon count is limited as it is a
single ‘snapshot’ but multiple counts generate time-series data which are very useful for
monitoring the impact of newly introduced network changes. The value of the data
increases if the cordon count sites are made at the maximum loading points along the
corridor. However, in order to capture more routes it may be necessary to select sites
that are not the maximum loading points. Cordon counts or other related surveys simply
monitor performance and are not substitutes for origin/destination data.
In-vehicle surveys may indicate the level of interchange and overall network
effectiveness. Boarding and alighting counts with surveyors logging passengers’ entry
and exit movements along a route gives an overall loading profile. Attitudinal surveys of
passengers have value in assessing overall network performance. Limited surveys can be
used to monitor local network changes.
Electronic ticketing systems offer the potential to monitor passenger volumes on a daily
basis. Ongoing ‘surveys’ of this nature are invaluable and allows seasonality patterns to
be tracked in detail.
The output of the planning process will be a service development plan, which should be
updated every year or at most, two years. The plan will include the following
components: i) a statement of how far demand is being met; ii) a summary of proposed
new routes and changes to existing services: the network, capacity, service quality, and
fares, by mode, by operator, or by area and by route. iii) Proposed changes within the
one-year horizon will be specific, with a date. Changes beyond one year should be in
outline, by 3-month or 6- month periods; a statement of the financial performance of
Page | 17
different sectors in the industry, with an indication of the timing and scale of any future
fare increases forecast to be necessary.
Further reading on Bus Policy and Planning
Meakin (2006): Bus Regulation and Planning, GTZ Training Document
Meakin (2004): GTZ Sourcebook Module 3c on Bus Regulation and Planning
Page | 18
3. Planning Bus Rapid Transit Systems4
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a bus-based mass transit system that delivers fast,
comfortable, and cost-effective urban mobility. This chapter gives detailed on all planning
steps for the implementation of a BRT system.
Through the provision of exclusive right-of-way lanes and excellence in customer service,
BRT essentially emulates the performance and amenity characteristics of a modern rail-
based transit system, but at a fraction of the cost. While BRT utilizes rubber-tyred
vehicles, it has little else in common with conventional urban bus systems. The following
is a list of features found on some of the most successful BRT systems implemented to
date:
• Exclusive right-of-way lanes

• Rapid boarding and alighting
• Free transfers between lines
• Pre-board fare collection and fare verification
• Enclosed stations that are safe and comfortable
• Clear route maps, signage, and real-time information displays
• Automatic vehicle location technology to manage vehicle movements
• Modal integration at stations and terminals
• Competitively-bid concessions for operations
• Effective reform of the existing institutional structures for public transit
• Clean vehicle technologies
• Excellence in marketing and customer service
Local circumstances will dictate the extent to which the above characteristics are actually
utilized within a system. Small- and medium-sized cities may find that not all of these
features are feasible within their cost and capacity constraints. Nevertheless, serving
customer needs first is a premise that all cities, regardless of local circumstances, should
follow in developing a successful transit service.
An effective public transit system can underpin a city’s progress towards

social equality, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability. By
leap-frogging past a car-dependent development path, cities can avoid the
many negative costs associated with uncontrolled growth that ultimately
disrupt urban coherence and a sense of community.
Today, the BRT concept is becoming increasingly utilized by cities looking for cost-
effective transit solutions. As new experiments in BRT emerge, the state of the art in BRT
will undoubtedly continue to evolve. Nevertheless, BRT’s customer focus will likely remain
its defining characteristic. The developers of high-quality BRT systems in cities such as
Bogotá, Curitiba, and Ottawa astutely observed that the ultimate objective was to swiftly,
efficiently, and cost-effectively move people, rather than cars.
4
Adapted from Wright (2004): GTZ Sourcebook Module 3b, Wright (2004): Mass Transit, GTZ Training
Document.
Page | 19
Box 3
Bogotá’s BRT system TransMilenio
As part of a comprehensive urban mobility strategy including promotion of non-

motorized transport (NMT) and restriction of automobile use, the municipality of
Bogotá, Colombia, has developed a Bus Rapid Transit system called TransMilenio.
The infrastructure of the system includes exclusive busways on central lanes of major
arterial roads, roads for feeder buses, stations, and complementary facilities. Trunk
line stations are closed facilities with one to three berths, varying from 40 to 180
meters in length, located in the median every 500 meters, on average. Trunk lines are
served by articulated diesel buses with 160-passenger capacity, while integrated
feeder lines are served by diesel buses with capacity of 80 passengers each. To
maximize capacity, trunk lines accommodate express services stopping at selected
stations only, as well as local services stopping at all stations. This combination allows
the system to carry up to 35,000 passengers per hour per direction.
Services are operated by private consortia of traditional local transport companies,

associated with national and international investors procured under competitively
tendered concession contracts on a gross cost basis. A separate marketing contract
covering production and distribution of smart cards, acquisition and installation of
turnstiles and validating systems, and passenger information and money handling was
also competitively tendered. All revenues are deposited in a trust fund, from which
operators are paid according to their contracts.
Overall system management is performed by a new public company (TransMilenio

S.A.) funded by 3 percent of the ticket sales. TransMilenio S.A. operates a control
centre, supervising service and passenger access. Each articulated bus is equipped to
use global positioning system to report its location every six seconds. Turnstiles also
report passenger movements to the control centre, allowing supply to be efficiently
adjusted to demand.
The system was developed in less than three years starting January 1998; service
commenced in December 2000. By May 2001 it carried 360,000 trips per weekday, at
a ticket cost of $0.36 and without operating subsidies, on 20 kilometres of exclusive
lanes, 32 stations, 162 articulated buses, and 60 feeder buses. Productivity was high,
with 6.21 passengers per kilometre, 1,945 passengers per day per bus, and 325
kilometres per day per bus. Fatalities from traffic accidents involving buses had been
eliminated, some air pollutants reduced by 40 percent, and users’ travel time reduced
by 32 percent.
Source: World Bank 2002.
The planning steps for a BRT system and the recommended time-frame are given in
Table 4 and Table 5. The activities are discussed in the following text.
Page | 20
Table 4
An illustrative timeline for a Bus Rapid Transit project (1)
Source: Wright (2004): Mass transit, GTZ Training Course
Page | 21
Table 5
An illustrative timeline for a Bus Rapid Transit project (2)
Source: Wright (2004): Mass Transit, GTZ Training Document
3.1 Planning stage I: Project preparation
The first stage of the process involves galvanizing the political and institutional support
for the project. Additionally, this stage is also a time to organize and plan the entire BRT
development process. Work plans, timelines, budgets, and the formation of a planning
team are essential pre-requisites before proceeding further. Investments made early in
properly structuring and organizing the planning process can pay significant dividends
later in terms of both the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall effort.
3.1.1 Project creation and commitment
Political leadership is probably the single most important factor in realizing a successful
BRT project. Without such leadership, the project will not likely have sufficient
momentum to survive the inevitable challenges from opposition groups and special
interests. Further, without leadership, it is significantly more difficult to galvanize public
opinion towards supporting a new outlook on public transit. The vision for the new transit
system should also be consistent with the vision and objectives set forth in any previous
master transport plans.
3.1.2 Legal basis
In most cases, a statutory or legal mandate needs to be created prior to the project
being officially recognized. This process then allows public funds to be disbursed towards
the planning process as well as permits planning staff to be employed on the project.
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3.1.3 Development team
A new mass transit system for a city is not a small undertaking. It is unlikely to be
achieved without staff dedicated full-time to the effort. Depending on the intended
timeline for planning and implementing the system, the initial number of full-time team
members will likely vary from three to ten. As the project progresses, the size and
specialties of the team will likely grow. Utilizing consultants within a BRT project can be a
cost-effective means to gain individuals with key specialties and direct BRT experience.
The use of consultants allows skills to be brought on board without the overhead costs of
a full-time hire.
3.1.4 Work plan and timeline
Once a vision is set for the BRT system and an initial team is formed, a detailed work
plan and timeline on how to achieve the vision will be necessary. An indicative timeframe
is given in Table 5 .By walking through each step of the process, municipal officials and
the public will have a better idea of the scope of the project and the necessary activities
to make it happen. Invariably, cities underestimate the amount of time needed to
complete a full BRT plan. A BRT plan can be reasonably completed in 12 to 18 months,
but can take longer in cases of very large and complicated cities.
The issue here is whether to approach BRT by a strategy of “revolution” or “evolution”. A

