Exclusive transportation lane
Introduction
The bus rapid transit system (in English: bus rapid transit, BRT), also known as bus express system or bus rapid transit, is a mass public transportation system combining high capacity and speed characteristics similar to those of railway systems, but implemented using buses at a significantly lower cost.[1].
It is characterized by having dedicated infrastructure – such as exclusive lanes, stations and terminals – designed to optimize passenger flow and reduce travel times. Entry is usually done through stations where passengers previously pay instead of making payment inside the buses. The platforms are built at the same level as the floor of the buses, which facilitates quick and accessible boarding for all passengers, especially disabled people or people with reduced mobility. The system also supports flexible service types, including express and local routes on the same corridor, improving frequency and capacity.
The first BTR system was the Integrated Transportation Network in Curitiba, Brazil, which entered service in 1974, establishing a new transportation concept, and has since been adopted by various cities around the world.
History
In its beginnings, the concept of "bus lane" or lanes designated only for public transportation buses was applied for the first time in Chicago, Illinois in 1939. In the case of regional transportation, a lane of the "Henry G. Shirley Memorial" highway between Washington "Washington County (Virginia)") and Woodbridge "Woodbridge (Virginia)"), Virginia was designated in 1971 only for buses.[2] The objective of these measures was be able to isolate public transport from traffic congestion.
The BTR concept was developed in the 1970s in Brazil and was inspired by the system of exclusive lanes for public transport buses in Lima, Peru. The buses of the state company ENATRU traveled along the Vía Expresa de Paseo de la República in segregated lanes, however when the buses left the Vía Expresa the circulation was shared with conventional public transportation. On the Paseo de la República the stops were spaced approximately every 500 meters, there were side platforms under the bridges.
Then in Curitiba, Brazil.[3] Unlike previous systems with exclusive bus lanes, the proposal is improved by considering complete bus routes with exclusive lanes, stations with payment and validation outside buses and by having stations with platforms (see fundamental characteristics of a BTR system). The Curitiba system is a rapid transportation system, often called a "surface metro."