Bogota’s Bus Rapid Transit System Eyed By U.S. Urban Planners

(KPBS) Cities in the southwest such as Albuquerque and Houston are pinning the future of mass transit on a system known as Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT. San Diego and Los Angeles already have BRT while in Phoenix, passage of Arizona Proposition 104 includes money for a technology called BRT Lite.

BRT replicates light rail and underground subways —with dedicated lanes and rail-like stations—at far less cost. And that is why BRT is a technology that U.S. urban planners are studying at a time of stressed public budgets. And the system that is often cited by mass transit advocates is the BRT in Bogotá, Colombia, one of South America’s major metropolises.

In any public policy discussion, such as where to deploy tax dollars, the story begins with money. Studies compiled by the U.S. federal government suggest ballpark numbers that appear to favor BRT over a technology called light rail and traditional underground metros or subways.

A mile of subway can cost $250 million to build. Light rail can cost from $20 million to $50 million per mile. With BRT the conversation starts at $7 million to $15 million per mile. There are variables such as the cost of real estate needed to create dedicated lanes that BRT buses travel through, the cost of labor and regulatory fees. ...................(more)

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/mar/21/bogotas-bus-rapid-transit-system-eyed-us-urban-pla/