revolutionary approach implies that the city commits to a bold plan for an entirely new
city-wide transport system. An evolutionary approach implies that the city begins
developing its new system slowly, by implementing relatively small projects one by one.
The revolutionary approach depends upon a highly motivated and charismatic political
leader who can push through a wider vision. The evolutionary approach is more
characteristic of municipal leaders with only a moderate amount of political interest
towards public transport.
3.1.5 Planning budget and financing
The realistic scope and depth of the BRT planning process is largely determined by the
available funding. However, the first step should be to determine the required amount
based upon the projected activities. An estimated budget for the plan can be developed
from the activities outlined in the work plan. The budget will include staff salaries,
consultant fees, travel and study tours, resource materials, telecommunications, and
administrative support. Some of these costs may be covered by existing budgets and
overheads while other line items will need newly dedicated funding. In comparison to
other transport projects, such as road networks and rail systems, the planning costs of
BRT are typically much less. For this reason, the costs are often financed within existing
municipal or provincial revenues without the need for alternative financing sources such
as loans or bonds. This situation can even be true of low-income, developing cities. Local,
provincial, and national resources should all be quite sufficient to readily complete the
BRT planning process. However, at the same time, several international sources stand
ready to assist cities interested in BRT. The international resources often also bring the
additional advantage of allowing greater access to consultants with international BRT
experience.
3.2 Planning stage II: Analysis
Prior to the formal development of a Bus Rapid Transit plan, the planning team will
require a certain amount of baseline information in order to have a sound basis for
decision-making. In most cases, a portion of such information will already be available
Page | 23
from previous analyses and planning processes. The following is an outline of the type of
pre-planning information that will underpin the development of a BRT plan.
3.2.1 Background and situational description
A city’s public transit system is intimately woven into the existing demographic,
economic, environmental, social, and political conditions. Understanding these conditions
enables the BRT planner to better align the prospective public transit system with the
local realities. Some of these data items will later be inputted into transportation models
to project future needs. Other portions of this background information will help the
planner view the proposed public transit system in its wider socio-economic context.
3.2.2 Stakeholder analysis
The pre-planning period is also the time to begin identifying key groups and
organizations that should be included in the planning and development of improved
transit services. Specific agencies, departments and political officials will all have varying
opinions and interests with regard to developing a new transit system. Non-governmental
and community-based organizations will be important resources to draw upon during
later public participation processes. The types of organizations to be sought during the
stakeholder identification process include:
• Existing transport operators, and operators’ and drivers’ associations (formal

and informal);
• Customers (including current transit users, car owners, non-motorized
transport users, student travel, low-income communities, physically disabled,
elderly);
• Municipal departments: transport, environment, urban development;
• Traffic and transit police;
• Relevant national agencies; and
• Non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations.
3.2.3 Transport data collection
A solid understanding of existing transport choices will help serve to define the present
and future requirements of a BRT system. The data collected on current transport supply
and demand will serve as a major input into determining the design characteristics of the
system. This data may also be used within a transport software model to project different
scenarios.
Establishing the nature of existing travel patterns is fundamental to projecting the

requirements for a proposed mass transit system. Surveying all members of a household
regarding individual travel practices (destinations, mode choice, reasons for mode choice,
travel expenditures, etc.) provides a very complete picture of trip generation. Likewise,
work place surveys can also be an effective mechanism. Unfortunately, household and
work place surveys are probably the most costly of the O-D techniques. The other
techniques, such as intercept surveys and traffic counts, are typically done in conjunction
with the household and work place surveys in order to confirm results. The data
collection has to take into account the following methodological issues: i) survey
techniques, ii) study area, iii) zoning systems, i) study period, iv) sample size, v) survey
correction and validation.
Common elements of a demand analysis include an origin-destination survey (O-D

survey), behavioral determinants for travel, and activity data (e.g., opening times of
Page | 24
shops). Figure 9 provides a graphical representation of the data collected through an O-D
analysis.
Figure 9
Data collection for O/D analysis
An inventory of the existing supply of services is also an essential part of characterizing

the current situation. The data collected on the supply side include:
• Size and capacity of road network;

• Inventory of parking facilities;
• Identification of Public Transport networks;
• Quality and coverage of pedestrian infrastructure;
• Quality and length of bicycle infrastructure;
• Number of Public Transport companies (including private operators);
• Number and age of Public Transport vehicles by type;
• Costs of travel (both individual and mass transit modes);
• Schedules and frequency of Public Transport services.
The above surveys should be supplemented with i) historical trends, ii) surveys of
attitudes and elasticity of demand and iii) land-use data collection.
3.2.4 Transportation modeling
Transportation modeling is quite commonly utilized to determine expected demand and

supply conditions that will help shape decisions on future infrastructure needs and
supporting policy measures. Modeling helps project future transport growth as well as
allows planners to run projections across many different scenarios. The models are tools
that provide decision-makers with information to better gauge the impacts of different
future scenarios.
Page | 25
The modeling process usually consists of four steps, as already explained in Chapter
4.1.1 of Module 1:
1. Trip generation: The data collected in the previous section will serve as the key
inputs into the modeling process.
2. Trip distribution: The next stage of the modeling process involves distributing the
generated trips amongst different destinations. Typically, this distribution occurs
in the form of a matrix formed by rows of origins and columns of destinations.
3. Modal split: Perhaps the most important stage in the transport modeling process
is the selection of mode choice for the different trips. Determining the number of
trips to be made by public transport, non-motorized options, and private
motorized options will have a profound impact on future municipal investments.
4. Assignment: The previous stages in the modeling process focused primarily on the
demand side of transit services. The “assignment” stage is where the supply of
transit services are matched with these demand conditions. Within a BRT system,
the assignment stage also helps identify usage levels among different routing and
service options.
3.3 Planning stage III: Communications
Effective transport planning is not conducted in isolation. In many instances, insights

from the public, civic organizations, existing operators, private sector firms, and other
governmental entities are more relevant than merely relying on planning staff and
consultants. Systems should be designed around the needs and wants of the customer.
All subsequent details with regard to technology and structure can follow from this simple
customer-oriented vision.
Typically, a significant barrier to the actual implementation of a BRT system is neither

