Bus Rapid Transit Systems and Sustainable Urban Mobility

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems have emerged as a cost-effective and flexible mass-transit solution that combines the capacity and speed of light rail with the lower cost and adaptability of conventional bus networks. Key design elements include dedicated lanes, priority signalling, off-board fare collection and station-level boarding, which together reduce dwell times and enhance reliability. By offering high frequencies and integrating with feeder and active-travel networks, BRT can shift mode share away from private vehicles, thereby reducing congestion, greenhouse-gas emissions and urban air pollution. Globally, successful implementations—from Latin America’s high-capacity corridors to Asia’s rapidly expanding networks—demonstrate significant travel-time savings, increased ridership and improvements in social equity by extending affordable mobility to underserved communities. Strategic planning, underpinned by data-driven modelling and governance frameworks, enables cities to tailor BRT to local land-use patterns, funding structures and sustainability goals. Moreover, BRT’s modular nature allows incremental expansion and technological upgrades, such as electrified fleets and smart-card ticketing, reinforcing its role within integrated sustainable-mobility strategies that also encompass cycling, walking and emerging micro-mobility options.

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Bus Rapid Transit Systems and Sustainable Urban Mobility publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in bus rapid transit systems and sustainable urban mobility across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): A high-capacity bus system featuring dedicated lanes, station-style boarding and priority control to deliver rail-like service quality at lower capital cost.

Agent-based simulation: A computational modelling approach in which individual travellers (agents) interact within a virtual transport network to forecast demand and network performance under varied scenarios.

Microsimulation: A detailed simulation technique that models the movement and interactions of individual vehicles or travellers to assess operational and user-experience outcomes.

Modal split: The percentage distribution of travellers across different transport modes (e.g. private car, BRT, cycling) within a given corridor or city.

Feeder route: A secondary transit service that transports passengers from peripheral areas to major BRT trunk lines, facilitating first- and last-mile connectivity.

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM): A theoretical framework used to predict user acceptance of new technologies, based on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use.

References

1. Developing an agent-based microsimulation for predicting the bus Rapid transit (BRT) demand in developing countries: A case study of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Transport Policy (2024).
2. Development of a Method for Selecting Bus Rapid Transit Corridors Based on the Economically Viable Passenger Flow Criterion. Sustainability (2023).
3. Strategic Thinking for Sustainability: A Review of 10 Strategies for Sustainable Mobility by Bus for Cities. Sustainability (2018).
4. Developing an intention to use amongst non-users of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System: An emerging market perspective. Research in Transportation Business & Management (2022).