A Comparative Discussion of the Light Rail Transit Mode and the Bus Rapid Transit Initiative

摘要

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has sometimes been portrayed as a technology that is essentially equivalent to Light Rail Transit (LRT), but which can be implemented at considerably less capital cost. That portrayal is not broadly accepted by transit professionals. This paper addresses this issue by first documenting the nature of each of the two alternatives, including the citation of examples, and proposing a formal definition for BRT to complement those of LRT. It defends BRT as a legitimate and discrete application of the bus mode. The discussion identifies technologies that are sometimes incorrectly characterized as BRT or LRT. It then discusses advantages and disadvantages of tangible and some intangible characteristics of each of the alternatives. The paper concludes by arguing that a comparison of the two in the abstract is not valid and that each should be evaluated in the context of the environment in which it would be constructed.