technical nor financial in nature. More often, it is a lack of political will and a lack of
communication and participation from key actors that ultimately undermines a project’s
progress. Communications are not only important in terms of obtaining public approval of
the project but also provide the design insights of the people who will be using the
system.
BRT can improve profits and working conditions for existing operators and drivers.
However, in many countries, the sector is unaccustomed to any official involvement and
oversight, and operators often carry a distinct distrust of public agencies. Ideally, the
existing operators can come to view BRT as a positive business opportunity and not as a
threat to their future. How this key sector comes to view the concept, though, largely
depends on the circumstances and manner in which BRT is introduced to them.
The right marketing campaign can help profile BRT in a new light for the customer. It
should include i) a marketing plan and strategy, ii) system corporate identity, and iii) a
public education – awareness plan.
3.4 Planning stage IV: Operations
It is now possible to prepare a conceptual framework for the operational aspects of the
new transit system. By knowing where key origins and destinations are located, the
planning team can identify the most appropriate initial corridors. Further, the team can
also consider the various type of routing and service options that are possible, such as
feeder, express, and local services. Decisions are also possible on the level of customer
Page | 26
service quality that will be provided within the system. Attributes such as service
frequency, hours of operation, comfort levels, cleanliness, security, and safety will all
eventually affect overall ridership levels.
3.4.1 Basis for corridor selection
The choice of corridor location will not only impact the usability of the BRT system for
large segments of the population but will also have profound impacts on the future
development of the city. The starting point for corridor decisions is the demand profiles
generated during the modeling process, which will help identify the daily commuting
patterns in both spatial and temporal terms. Clearly a key consideration is to minimize
travel distances and travel times for the largest segment of the population. This objective
will typically result in corridor being located near major destinations such as work places,
universities and schools, and shopping areas. Thus, the areas serving the highest
customer demand may be selected as the initial system corridors. Trunk corridors are
typically selected to operate upon major arterial roads. The wider space available on such
roadways permit lower construction costs, as less re-engineering of the road structure is
typically necessary. The choice of arterial roads may also provoke less concern about
noise and traffic impacts, since these roadways already have a significant presence of
motorized vehicles.
3.4.2 Feeder services
Providing a transit service to all major residential and commercial sectors of a city can be
challenging from a standpoint of system efficiency and cost effectiveness. It may be
distinguished between direct and trunk feeder services.
Direct services (Source: Wright (2004): Mass Transit, GTZ Training Document Figure 10) avoid
the need for customers to transfer since the same vehicle serves both the feeder area
and the trunk-line corridor. However, direct services incur a substantial cost penalty for
operating vehicles that do not closely match the actual demand. Thus, direct services
may imply that a large vehicle must enter into lower-density areas where relatively few
passengers will be in the bus. Alternatively, direct services may imply that small vehicles
operate efficiently in feeder areas but are undersized for the economics of trunk
corridors.
Trunk-feeder services utilize smaller vehicles in lower-density areas and then necessitate
passengers to transfer to higher-capacity vehicles at terminals. A trunk-feeder service
thus operates relatively efficiently by closely matching vehicle operating characteristics to
the actual demand. However, such services do imply that some passengers will need to
transfer vehicles in order to reach their destination.
Figure 10
Illustrative comparison between trunk-feeder services and direct services
Source: Wright (2004): Mass Transit, Gtz Training Document
Page | 27
3.4.3 Service options
The most basic type of transit service along a corridor is typically known as “local
service”. This term refers to stops being made at each of the major origins and
destinations along a route. However, in comparison to conventional bus services, the
distance between stops on BRT corridors is greater. A typical range of distances is
between 300 meters and 700 meters. Two types of stop services can be distinguished:
Limited-stop services: Typically, a few major stations will predominate as the intended
destination of customers. For many passengers, stopping at each intermediate station
adds significantly to the overall travel time with relatively little commercial benefit to the
system operators. Thus, both passengers and operators can benefit from the provision of
services that skip intermediate stops. Well-designed stations can permit customers to
transfer from local services to the limited-stop service.
Express services: Another type of limited-stop service is known as an “express service”.

Express services skip all stations between a peripheral area and a central core area.
Thus, express services are an extreme form of limited-stop service.
3.4.4 Passenger capacity
Once the initial BRT corridors are selected, the demand forecasts for these corridors can
be used to determine optimum values for factors such as vehicle capacity, vehicle load
factors, service frequency, and dwell times. These attributes in conjunction with the
desired preferences for service types (trunk-feeder, direct, local, limited stop, etc.) and
the configuration of stopping bays will allow system developers to model different options
for meeting the expected passenger capacities. The calculation of the passenger capacity
is given below. Vehicle passenger capacity, load factors, and required service frequency
are all mutually dependent. The vehicle load factor refers actual capacity usage as a
percentage of the maximum passenger capacity. The service frequency refers to the
waiting time between arriving vehicles.
Calculation of the overall corridor capacity
The waiting time is also known as the “headway” between vehicles. In general, it is
desirable to provide frequent services in order to reduce customer wait times. Another
factor impacting feasible operating conditions is the vehicle “dwell time”. The dwell time
is the amount of time vehicles are stopped at a station to allow passenger boarding and
alighting. Stopping bay configurations Passenger capacities along a corridor can be
increased by providing multiple stopping bays at station. A stopping bay is the
designated area where a vehicle will stop and align to the platform. Allowing multiple
vehicles to stop at the same time has been proven to dramatically increase system
capacity.
In reality, system capacity is not only dependent upon vehicle velocity. Clearly, from the
perspective of minimizing travel time and fulfilling customer preferences, a rapid service
is more desirable. The passenger capacity of a given corridor is calculated based upon
the discussed factors of vehicle capacity, load factors, service frequency, dwell times, and
stopping bay configurations.
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3.4.5 System management and control
Centralized control of the overall transit system affords many benefits for optimizing
efficiencies and minimizing costs. Most conventional bus services lack a centralized
control and management system; many do not even possess a basic radio dispatch
system. The lack of such controls means that each vehicle operates individually without
the advantage of reacting collectively to service changes.
Figure 11
BRT Control Centre in Los Angeles
Source: Wright (2004): Mass Transit, GTZ Training document
In a high-volume public transit system, there is very little margin for problems or errors.
A vehicle breakdown, even for just a few minutes, can create havoc on the entire
system. Likewise, a breakdown of a fare verification turnstile or non-functioning station
door will create similar types of problems. Thus, preparing for any and all eventualities is
a fundamental part of the operational plan. The development of backup and contingency
plan will ensure that the system can continue to function even in difficult circumstances.
3.4.6 Customer service plan
Unlike many existing bus services in developing- nation cities, BRT places the needs of
the customer at the centre of the system’s design criteria. The quality of customer
service is directly related to customer satisfaction, which ultimately determines customer
usage and long-term financial sustainability. Unfortunately, unclear maps and schedules,
unclean buses, and uncomfortable rides have been all too frequently the obligatory price
to be paid for utilizing public transport. Unlike the well-designed and color-coded maps
accompanying rail-based systems, maps for conventional bus systems are often quite
confusing. However, higher-quality bus systems are increasingly making use of spider
maps to better convey information to customers. The idea behind a spider map is to give
each route its own color-coded identity.
Page | 29
Figure 12
System map of TransMilenio, Bogotá, Colombia
Real-time information displays that inform passengers when the next bus is due can be
particularly effective at reducing “waiting anxiety”, which often affects passengers who
are not sure when or if a bus is coming. This feature allows customers to undertake other
value adding activities to make best use of the time, rather than nervously waiting and
standing at close attention to the horizon. Such displays can substantially reduce the
customer’s perceived waiting time.
Figure 13
Real time passenger information system in Singapore
A number of other issues are of importance that shall not be discussed here:
• Trained transit staff

• Cleanliness and system aesthetics
• Comfort and convenience
• Security and Safety
• Amenity features, such as entertainment.
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3.5 Planning stage V: Business and regulatory structure
These issues are discussed in Chapter 5 of this Training Module.
3.6 Planning stage VI: Infrastructure
3.6.1 Busways, feeder and integration infrastructure
The location of the segregated busway within a specific roadway is a design decision that
holds more options than might be immediately apparent. The most common option is to
locate the busway in the centre median or in the centre two lanes. This configuration
reduces turning conflicts to the right5. The median location also permits a central station
to serve both busway directions. The availability of road space will likely be a significant
design consideration in the development of the busway. Providing space for busways,
pedestrian and bicycle access areas, and mixed traffic lanes can be a challenge when
given the inherent limitations of existing road widths. As Figure 14 shows, the width of a
road with 2-lane busways amounts to 34 m. With a single busway lane in each direction,
a BRT system will reach a capacity limit at approximately 14,000 passengers per hour
per direction (pphpd). The best option may be to consider a passing lane at stations or
even a second lane throughout the full corridor. By permitting a passing lane at stations,
buses can comfortably overtake other buses. However, this increases road width to 40
m.
Figure 14
Cross-section of a median busway with on bus lane per direction
Source: Wright (2004): Mass Transit, Gtz Training Document
Busways can be either “at-grade” or “grade-separated”. An “at-grade” busway runs along

