Research in Transportation Economics 39 (2013) 108e113

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Research in Transportation Economics

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/retrec

Bus Rapid Transit implementation in Beijing: An evaluation of performance

and impacts
Taotao Deng a, John D. Nelson b, *
a
Institute of Finance and Economics Research, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433, China
b
Centre for Transport Research, University of Aberdeen, Fraser Noble Building, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems are undergoing rapid development in many countries due to the unique
Available online 22 June 2012 characteristics of this form of mass transit. In China, BRT schemes are being adopted as a key strategy for
relieving traffic problems. As a case-study, this paper examines the performance and impacts of BRT in
Keywords: Beijing, the first full-featured BRT system in China. It considers in turn the role of ITS technology in
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) influencing the operational efficiency, technical performance and cost issues associated with BRT.
Evaluation
Particular attention is given to the consequent impacts of BRT on travel behaviour change, traffic
Performance
environment and property development. While some challenges remain, the early performance of BRT
Impacts
suggests that it is one of the key measures for promoting sustainable mobility.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction main attraction of BRT to policy-makers is that it could be an

Concerns over severe traffic congestion, environmental pollu-
tion and energy security issues have prompted decision-makers to
look for Mass Transit systems to mitigate traffic problems.
However, a considerable challenge for transport planners now is to
develop a high quality transport system under limited funding. Bus
Rapid Transit (BRT), characterized by modern vehicles, dedicated
busways and application of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
technologies, has recently gained interest from policy makers
(Deng & Nelson, 2011). Compared with other forms of Mass Transit,
BRT systems are more flexible and can be built economically and
incrementally. Some BRT systems share operating infrastructure
with Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems (with no loss of performance
to either), whilst others allow conventional bus services access to
certain key sections of BRT infrastructure to facilitate intercon-
nection and performance enhancement. BRT may also be imple-
mented in combination with a variety of Travel Demand
Management (TDM) measures. Case studies summarised by
Levinson et al. (2003) and Wright and Hook (2007) suggested that
BRT could be a cost-effective way of providing a high-performance
transport service.
Although some BRT systems are successfully in operation across
the world (including a number recently introduced in Asia), the
image of BRT is not yet well understood by decision-makers. The
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 (0) 1224 272354.
E-mail address: j.d.nelson@abdn.ac.uk (J.D. Nelson).
affordable approach to moving a large number of people. In
contrast to other forms of Mass Transit, such as Metro and LRT, BRT
can be built faster and is more adaptable to deal with changing
travel patterns. However, some BRT projects which have received
significant capital investments may have potential to bring broader
effects on urban economic, social, and environmental development.
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the performance and
impacts of Beijing Southern Axis BRT Line 1, the first full-featured
BRT system implemented in China. This paper is structured as
follows. The next section discusses the background to the intro-
duction of the first BRT scheme in China. Section 3 examines the
performance and impacts of Beijing BRT Line 1, by considering in
turn the application of ITS technologies in improving operational
efficiency, technical performance, cost issues associated with BRT
and the consequent impacts on travel behaviour change, traffic
environment and property development along the busway
corridor. Finally, Section 4 identifies lessons learnt from the expe-
rience in Beijing and makes suggestions relating to future BRT
investment issues.
2. Background of implementing BRT
2.1. Main motivation to introduce a BRT scheme
The attraction of BRT to policy-makers is that it has the potential
to be a cost-effective approach to moving a large number of people.
Although exact costs of BRT depend greatly on local circumstances,
typically the capital costs and operating costs of BRT systems are

