Back to BRT?

The Government, usually a champion at confusing policy, for many months debated on whether a light rail system or a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system would be most effective in dealing with Colombo’s growing traffic problems. Mid-last year Cabinet gave approval to install a light rail system, that could cost as much as $3 billion, despite local experts backing a cheaper, more effective BRT system that could have been implemented faster. This week the Megapolis Ministry has decided it would launch a pilot project that would essential champion the BRT system of giving busses a dedicated lane. 

Sri Lanka’s BRT ambitions are based on a detailed study done by JICA and reviewed by the University of Moratuwa. The much hailed document calculates a (BRT) system can be implemented with an investment of Rs.173 billion over five years. Set against the fact that the Government already spends an estimated Rs.200 million a year on building and maintaining highways; BRT would be faster off the ground, implemented widely, and would encourage more people to use public transport, the project made eminent sense. But it received little traction from the Megapolis Authority, which preferred light railway. 

Faced with an increasingly impatient public that has waited for over two years for the Government to tackle traffic issues the Megapolis and Western Development Minister Champika Ranwaka announced on Wednesday that the Police would start a pilot program that would allow buses to have a dedicated lane.  If the Ministry had listened to local experts the BRT system could have been rolled out months ago and saved the public many headaches and wasted hours.

New research from EMBARQ, Social, Environmental and Economic Impacts of Bus Rapid Transit Systems, examines global evidence as well as four in-depth case studies of BRT systems in Bogotá, Colombia; Mexico City, Mexico; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Istanbul, Turkey. It concludes that BRT improves quality of life in cities in at least four key ways: saving travel time, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) and local air pollutant emissions, improving traffic safety, and increasing physical activity. 

Dedicated bus lanes separate BRT buses from mixed traffic, allowing them to travel more quickly through a city. BRT reduces the overall amount of vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) in a city by shifting commuters to high-capacity buses that can carry up to 160 passengers at a time. Fewer vehicles transporting the same amount of passengers reduces traffic congestion, and presents the opportunity to replace older, more polluting vehicles. 

As a growing transport solution in both developed and developing countries, BRT and busway systems already have a combined daily ridership of more than 29 million people in 163 cities around the world as of October 2013. An additional 143 BRT systems are currently being implemented or expanded. As a safer, cleaner, and more efficient mode of transport that gives people more time for their personal lives, BRT is a smart solution to cities’ urban transport challenges.  

Megapolis and Western Development Ministry and Megapolis Authority officials have a responsibility to understand public aspirations and focus on sustainable policies that can be implemented faster and more efficiently while saving public funds. A tiny step has been taken after a two-year delay. It is hoped the next tangible benefit will not take as long.