at street level and thus must eventually cross signal-controlled intersections, which may
greatly reduce the overall potential for the whole system. “Grade-separated” busways
avoid such conflicts by being constructed in a manner completely separated from any
conflict with other lanes. Overpasses, underpasses, and tunnels are a few of the options
available to create grade separation. Busways are generally separated from mixed traffic
lanes by the use of blocks, curbing, permanent traffic cones, or other types of barrier
5
In countries that drive on the right-hand side of the street.
Page | 31
devices. Intersections represent several design challenges for a busway system. If not
designed to give priority to the BRT system, intersections will have negative effects on
travel times, system capacity, and safety.
Feeder services will likely provide a substantial percentage of a system’s ridership since
the feeder corridors are the key link into residential areas. Quality infrastructure should
not just be given only to trunk lines. Feeder lines should also receive a high level of
quality service; otherwise, a large part of the customer base will never engage the
system. Feeder services typically are not provided with dedicated busways but instead
utilize mixed traffic lanes. Since many feeder routes extend into fairly narrow residential
streets, exclusive vehicle lanes is not always a practical option.
Public transport will almost never be the sole modal technology for any customer trip.
The initial part of the trip may involve a walk, a bicycle ride, or even a car trip to a
transit station. Ensuring that the transit system is well integrated with these other modal
options is critical to developing a truly usable system: i) Pedestrian infrastructure; ii)
bicycle infrastructure; iii) integrated taxi stations; iv) integration infrastructure for other
public, transport systems (e.g., water transport, rail transport, etc.); v) park and ride
facilities.
3.6.2 Stations, terminals, depots and control centre
A standard distance between stations is approximately 500 meters but can often range
from 300 meters to 1000 meters, depending upon local circumstances. The design of the
boarding and alighting interface will affect the likely dwell times of the buses. BRT
systems in cities like Bogotá are able to reduce dwell times to 20 seconds using an array
of rapid boarding and alighting strategies. As a system expands across a wider network,
intersecting stations will require mechanisms to transfer from one corridor to another. An
“interchange station” is a facility that permits such transfers, and thus has additional
design considerations than a standard station. Modern stations should include climate
protection devices and an appealing aesthetic design. Bus depot areas serve an array of
purposes including bus parking areas, re-fuelling facilities, maintenance areas, and office
space for bus operators
A centralized control centre will help ensure smooth and efficient BRT operations.
Controlling a high-volume BRT system spread across a major developing city is a
complex and involving activity. As noted in section 3.4.5, a centralized control and
management system brings with it a number of benefits.
3.6.3 Infrastructure cost analysis
An initial infrastructure cost analysis can help focus the possible design work on
financially realistic options. Based on the preferred design characteristics in conjunction
with the size of the initial phase of the project, a city can determine if the capital cost
estimates are in line with realistic financial resources. Some of the principal factors in
determining the actual infrastructure costs will include: i) number of exclusive lanes; ii)
materials utilized in the construction of the lanes (asphalt or concrete); iii) expected
system capacity, and thus the capacity and size of stations, terminals, and depots; iv)
local construction costs; v) amount of property expropriation required. Table 6 lists the
actual infrastructure costs for Phase I of Bogota’s TransMilenio.
Page | 32
Table 6
BRT construction cost breakdown, Bogotá’s TransMilenio
Total Cost Cost per Kilometer

Component
(US$ million) (US$ million)
Trunk lines 94.7 2.5
Stations 29.2 0.8
Terminal 14.9 0.4
Pedestrian overpasses 16.1 0.4
Bus depots 15.2 0.4
Control centre 4.3 0.1
Other 25.7 0.7
Total 198.8 5.3
Source: Wright (2004): Mass Transit GTZ Training Document
One of the most variable cost items when comparing different BRT systems is the level of
property acquisition required. In instances where property purchases are necessary,
infrastructure costs can quickly skyrocket.
3.7 Planning stage VII: Technology
3.7.1 Vehicle technology
BRT is not a standard bus service. BRT is a collection of best-practice measures and
advanced technologies that deliver a high-quality mass transit experience. A number of
features are decisive for the choice of the technology:
• Vehicle size, see Table 7

• Engine Technology: i) standard diesel, ii) clean diesel iii) bio-diesel, iv)
compressed natural gas (CNG), v) liquid petroleum gas (LPG), vi) hybrid-
electric (diesel-electric and CNG-electric), vii) electric, viii) hydrogen (fuel cell
technology)
• Environmental performance related to emission standards and noise
• Low-floor vehicles versus high-floor vehicles
• Double-decker buses
• Interior design and vehicle aesthetics
• Docking systems: The process of aligning the vehicle to the station will affect
the speed of passenger boarding and alighting, customer safety, and vehicle
quality.
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Table 7
Standard vehicle types and passenger capacities
Typical
Typical vehicle
Vehicle type number of
length
passengers
Vans 10-16 3 meters
Mini-buses 25-35 6 meters
Standard buses 60-80 12 meters
Articulated buses 120-170 18 meters
Bi-articulated buses 240-270 24 meters
This is a bus; not a light rail vehicle
Source: Wright (2004): Mass Transit,

GTZ Training Document
3.7.2 Fare collection and fare verification systems
The method of fare collection and fare verification has a significant impact on passenger
flow capacities and the system’s overall impression to the customer. These options
include:
On-board versus off-board fare collection

Off-board fare collection and fare verification reduces the long delays that accompany
on-board payment.
Distance-based fare collection versus flat fares

A flat fare implies that the same fare is charged to a customer regardless of the distance
travelled in the urban area. A distance-based fare implies that customers are charged
based on the distance covered in their journey. In much of the developing world, flat
fares are utilized for social equity reasons. In many developing cities the lowest income
groups often reside at the urban fringe. These peri-urban areas offer property at
substantially lower costs than central areas. Distance-based fare structures most closely
mirror actual operating costs and thus provide a more true measure of expenses for
system operators
Time-based fare collection

Time-based fares typically enforce a maximum amount of time that a person can reside
within the system.
Actual verification versus “proof of payment’ systems

Verification is the process of checking whether a person has actually paid for their
intended (or completed) journey. Systems in Europe and North America often employ
“proof of payment” techniques. In such systems, very little actual fare verification is
conducted. Occasional checks by transit staff is done to control the relative level of fare
evasion. The main advantage of proof of payment fare systems is that it allows one to
avoid the construction of a closed entry station that is needed for the pre-board
verification. No physical separation between the station and the outside area is
necessary.
Fare collection systems

Several different technologies and mechanisms exist to facilitate BRT fare collection and
fare verification, including: i) coin or token systems, ii) paper systems, iii) magnetic strip
technology, or iv) smart card technology.
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3.8 Planning stage VIII: Modal integration
BRT systems like all Public Transport systems cannot be designed and implemented in
isolation. Instead, such systems are just one element in a city’s overall urban framework
and set of mobility options. To be effective, BRT should be fully integrated with all
options and modes. In truth, other transport options such as walking, cycling, driving,
taxis, and other Public Transport systems should not be seen as competitors with the
BRT system. Rather, such complementary services should interact with BRT as a
seamless set of options serving all aspects of customer needs. The approaches and
features are described in Module 2 in the chapters Transport Demand Management and
Non-Motorized Transport.
Figure 15
Facilities for modal integration
The hanging bicycle A self-locking U shaped The Copenhagen metro

parking used in post is a low-cost and system permits
TransMilenio relatively secure option transport of bicycles
3.9 Planning stage IX: Impacts
Evaluating the expected impacts on traffic levels, economic development, environmental

quality, social interactions, and urban form all help determine whether the BRT system
will add real value. The projection of system impacts is a crucial step in cost justifying
the final development and construction.
Traffic impacts: At the outset of the project, the initial modeling work helped to select
the appropriate corridors and the likely ridership numbers. Once the initial design and
planning work has been completed, it is appropriate to re-examine how the new system
will function in the city’s transport matrix.
Employment generation: Employment is generated through construction, operations

and indirect employment. The boost in shop turnovers near transit stations can lead to
additional employment.
Economic efficiency: Traffic congestion can be a significant drain on a Developing City

economy. As goods and people are held in gridlock, little production (other than petrol
consumption) is being achieved.
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Property values: BRT busways and the associated stations and terminals will tend to
provide new economies of- scale along a particular corridor. A concentration of
passengers and development will tend to increase the value of being located near the
transit corridor.
Environmental impacts: Public transport projects typically bring positive environmental

impacts through the reduction of private vehicle use and subsequent associated
emissions. Quantifying the expected environmental benefits of the BRT project can help
to justify the project as well as strengthen the image of the initiative with the public. As a
major project, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is likely to be required.
Social impacts: Social impacts refer to the ability of a new transit system to help create
more social equity within a city. Thus, this factor is related to previous discussions on
affordability and employment creation, as well as social changes due to the new urban
environment.
3.10 Planning stage X: Implementation plan
The production of a BRT plan is not the end objective of this process. Without
implementation, the planning process is a rather meaningless exercise. The
implementation plan should contain the following items:
i) Timeline and work plan

ii) Financing plan
iii) Staffing and management plans
iv) Contracting plan
v) Construction plan
vi) Maintenance plan
vii) Monitoring and evaluation plan
Financing does not need to represent an insurmountable barrier to BRT implementation.

