Bus Rapid Transit
Hi ya
Looking thru the window in my office over the Corniche. What a scene! I love my desk and its positioning overlooking Corniche and the Marina Mall. I was asked a question today by some guy on the street ( I still have no idea who he was and why on earth he asked me this question). I guess he thought I am colour blind and therefore wanted to have fun.
The question was "what is the colour of buses in Abu Dhabi"? Wow, what an easy question to answer, you would say. But trust me, I saw some 5 buses running on Electra Street after that. But I did not have an exact answer. So tell me what do you think "Is it GREEN, BLUE, GREENISH BLUE or BLUISH GREEN".
I am 100% sure there will be no replies since no one knows that I am trying my luck on blogging to take some pressure off work. hahaha.
what an idea to ask a question in an auditorium with 5,000 seating capacity on a day when it is completely empty.
But do not worry, I will definitely figure it out some day and will let "no one - who follows my blog" know the colour of buses in Abu Dhabi.
This morning when I was doing some Internet search to find out a suitable transport system for a project that I am currently working on, I found this useful publication on the net.
http://www.nbrti.org/docs/pdf/Low%20Res%20CBRT%202009%20Update.pdf
It is a good tool to evaluate a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). The report clearly highlights the fact and findings of running a BRT in the US and the "rest of the world". There are some interesting findings and I believe it is a very well documented story about why we should all evaluate a BRT system before finalising on what is the best public transport system for a city.
I thought of writing a definition of what a BRT system is in this post. However was not surprised to find that there are so many definitions out there that I can write one off my own and still no one will notice that I am still learning about this system. I do not know how different this system is from a simple bus based public transport system, since my research has shown that many BRT's around the world operate on a mixed traffic scenario with no dedicated bus lanes. So here I go with a definition or an explanation of my own:
" A BRT is a system that has been identified, promoted and designed to provide a more reliable and faster travel using the same buses that could run otherwise as well and provide the same service. Some of the significant differentiators are the identity and the reliability of this system as compared to a normal bus based public transport system. It is an image in the mind of the user that attracts him to this mode."
So a BRT system can be compared with what "David Hume" in 1742 wrote in one of his essays, "Moral and Political": "Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them."
In order to fight against the capital intensive rail transit, some transport planners came up with an idea of improving the image of a bus transit and hence came up with this new terminology. Since then this (BRT) system has seen a number of new initiatives e.g. dedicated bus lanes, bus lanes during peak hours, traffic signals controls in the hand od bus drivers, route and arrival info in bus stops and on our mobiles. I am sure there will be many more advances coming in the future when we start figuring out on how to make it more sustainable.
Do you think my definition and evaluation of a BRT is appropriate! Do not bother to write if you disagree! hahahah. just drop me an email.
Cheers
Looking thru the window in my office over the Corniche. What a scene! I love my desk and its positioning overlooking Corniche and the Marina Mall. I was asked a question today by some guy on the street ( I still have no idea who he was and why on earth he asked me this question). I guess he thought I am colour blind and therefore wanted to have fun.
The question was "what is the colour of buses in Abu Dhabi"? Wow, what an easy question to answer, you would say. But trust me, I saw some 5 buses running on Electra Street after that. But I did not have an exact answer. So tell me what do you think "Is it GREEN, BLUE, GREENISH BLUE or BLUISH GREEN".
I am 100% sure there will be no replies since no one knows that I am trying my luck on blogging to take some pressure off work. hahaha.
what an idea to ask a question in an auditorium with 5,000 seating capacity on a day when it is completely empty.
But do not worry, I will definitely figure it out some day and will let "no one - who follows my blog" know the colour of buses in Abu Dhabi.
This morning when I was doing some Internet search to find out a suitable transport system for a project that I am currently working on, I found this useful publication on the net.
http://www.nbrti.org/docs/pdf/Low%20Res%20CBRT%202009%20Update.pdf
It is a good tool to evaluate a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). The report clearly highlights the fact and findings of running a BRT in the US and the "rest of the world". There are some interesting findings and I believe it is a very well documented story about why we should all evaluate a BRT system before finalising on what is the best public transport system for a city.
I thought of writing a definition of what a BRT system is in this post. However was not surprised to find that there are so many definitions out there that I can write one off my own and still no one will notice that I am still learning about this system. I do not know how different this system is from a simple bus based public transport system, since my research has shown that many BRT's around the world operate on a mixed traffic scenario with no dedicated bus lanes. So here I go with a definition or an explanation of my own:
" A BRT is a system that has been identified, promoted and designed to provide a more reliable and faster travel using the same buses that could run otherwise as well and provide the same service. Some of the significant differentiators are the identity and the reliability of this system as compared to a normal bus based public transport system. It is an image in the mind of the user that attracts him to this mode."
So a BRT system can be compared with what "David Hume" in 1742 wrote in one of his essays, "Moral and Political": "Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them."
In order to fight against the capital intensive rail transit, some transport planners came up with an idea of improving the image of a bus transit and hence came up with this new terminology. Since then this (BRT) system has seen a number of new initiatives e.g. dedicated bus lanes, bus lanes during peak hours, traffic signals controls in the hand od bus drivers, route and arrival info in bus stops and on our mobiles. I am sure there will be many more advances coming in the future when we start figuring out on how to make it more sustainable.
Do you think my definition and evaluation of a BRT is appropriate! Do not bother to write if you disagree! hahahah. just drop me an email.
Cheers
posted by sandeep sharma at
5:01 PM
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