Capacities of Bus Rapid Transits

If rail transport can have such a wide range of capacities ranging from 2,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd), the next question to ask is, what is the range of capacities of bus rapid transits (BRTs)? And how do these compare with that of rail? This may take some issues to explain because, as I have said before, when people (especially those who are not too familiar with the BRT) are asked about this particular type of transport, they immediately think of the regular buses which run in, say EDSA. Or the jeepneys we are too familiar with.

But we all know buses, and jeepneys, have such limited capacities. When placed side by side with the LRTs, which rush at top speed on overhead rails, there is no contest. That’s why too many people will immediately conclude, buses cannot compare with rail in terms of capacity. In reality, it depends on the type of rail – tram, monorail, LRT, metro, etc. Second, buses, yes, but BRTs? - you’d be surprised. Many BRTs have higher capacities than LRTs.

Let’s analyze the bus (or jeepney) first and see why they are less efficient. But first, we have to understand that the total time it takes to travel from point A to point B by any mode, if it is not continuous, is the sum total of the time needed to travel between stops and the time spent at each stop. Let’s assume we don’t consider the time needed to pick up speed or to slow down (acceleration /deceleration). Why is the bus or jeepney slow and inefficient?

First, while they’re supposed to stop only on designated places, they sometimes or usually stop anywhere to pick up/unload passengers, more prevalent with jeepneys than buses. The more stops you have, the more time you spend not moving. Second, fares are usually collected upon embarking or in the vehicle itself during the trip. Third, passengers board on or alight from a bus or jeepney, one at a time. Note that buses usually have two doors at the side, while jeepneys have only one at the rear. Fourth, they mix with regular traffic as opposed to the train, which have their own rails. All these eat up huge amount of time.

In a BRT system, the vehicles travel on dedicated lanes; they don’t mix with traffic. They can start from one station and run at maximum speed to the next station, unhampered, anytime of the day, even on peak hours. They can’t load/unload anywhere, only on specially-built stations, with platform the same height as the floor of the bus. You don’t pay your fare in the bus or upon boarding – you pay and get a ticket before you enter the station. And instead of two doors, three or four very wide sliding doors open up on the entire side of the vehicle! It’s as if half the entire side is open and passengers can get off and board in a matter of seconds, literally. And you just walk in or walk out – the vehicle floor and the station platform floor are level. All these contribute to make one huge efficient capacity of the BRT.

What capacities are we talking about? Between 2,000 pphpd to 35,000. BRTs have many variants and may have the potential to reach 40,000 pphpd or more. The two world’s biggest are Guangzhou BRT and TransMilenio of Bogota. Guangzhou reaches 30,000 pphpd; Bogota up to 35,000, and the entire system carries 1.4 million passengers per day (in 2009), out of population of 7.5 million. Compare this with Metro Manila with 12 million population – the three rail systems, LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3, while operating as metros, carry only up to 1 million passengers per day. Many of the world’s BRTs have higher capacities than LRTs. Can’t compete with the humongous metros, of course, with massive, up to 90,000 capacities.

It doesn’t stop there. Many of the BRT’s finer points are not with its capacities or costs … but rather on the other social and environmental benefits they bring … (to be continued)