In comparison to other mass transit options, BRT’s relatively low capital and operational
costs puts the systems within reach for most cities, even relatively low-income
developing cities. Some developing cities have actually found that loans and outside
financing are unnecessary. Internal municipal and national funding may be sufficient to
fully finance all construction costs.
Page | 36
The following sources of funding can be identified:
System Planning
• Local and national financial sources
• Bi-Lateral assistance agencies (e.g. GTZ, USAID)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• Global Environment Facility (GEF)
• Private foundations
Infrastructure
• Local and national general tax revenues
• Petrol taxes
• Road pricing / congestion charging
• Parking fees
• Improved enforcement of traffic regulations
• Land value taxation
• Sales or leasing of commercial space near stations
• Advertising
• Merchandising
• Commercial banks
• Municipal bonds
• World Bank
• Regional Development Banks (e.g., ADB, IDB)
• Emissions trading
Equipment
• Private sector bus operators
• Bus manufacturers
• Bi-Lateral export banks
• International Finance Corporation
• Commercial banks
Further reading on BRT
BRT Planning Guide: 21 Authors, 8 sections, June 2007
Wright (2004): GTZ Sourcebook Module 3b on Bus Rapid Transit
Wright (2004): Mass Transit, GTZ Training Document
Page | 37
4. Light Rail and Metro Systems
Rail-based mass transit systems have a role to play in larger cities. Rail-based mass
transit systems are less congesting than are road based systems and can be very
important for those who are peripherally located and have long journeys to access
employment in the cities. However, urban rail-based systems are costly to build and
operate, are more expensive for the passenger to use than road-based modes, and can
impose a large burden on the city budget. It remains appropriate, therefore, to advise
cautious examination of the fiscal sustainability of rail investments and their impact on
poor people before making expensive commitments.
Rail systems can be classified in i) commuter rail services, ii) Metros and iii) Light Rail
Transit LRT.
4.1 Commuter rail services
Commuter or sometimes called suburban rail is a heavy rail system that operates at a
lower frequency than rapid transit, with higher average speeds, often only serving one
station in each village and town. Some cities have opted for a hybrid solution, with two
tiers of rapid transit: an urban system and a suburban system with lower frequency. The
suburban systems run on their own tracks with high frequency, but are often quite
similar to commuter rail, and are often operated by the national railways. In some cities
the national railway runs through tunnels in the city centre; sometimes commuter trains
have direct transfer to the rapid transits, on the same or adjoining platforms. Most
commuter trains are built to main line rail standards, differing from light rail or Metro
systems by:
• being larger;
• providing more seating and less standing room, for the longer distances
involved;
• having (in most cases) a lower frequency of service;
• having scheduled services (i.e. trains run at specific times rather than at
specific intervals);
• serving lower-density areas, typically by connecting suburbs to the city centre;
• sharing track or right-of-way with intercity or freight trains.
Suburban rail services are physically part of a larger rail network, usually at-grade and
fully-segregated by means of controlled level-crossings. They are mostly provided by
general railroad companies and they share track with freight and long-distance transport.
While in theory the capacity would be limited to the number of available seats, in practice
these services are often run at crush passenger loads in developing cities. Suburban
railways in developing cities are usually radially oriented into the city centre. Although
even in relatively well-served cities like Bombay, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Buenos Aires,
and Johannesburg, they carry less than 10% of trips, they can be important in
supporting a transit-friendly city form and maintaining a strong city centre. As shown in
Bombay, where each day 6 million passengers are carried by suburban railways, this
mode may even serve as a backbone MRT for a developing city. Like Metros, suburban
railways need an independent institutional body which allocates funds and distributes
earnings, as well as fare and timetable integration with other transport services.
Suburban railways are often well located for radial journeys. Although even in relatively
well-served cities (Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Buenos Aires, and Johannesburg),
they carry fewer than 10 percent of trips, they can be very important in providing for
longer commuting trips. Existing, but less-well-used lines can be converted to effective
Page | 38
local passenger service either in the form of a conventional rail service sharing facilities
with other rail traffic or by replacement on the same right-of way by a light rail system.
Measures which can increase capacity and safety include the elimination of at-grade road
crossings (or introduction of safety equipment), the purchase of double-deck-trains and
improvement of boarding/alighting facilities, though in all cases the cost implications may
be too large for many developing cities. As with all other MRT systems, high ridership on
commuter lines requires feeder services (e.g., by bus) and good interchange facilities.
The rehabilitation and improvement of suburban railways show good cost-benefit-ratios
and can contribute to poverty alleviation, as poorer people generally live further from the
city centre.
Figure 16
Commuter rail train in Germany
4.2 Metros
A rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric

passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade
separated from other traffic. Metros are fully segregated, usually elevated or
underground. It is the segregation that is critical to providing a rapid service, and the
technology that allows a high mass ridership to be carried. In urban agglomerations
Metros are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level. Outside
urban centers, rapid transit lines sometimes run grade separated at ground level. Some
systems use different types in different areas.
Service on rapid transit systems is provided on designated lines between stations using
electric multiple units on rails, although some systems use rubber tires. They are
typically integrated with other Public Transport and often operated by the same public
transit authorities. Rapid transit is faster and has a higher capacity than trams or light
rail, but is not as fast or as far-reaching as commuter rail. It is unchallenged in its ability
to transport large numbers of people quickly over short distances with little land use.
Street level railways are used only outside dense areas, since they create a physical
barrier that hinders the flow of people and vehicles across their path. This method of
construction is the cheapest, as long as land values are low. It is often used for new
systems in areas that are planned to fill up with buildings after the line is built. Elevated
railways are a cheap and easy way to build an exclusive right-of-way without digging
expensive tunnels or creating barriers. They were popular around the beginning of the
20th century, but fell out of favor; they came back into fashion in the last quarter of the
century.
Page | 39
Figure 17
Heavy Metro systems in Germany
Metros are usually the most expensive form of MRT per route kilometer, but have the
greatest capacity and best performance. With 10-car train sets and two-minute
headways, the first Hong Kong, China, line has carried as many as 80,000 pphpd. The
Moscow metro has regularly achieved headways below 90 seconds. São Paulo’s East line
has consistently carried more than 60,000 pphpd. However, many metros are designed
for capacities around 30,000 to 40,000 pphpd, and few actually carry more than that.
Costs can vary greatly. Total capital costs can be as low as $8 million per kilometer
where an at grade right-of-way is available for conversion, and can rise to over $150
million per kilometer for an underground railway in difficult terrain. Decisive for the
capital costs is the vertical alignment: Elevated systems are 2-2.5 more expensive
compared to at-grade-systems, while underground system cost 4 to 6 fold (Table 8).
Metro systems may cover their operational costs in urban areas with high population
density, such as in Hong Kong or Sao Paulo, but normally they require subsidies. A
successful Metro also requires integration with existing transport modes and policies, and
planned densification around Metro stations.
Table 8
Capital Costs of Metro Systems
Source: Halcrow Fox 2000
There is a continuous transition between Metros and Light Rail Transit (LRT). Since there
is no international agreed terminus, they are called Light Metros in this paper. Lighter
than heavy Metro, they carry larger passenger numbers, up to 40.000 pphpd. They use
tracks with exclusive right-of-way, but they are able to mix with road traffic as well.
Vehicles are often high floor and more robust than LRT vehicles. Since the costs are
Page | 40
significantly lower than heavy Metros, but still carry considerable passenger volumes,
Light Metros are becoming increasingly popular in developed cities with low corridor
volumes, as a secure and high-quality alternative to the private car, and sometimes
serving as a feeder to heavy rail systems. The example of Karlsruhe, in Box 4, shows
that tramways can expand and serve large regions, using railway tracks and still
providing access to the city centre.
Box 4
Light Metro system in Karlsruhe, Germany
The Stadtbahn Karlsruhe is a German Light Metro system combining tram lines in the
city with railway lines in the surrounding countryside, serving the entire region of the
middle upper Rhine valley and creating connections to neighbouring regions. It
combines an efficient urban railway in the city with an S-Bahn (suburban railway),
overcoming the boundary between trams/light railways and heavy railways. The idea
to link tram and railway lines with one another in order to be able to offer an
attractive transport system for town and outskirts was developed in Karlsruhe and
implemented gradually in the 1980s and 1990s.
The most important features of the tram system are:

