01626146

Component

Many cities invest in bus rapid transit (BRT) expecting it will save users travel time. However, BRT’s actual impact on travel time and its distribution among residents are not well understood. In this paper, the authors investigate the commute time impacts of BRT in two cities, Barranquilla, Colombia and Cape Town, South Africa. With data collected from retrospective intercept surveys of travelers, the authors use a difference-in- difference method to assess changes in travel time before and five years after BRT was introduced. Unlike previous studies, the authors explore differences between population groups and account for respondents’ changes in home and work location and in travel mode. The authors' findings suggest that, in Cape Town, BRT users saved commute time by switching to BRT from slower public transport modes (conventional bus and train), although people also saved time by switching from those modes to paratransit. In Barranquilla, travel time increased among most groups, but most likely due to factors other than BRT. In both cities evidence suggests BRT did not exacerbate travel time inequalities among socio-economic groups.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP050 Standing Committee on Bus Transit Systems. Alternate title: Impact of Bus Rapid Transit on Travel Time in Two Cities

01618707

17-02054

English

16p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

References; Tables

Before and after studies; Bus rapid transit; Case studies; Commuting; Paratransit services; Travel surveys; Travel time

Barranquilla (Colombia); Cape Town (South Africa)

Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-02054

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 10:44AM