Study Finds Bus Rapid Transit More Comparable to Light Rail Than Previously Thought

A new study published in Transport Reviews compares 86 transit systems around the world to reveal that an many cities around the world there is very little difference in the performance of light rail transit compared to bus rapid transit.

Darío Hidalgo writes an article sharing details of the new report, in effect challenging the perceived supremacy of light rail compared to bus rapid transit. According to Hidalgo's explanation of the study, researchers Jesper Ingvardson and Otto Nielsen from the Technical University of Denmark pulled date from 86 transit systems and compared several variables capturing both transit service and property development considerations—i.e., travel time savings, increase in demand from riders, modal shift, and land use and urban development changes.

After comparing some of the data revealed by the study for each of those variables, Hidalgo produces a potentially controversial conclusion: "BRTs can improve travel times, modal share and urban development at rates similar to those reported for light rail and metro."