• Integration of rural and urban regions with direct access to the city centre of
Karlsruhe
• Gradual growth of the network to presently 700 km, serving an area of 1.3 m
inhabitants and 173 m passengers’ p.a.
• Usage of 38m long wagons with 8 axles. Sometimes two wagons are coupled.
• Usage of railway lines and tramlines with different current supply. For this
purpose a new 8-axle two-system car running under a mixture of direct and
alternating current overhead line was developed.
• Priority lighting at road junctions increasing the speed.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
4.3 Light Rail Transit
Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is a form of urban rail public transportation that
generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than suburban rail and metro systems,
but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems. The
term is typically used to refer to rail systems with rapid transit-style features that usually
use electric rail cars operating mostly in private rights-of-way separated from other
traffic but sometimes, if necessary, mixed with other traffic in city streets. If this is the
case, then under the law of many countries such systems are then legally tramways,
although the vehicles which run on them are sometimes designated "supertrams".
Modern light rail technology is flexible and adaptable, and whether any given system is
considered a true rapid transit system or not depends on its characteristics.
Page | 41
Light rapid transit (LRT) ranges from the conventional on-street tramways of Eastern
Europe and the Arab Republic of Egypt to the sophisticated elevated and completely
segregated systems of Singapore. Highest capacities observed are on the fully-elevated
Manila Line 1 and the 95% segregated Alexandria-Rami systems (18,000pphpd). These
operated 60 meter trains. The highest capacity for a true street-running system
appeared to be for Alexandria-Madina, with 275-passenger vehicles every 80 seconds
(12,000pphpd), but this was at low speeds (6km/h) All-in cost, including infrastructure
and rolling stock, of at-grade LRT systems range at US$ 15- 30mn/km. Additionally, the
operating costs for rail systems are much larger than for bus systems, in particular
because of the need to maintain the equipment and infrastructure to high standards.
In developing countries, where the need is for adequate capacity and speed for captive
low-income Public Transport passengers LRT’s role is less obvious. Where it operates at
grade, without priority or protection from obstruction by other traffic, it has little or no
performance advantage over busways. Although low-cost rehabilitation of on-street
tramways may sometimes be worthwhile, they are usually an expensive proposition for
the volume and speed achieved. Their main advantages are that they have less local air
pollution impact, signal a more permanent commitment to public transport, and have an
image that triggers support for complementary measures, which buses have great
difficulty achieving.
Figure 18
Modern tram in Germany
Further reading on Light Rail and Metro Systems
Halcrow Fox (2000): Mass Rapid Transit in Developing Countries, Department for
International Development, World Bank Urban Transport Strategy Review.
Mitric, Slobodan (1997): Approaching Metros as Potential Development Projects,

Discussion Paper, TWU 28; The World Bank.
Wright/Fjellstrom (2005): Mass Transit Options, GTZ Sourcebook Module 3a.
Allport, Roger (2002): In Which Cities, And With Which Policies, Can Metropolitan
Railways Provide The Backbone?, 1st International Metropolitan Railways Conference
"Modern Metropolitan Railways for Sustainable Mobility and a Better Quality of Life in
Large Cities", Shanghai (CN), 18-20 November 2002.
Qureshi, Intikhab and Ahmed Lu Huapu (2007): Suggesting Urban Mass Transit
Technology For Pakistan “A Comparative Analysis Of Rail Based Rapid Transit And Bus
Rapid Transit” Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol. 7.
Page | 42
5. Regulatory Framework for Public Transport Services
For regulation of public transport, the following issues are of major importance: the level
of competition, the role of the regulating authorities, the structure of the transport
industry, fares and subsidies.
5.1 Competition
In recent years it has been widely recognized that the incentives provided by competition
are more effective in promoting efficiency and demand-responsiveness in transport
services than directives or direct provision of services by state agencies. Public sector
operations generally lack proper incentives for, or are constrained politically against,
acting efficiently, and can therefore lack a customer-oriented quality in many cases. This
can be demonstrated by comparisons between public and private operators in the same
country, as exemplified for Delhi, India, in Table 9 and London, UK in Table 10.
Table 9
Efficiency of bus operations in Delhi, 1995
Public
Measure Private
Operator
Peak-period fleet utilization 83% 93%

Kilometers per bus per day 216 246
Passengers per bus per day 751 1,584
Staff per bus 9.6 4.6
Source: World Bank 2002
Table 10
Effects of competition on bus transport in London
Cost per bus mile –40%

Cost per passenger mile –22%
Revenue per bus mile –8%
Revenue per passenger mile +19%
Grant per bus mile –84%
Grant per passenger mile –80%
Table 11 gives an overview on the forms of competition that may be controlled in two
ways:
• For the market: an operator is awarded an exclusive right to provide services.

Competition is generated for the award of the exclusive right.
• In the market: operators compete for passengers, complying with certain rules
of competition.
Page | 43
Table 11
Classification of markets and competition
Monopoly No competition
Management contracting
Gross cost service contracting
Net cost service contracting Controlled competition for the market
Franchising
Concessions
Open market Open Competition
5.1.1 Open market
The most direct form of competition is that of a totally open market, in which there are
no restrictions on transport operators except those imposed by general law on business
practices, vehicle construction and use, vehicle emissions, and highway and traffic
matters. But market competition is not responsive to several important types of “market
failure.” First, if there is insufficient demand to meet the costs of supply, then there will
be no service, irrespective of the importance that society attaches to the provision of
some minimum basic service level. Second, the market is not responsive to various
external effects, such as congestion and environmental impact, unless they are directly
charged. Third, because of information asymmetry and the difficulties associated with
“shopping around,” the process of competition may result in a combination of price and
quality of service supplied, which is not what the majority of consumers would prefer.
Fourth, it will not be in the interest of the individual bus operators to adapt their services
and fares to promote modal integration.
5.1.2 Competition for the market
Firms can compete for the market in several ways:
i) Gross cost service contracting involves the procurement by a public authority

from an operator of specified services at a price determined through
competitive tendering.
ii) Net cost service contracting is similar to gross cost contracting, except that
the operator keeps the revenue and hence incurs both the revenue and
supply-cost risks. This increases the incentive to the supplier to provide the
service contracted for (otherwise he loses his fare revenue) and obviates the
need for complex fare collection and security arrangements. However, it
makes modal coordination more difficult and often involves higher net cost for
the authorities, since the supplier is incurring an extra revenue risk, against
which he is averse, and for which he will require compensation.
iii) Management contracting involves operator responsibility for the management

