scholarly journals BRT omnibus : how bus rapid transit enhances mobility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Niezgoda
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Service Package ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Correct Design

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has emerged in the 21st century as a leading form of building rapid transit in urban environs due to their ability as a rapidly implementable, relatively low-cost, flexible, and high-quality transit mode. While the popularity of the BRT mode continues to grow worldwide, there remains a degree of uncertainty over what designing for success looks like for BRT systems. This paper sought to determine whether there was a "correct" design approach for BRT implementation through literature review and case study. The case study revealed that despite differences in design and implementation, the cases successfully attained their respective planning and performance objectives. The inherent flexibility of the BRT mode allowed for BRT systems to be scaled to a wide array of operating and ridership contexts, as well as allow for incremental enhancements to the system as the passenger demands, available financing, and political will for upgrades arise. Key Words: bus rapid transit; BRT; BRT Lite; service package; system design.

scholarly journals BRT omnibus : how bus rapid transit enhances mobility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Niezgoda
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Service Package ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Correct Design

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has emerged in the 21st century as a leading form of building rapid transit in urban environs due to their ability as a rapidly implementable, relatively low-cost, flexible, and high-quality transit mode. While the popularity of the BRT mode continues to grow worldwide, there remains a degree of uncertainty over what designing for success looks like for BRT systems. This paper sought to determine whether there was a "correct" design approach for BRT implementation through literature review and case study. The case study revealed that despite differences in design and implementation, the cases successfully attained their respective planning and performance objectives. The inherent flexibility of the BRT mode allowed for BRT systems to be scaled to a wide array of operating and ridership contexts, as well as allow for incremental enhancements to the system as the passenger demands, available financing, and political will for upgrades arise. Key Words: bus rapid transit; BRT; BRT Lite; service package; system design.

Deadhead Minimization with a Flexible Facility Locator Tool

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110444
Author(s):  
Kara Todd ◽  
Freyja Brandel-Tanis ◽  
Daniel Arias ◽  
Kari Edison Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Open Source Software ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Flexible Tool ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
A Site

As transit agencies expand, they may outgrow their existing bus storage and service facilities. When selecting a site for an additional facility, an important consideration is the change in bus deadhead time, which affects the agency’s operating costs. Minimizing bus deadhead time is the subject of many studies, though agencies may lack the necessary software or programming skill to implement those methods. This study presents a flexible tool for determination of bus facility location. Using the R dodgr package, it evaluates each candidate site based on a given bus network and existing depots and calculates the network minimum deadhead time for each potential set of facilities. Importantly, the tool could be used by any transit agency, no matter its resources. It runs on open-source software and uses only General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) and data inputs readily available to transit agencies in the U.S.A., filling the accessibility gap identified in the literature. The tool is demonstrated through a case study with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), which is considering a new bus depot as it builds its bus rapid transit network. The case study used current MARTA bus GTFS data, existing depot locations, and vacant properties from Fulton County, Georgia. The tool evaluated 17 candidate sites and found that the winning site would save 29.7 deadhead hours on a typical weekday, which translates to more than $12,000 daily based on operating cost assumptions. The output provides important guidance to transit agencies evaluating sites for a new bus depot.

The Sparthan Three-Dimensional Printed Exo-Glove: A Preliminary Evaluation of Performance Via Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomás A. Georgiou ◽  
Davide Asnaghi ◽  
Alva Liang ◽  
Alice M. Agogino
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Of Performance ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Hand Exoskeleton ◽  
And Performance

This paper describes the development and testing of a low-cost three-dimensional (3D) printed wearable hand exoskeleton to assist people with limited finger mobility and grip strength. The function of the presented orthosis is to support and enable light intensity activities of daily living and improve the ability to grasp and hold objects. The Sparthan Exoskeleton prototype utilizes a cable-driven design applied to individual digits with motors. The initial prototype is presented in this paper along with a preliminary evaluation of durability and performance efficacy.

scholarly journals A Bi-Level Programming Model for Optimal Bus Stop Spacing of a Bus Rapid Transit System

Mathematics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 625
Author(s):  
Cheng ◽  
Zhao ◽  
Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Programming Model ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Bus Stop ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Bus Stop Spacing ◽  
Stop Spacing

The purpose of this study is to create a bi-level programming model for the optimal bus stop spacing of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, to ensure simultaneous coordination and consider the interests of bus companies and passengers. The top-level model attempts to optimize and determine optimal bus stop spacing to minimize the equivalent costs, including wait, in-vehicle, walk, and operator costs, while the bottom-level model reveals the relation between the locations of stops and spatial service coverage to attract an increasing number of passengers. A case study of Chengdu, by making use of a genetic algorithm, is presented to highlight the validity and practicability of the proposed model and analyze the sensitivity of the coverage coefficient, headway, and speed with different spacing between bus stops.

Comparison of Emissions from Light Rail Transit and Bus Rapid Transit

2005 ◽  
Vol 1927 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Puchalsky
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cycle ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Oxides Of Nitrogen ◽  
Light Rail Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Plant Emissions

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an evolving and promising transit mode that has emerged as a low-cost competitor to light rail transit (LRT) in providing medium-capacity semirapid transit. In addition, recent advances in diesel and compressed natural gas technology have caused the truism “electric rail is cleaner than diesel bus” to be revisited. A partial fuel cycle comparison of the regional or urban emissions of carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and volatile organic compounds from BRT and LRT is presented. The BRT analysis includes tailpipe exhaust emissions and fuel transportation, storage, and distribution emissions. The LRT analysis contains electric power plant emissions and line-loss-induced emissions. The analysis shows that whenever equal levels of technology are compared, LRT consistently performs better than BRT despite recent advances in the BRT mode. The analysis also shows that both modes are cleaner now than in the past.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document