of a system’s operation, possibly including service specification, within agreed-
on parameters. The customer authority usually owns operational assets,
although the operator may be responsible for their procurement and
maintenance as well as negotiating labor wages and conditions. Intermodal
coordination is relatively easy to achieve with this device. As long as the
payment arrangements are well structured, there is also a high incentive to
provide high-quality service to attract customers. The weakness is that the
Page | 44
competitive pressure may be fairly weak, trade union power relatively strong,
and costs relatively high.
iv) Franchising involves the grant of an exclusive right to provide a service that
meets a number of general quantity, quality, and price standards established
by the authority, usually because of a competition. The franchise may be for a
self-contained area, such as a town or sector of a larger city, but it is also
possible to have route franchises - especially with fixed track systems. They
differ from service contracts in allowing the contractor a greater degree of
freedom to develop the system. The franchisee may have to be paid by the
authority to provide service and fare combinations that are not commercially
viable.
v) Concessions involve the granting of an exclusive right to provide a service

without payment by the authority, although the authority may attach
conditions, such as maximum fares or minimum service requirements. In all
other respects the concessionaire is acting on his own behalf and not as an
agent of the authority. Contracts are usually for rather longer periods, often
10 years or more, to allow the contractor to benefit from his development of
the market.
Whichever system is chosen, effective competition between private sector suppliers can
only be achieved if the public sector itself is appropriately structured and capable. This
imposes a number of critical institutional requirements:
• Political supervision of Public Transport that is separated from professional

management;
• Service planning that is separated from service provision, and adequately

staffed and skilled;
• Acquisition of new procurement skills, in the case of franchising or contracting;
• Operations privatized, or at the very least commercialized;
• Public company operation units restructured in a form conducive to

competition, or subject to strong external competition.
5.2 Regulating authorities
The role played by the supervisory or regulatory authority will vary between the three
models, (no competition; controlled competition and open competition) but an effective
body is necessary for any of the models to be successful.
Under the ‘no competition’ model a supervisory body is required to ensure that operators
meet certain general standards of service coverage, performance and quality. However,
in a private monopoly the authority may have no effective recourse if the standards are
not met since the incumbent operator will be difficult to replace in the short term and will
often blame his shortcomings on deficiencies in the regulatory or operating environment.
In the absence of a comparison, the authority will tend to accept these uncritically. This
may discourage planning initiatives by the authority.
Under controlled competition ‘for the market’ the authority will be responsible for the
planning and development of the whole Public Transport service, including all the modes,
perhaps down to the level of operating timetables. The authority’s tasks will include:
Page | 45
• Planning of transport infrastructure and technical systems (such as information

and ticketing systems);
• Defining each route in the network and specifying the service parameters;
• Procuring services through tendering and contracting, and the management of

those contracts;
• Resolving coordination issues between operators;
• Monitoring the operator’s compliance of each route contract;
• Monitoring the overall network against demand;
• Fare-setting.
Under an open market the authority’s main responsibilities will be to ensure that
competition remains effective, and to maintain and enforce minimum safety and
environmental standards for operators and buses. The role of the authority will not
include comprehensive planning of the network and services – this will be done by the
operators in the market. A system of registering routes and buses deployed will enable
the authority to monitor the network. The authority may have responsibility for procuring
any services that the market is unwilling to provide. This will be done through tendering
and contracting.
5.3 Regulating the transport industry
The Public Transport market may be classified as follows:
1. Monopoly: In a public monopoly the operation of Public Transport is undertaken

directly by a state agency with no competition for contracts or services. The
operating undertaking may be a government department, a separate agency or a
state-owned company.
2. Few large-scale operators (Oligopoly): The simple presence of several big

operators in the market does not assure competition. The regulatory framework
must be designed and managed to promote competition.
3. Mix of small and large-scale public/private operators: Among the wide variety of
mixed bus systems in developing cities are public sector operators supplemented
by a small-scale corporate private sector or a fragmented individual sector.
4. Multiple small scale and individual private operators: This situation is referred to
as Paratransit. The services are usually provided by small vehicles, in individual
ownership or in small fleets of a few vehicles. Routes may be established by
usage, or by an authority. Paratransit often originates as an unlicensed, ‘illegal’
mode.
For each of the above situations, different problems occur and thus different sets of
regulatory policy measures are necessary. An overview of the measures is given in
Table 12. More details are provided in the GTZ Training Document 1 on Bus Regulation
and Planning (Meakin 2006).
Page | 46
Table 12
Counter-Balancing Measures for Different Bus Industry
Structures in cities from developing countries
Source: World Bank (2002)
5.4 The paratransit market
5.4.1 Features of the paratransit market
One of the most notable features of the Public Transport sector in the developing and
transitional economies in recent years has been the explosive growth of publicly available
passenger transport services outside the traditional Public Transport regulatory system,
often referred to as paratransit. A number of characteristics are typical of paratransit
services, although not necessarily applicable in all cases. These include:
• Services are usually unscheduled and often, though not always, on demand-
responsive routes, filling gaps in formal transit provision.
• The vehicles operated are typically small, including motorcycles.
• The vehicles used are often old, having been retired from other countries or
other uses domestically, so that the capital investment necessary to enter the
business may be small.
• The vehicles used are also often very simple, including, in many countries,
NMT vehicles. Paratransit services are usually provided by informal operators
with the following characteristics:
They are “non-corporate,” usually operating as single-person enterprises,

although frequently with a vehicle owner who is not the operator.
Page | 47
They are often outside the tax system or benefit from favorable treatment
of the non-corporate sector.
In many Asian cities, it is estimated that over 15 percent of the population is dependent
directly or indirectly on informal sector transport for their livelihood. In Dhaka, the
proportion has been estimated at over 25 percent. In other cases, particularly in lower-
income countries in Africa, it is often the mode of transport “of the poor” as well as “by
the poor.”
Despite these advantages, informal transport has a very poor image and reputation. It is
often a very low earnings sector, with crews exploited by vehicle owners. It has an
association with poverty, viewed as symbolically inappropriate by government, which
tries to reduce its role as much as possible. There appear to be three main aspects of
informal transport systems that contribute to this negative image: i) Dangerous on-the-
road behavior and association with crime and violence. ii) Urban congestion and adverse
environmental impacts resulting from use of small, old, and ill-adapted vehicles. iii)
Undermining of basic network of existing services.
The most common concern about a fragmented informal sector is that the competitive
pressure to earn a living will result in excess capacity, low load factors, and antisocial
and often dangerous operating practices, such as lack of attention to passenger safety,
racing, turning short, blocking intersections while touting for traffic, and so on. There are
several problems with such self-regulation. First, because it is outside public control, the
association acts in the interests of its members and suppliers, and not in the interests of
its customers. Second, because self-regulation is not based on any legal rights of
exclusion, it is often enforced by violent means, as occurred in the taxi (minibus) sector
in South Africa. Third, the failure to ensure a fair allocation of revenues between
members often results in suboptimal operating practices. In particular, ensuring that all
vehicles are dispatched from the terminal with full loads allows the service to allocate its
resources at the expense of passengers (forcing them to walk long distances to terminals
to access the service) and at thee expense of vehicle usage schedules (forcing delays as
they queue for their turn to depart). Only more secure and long-standing associations
are able to adopt more efficient practices—and that extra security may involve more
monopoly power.
Where there is a desire to provide even more services than the informal sector can
provide commercially, it is argued that a monopolist public supplier is required. That is,
of course, a fallacious argument. Directly subsidized services can be efficiently obtained
through a competitive tendering of franchises. Even cross-subsidy can be organized
within a competitively tendered franchising system - as in London and several other large
cities in Europe - either by packaging profitable and non-profitable services together in
tendered lots or by using fees from “positive” concessions to finance “negative” ones.
5.4.2 Regulation of the paratransit market
Thus a regulation of taxi markets is indispensable. It typically relates to the following:
• Quantity of supply: specified in terms of the number of operators or number of

vehicles
• Quality of supply: including the quality of the vehicle, the financial capability of
the operator, the competence and trustworthiness of the driver, and
sometimes the efficiency of the dispatching arrangements
• Fares: either in terms of fixed or maximum tariff schedules.
Page | 48
More often, the first steps in bringing a fragmented industry under regulatory control are
consolidating a fragmented industry into cohesive route associations or cooperatives and
enabling them to hold a single route license which imposes some collective service
obligations. The objective is for the body to be able to take greater responsibility for the
management of the route according to a service specification laid down by the authority.
The schedule is likely to include trips at times when demand is low, so management
might need to organize some internal cross-subsidy or rotation to equalize revenue
among vehicles. A further stage in consolidation is where ownership of the vehicle is
transferred to the cooperative or company. All revenue then accrues to the company, and
the members receive a dividend on their investment, which may be in the form of shares,
depending on the profitability of the business. When this happens, many of the
constraints and complications that arise from each vehicle being a separate business are
eliminated.
The World Bank (Gwilliam 2005) recommends regulating taxi markets as follows:
• Taxi regulation needs to be tailored to local problems, objectives and market

conditions, with the greatest attention paid to behavior in the cruising market.
• Quality control regulations should cover vehicles (safety and emissions) and
drivers (good character, safe driving skills, good health and geographical
knowledge).
• In the cruising market, neither total regulation (fare and entry) nor total
deregulation is likely to be as effective as partial regulation involving fare
control accompanied by quality-controlled free-entry.
• Where quantity control is deemed necessary to reduce congestion, tight price
control and/or competitive tendering of annual operating licenses should also
be implemented.
• Strong enforcement capability is necessary to maintain quality.
• In cities where taxis contribute significantly to air pollution, tight
environmental controls should be considered, taking into account the
demonstrated local availability and capability of maintaining cleaner
technology and cleaner fuel vehicles.
Page | 49
Box 5
Route associations in Thailand
The formation of a route association in Hat Yai, Thailand is regarded as a successful

model. Almost 80% of Thailand’s estimated 60,000 buses are operated by single
vehicle owners. Transport cooperatives were first formed in Thailand in 1975 by the
forced amalgamation of the many, mostly illegal, small vehicles and tuk-tuks. It was
thought that enforcement would become easier, but in fact, the power and wealth of
the cooperatives increased with more members, and that power was generally
exercised against the interests of members and route management. There were about
400 small vehicle cooperatives ranging in size from 400 to 1,000 members.
Cooperatives are usually associated with unruly operations and major enforcement
problems.
A pilot fixed-route managed by an association was established in Hat Yai, under a bus
reform study implemented jointly by the regulator and consultants. Prior to the project
there were no fixed route buses operating in Hat Yai. The city’s Public Transport
system comprised 2,500 non-fixed route, six-seater tuk-tuks. There was an
oversupply of tuk-tuks because ownership was attractive to middle income groups who
rent their vehicles to drivers who have few other alternative employment options.
A new 22 km long fixed route connecting the inter-city bus terminal on one side of the
city to the airport on the other side was recommended on a pilot basis for the
proposed association. Converted pick-ups were used which seated 16 persons
comfortably, with a crush load of 26, rather than tuk-tuks. The licence was held in the
name of one of the cooperatives but by agreement is operated jointly. The initiating
owners and drivers developed the management methods. In order to attract
passengers, the flat fare was set below the prevailing tuk-tuk fare. Despite strong
objections by other tuk-tuk operators, the route started in mid September, 1991 with
nine vehicles. mini-buses.
After 8 months patronage had increased to 6,800 persons per day with, on average,
full seated loads. 26 vehicles were deployed, average age below two years. The
service was estimated to be operating profitably. The cooperatives imposed rules
covering rostering of drivers and vehicles, punctuality, running times, driving manner,
prohibition of overtaking, stopping places, backed up with a system of fines.
Dispatchers monitored adherence to the timetable.
The strong route management in Hat Yai appears to have resulted in part from the
adversity which the original vehicle operators faced. The route management methods
are largely the application of common sense to the development of an equitable
sharing of workload and revenue amongst the owners and drivers. The management
methods also gave high priority to the development of a reliable and convenient
service for the public since the success of the route was critical. Leadership from
amongst the original operators was also essential to development of the systems
employed.
Source: Meakin 2006.
Page | 50
Further reading on Regulations of Public Transport
Meakin (2006): Bus Regulation and Planning, GTZ Training Document
Meakin (2004): GTZ Sourcebook Module 3c on Bus Regulation and Planning
Gwilliam, Kenneth M. (2005): Regulation of Taxi Markets in Developing Countries:

Issues and Options, The World Bank, TRN-3
Amos, Paul (2004): Public and Private Sector Roles in the Supply of Transport
Infrastructure and Services: Operational Guidance for World Bank Staff. Transport
Paper - 1.
Adam Smith International (2005): A Study of Institutional, Financial and Regulatory

Frameworks of Urban Transport in Large Sub-Saharan Cities, Africa Region, The World
Bank
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Sustainable Urban Mobility

Copyright: Copyright © 2010

Opinions expressed in this volume are those of the authors and

The designations employed and the presentation of material in

This publication is protected by international copyright law. All

This Course on Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries is designed to

Module 1: Urban Growth and Strategies for Sustainable Urban Transport

Local Development Programme

This course on Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries has been

1. MASS TRANSIT OPTIONS ........................................................ 1

1.1 Concept and terminology ............................................................................. 1

1.2 Choosing a Mass Transit System: ................................................................. 2

2. BUS POLICY AND PLANNING ................................................ 11

2.1 Policy objectives and implementation strategies ....................................... 12

2.2 Urban bus planning ................................................................................... 14

3. PLANNING BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEMS ........................... 19

3.1 Planning stage I: Project preparation ........................................................ 22

3.2 Planning stage II: Analysis ........................................................................ 23

3.3 Planning stage III: Communications .......................................................... 26

3.4 Planning stage IV: Operations ................................................................... 26

3.5 Planning stage V: Business and regulatory structure ................................. 31

3.6 Planning stage VI: Infrastructure .............................................................. 31

3.7 Planning stage VII: Technology ................................................................. 33

3.8 Planning stage VIII: Modal integration ...................................................... 35

3.9 Planning stage IX: Impacts ....................................................................... 35

3.10 Planning stage X: Implementation plan ................................................... 36

4. LIGHT RAIL AND METRO SYSTEMS ........................................ 38

4.1 Commuter rail services .............................................................................. 38

4.2 Metros ....................................................................................................... 39

4.3 Light Rail Transit ....................................................................................... 41

5. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT

5.1 Competition ............................................................................................... 43

5.2 Regulating authorities ............................................................................... 45

5.3 Regulating the transport industry .............................................................. 46

5.4 The paratransit market .............................................................................. 47

Figure 1 Capital cost for selected MRT systems ......................................................... 5

Box 1: BRT in Quito, Ecuador ................................................................................. 7

Table 1: Comparison of essential features of MRT systems ......................................... 4

ALS Area Licensing Scheme

1. Mass Transit Options2

1.1 Concept and terminology

Heavy rail transit

Commuter rail systems

Light Rail Transit

Bus Rapid Transit

It must be emphasized, that no clear

1.2 Choosing a Mass Transit System:

Alternative transport methods should be evaluated in terms of their realistic applicability

Cost Capital costs (infrastructure costs)

1.2.1 Passenger Capacity

Source: World Bank (2002): Cities on the Move, p.113

1.2.2 Operating speed

Source: Wright (2004): Mass transit, GTZ Training Course

1.2.3 System costs

In practice, these benefits do not always accrue. Costs of rail investments

World Bank (2002)

Source: Wright (2004),

1.2.4 Required space

Source: Breithaupt, Gtz Photo CD, 2004

1.2.5 Planning and construction

1.2.6 Flexibility and environment

Source: OSK-Consult 2009

Source: Botma & Papendrecht, TU Delft 1991 and own figures