0739-8859/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2012.06.002
 T. Deng, J.D. Nelson / Research in Transportation Economics 39 (2013) 108e113
less than similar rail-based systems (Wright & Hook, 2007). This
cost-effectiveness advantage has made BRT accessible to many
budget-constrained cities that could not afford a rail transit
operation.
In China, the fast growing urban population and increasing
wealth have created a surge of demand for private cars, putting
great pressure on transport infrastructure. The urgent traffic situ-
ation has prompted the decision makers to find an effective solu-
tion to ease traffic congestion. Throughout the 1990s, large
investment was directed towards urban highway improvements.
However, widening roads or building new ones offers only
temporary relief. Since the number of vehicles increases at a much
higher rate than the expansion of the road network, new roads
become busy and often congested soon after opening. There is
consensus among decision makers in China that a large capacity
and high efficiency transport system should be a priority and
developed as the dominant mode of urban transport (MOC, 2004).
Heavy investments have been made in building Metro and LRT
systems to meet the massive travel demands over recent years.
However, despite the impressive technical performance of the rail
system, high construction cost and operating deficits have brought
heavy financial pressure on the public authorities. Pucher, Peng,
Mittal, Zhu, and Korattyswaroopam (2007, p.400) suggested that
while Metro and LRT projects have gained extensive political
support in China, in some cases however, this is mainly because
“rail symbolizes modern, advanced technology, and offers politi-
cians tangible, highly visible achievements to impress their
constituencies and the rest of the world”. In Beijing, the local
authority has faced increasing difficulties in paying off the debts,
subsidizing Metro and LRT operation, and expanding the rail
network to increase coverage. In an earlier cost-benefit study on
three transport improvement alternatives (busway, street-level LRT
and elevated rail) in a congested corridor in Beijing, Spencer and
Wang (1996) found only the busway showed a positive net
present value. Inspired by some successful BRT systems, such as in
Curitiba (Brazil) and Bogotá (Colombia), Chinese decision makers
have adopted BRT schemes as one of the practicable and affordable
strategies for relieving traffic problems within a fast implementa-
tion time.
2.2. Overview of Southern Axis BRT Line 1
Beijing Southern Axis BRT Line 1 (Fig. 1A and B) is the first BRT
system implemented in China. The Southern Axis BRT Line 1 started
commercial operations in December 2004. The pilot line was only
5.5 km in length in the first stage. In December 2005, BRT Line 1
began full operations and it was extended to 15.8 km. It is pertinent
to note that from proposal to trial operation, the time span of
implementing BRT Line 1 is relatively short, as indicated in Fig. 2.
The route starts at Qian’men (the city centre and multi-modal
transport centre) and ends at De’mao’zhuang (a southern resi-
dential area), running through 17 stations. It forms part of the main
north-south traffic artery of the city. Most lanes are physically
Fig. 1. A and B: Beijing Southern Axis BRT Line 1. Source: this study.
109
segregated in the median of the road, except for 2 km from Qian’-
men to Tian’an’men. The whole journey is approximately 15.8 km,
and 6 of the total of 17 stations are transferring stations. Accessi-
bility to the city centre is significantly improved for residents along
the BRT corridor.
The Southern Axis BRT Line 1 is an integrated technology
package, combining six main elements whose characteristics are
summarized below in Table 1.
3. Analysis of Beijing Southern Axis BRT Line
3.1. Application of ITS technology in the BRT system
ITS technologies are typically applied in BRT systems to increase
the operational efficiency and service quality. The ITS elements
incorporated within the BRT Line 1 can be categorized into 5 groups
according to their purpose and function, as indicated in Table 2.
In Beijing the first important objective of a BRT system is to offer
a high-capacity and high-speed service to satisfy as much travel
demand as possible. ITS technologies have a pivotal role to play in
achieving this objective since they mainly focus on speeding up
vehicle movements and passenger boarding, by the application of
measures such as Transit Priority Systems, Real-time Passenger
Information and an Electronic Fare Payment system. Improved
operation efficiency is achieved by application of AVL and ASDS
technology.
3.2. Technical performance
3.2.1. Ridership
The BRT system has attracted a large number of passengers. In
2011, the average daily trips were around 120,000 on the corridor.1
In a recent interview with staff from the BRT operating company, it
is clear that BRT has substantially improved the overall supply of
the public transport service in the southern area. During the rush
hour, 2 or 3 articulated vehicles arrive at the station together. Since
some BRT systems (such as Bogotá Transmilenio) use bi-articulated
buses, Hidalgo and Graftieaux (2008) suggest that the capacity of
Beijing BRT could be easily expanded with a larger fleet and oper-
ational improvements.
In a recent passenger survey on the Beijing BRT Line 1 (Deng &
Nelson, 2012), it was found that a large majority of BRT trips (75.4%)
were diverted from previous bus services. As for socio-
demographic characteristics of passengers, there were more male
respondents (54.1%) than female respondents (45.9%); the majority
of passengers (86.9%) were aged between 18 and 49; the majority of
passengers (78.7%) were from low income and lower middle
groups; company staff (37.3%) and self-employed (16.4%) were the
main divisions of occupation for sampled passengers. As for the
trip-related characteristics, 47.4% were work-related commuters
(travelling to work or on business); 41.1% used BRT more than once
a day; an overwhelming majority of respondents (96.2%) used
green transport modes to access the BRT station by bus (46.7%),
walking (33.9%), Metro/LRT (9.5%) and cycling (6.1%).
3.2.2. Operating speed
One of the main advantages of BRT is higher operating speed.
The exclusive busway and use of transit signal priority in the
heavily congested areas provides a dramatic increase of bus speed,
compared to operation in mixed traffic. BRT Line 1 has increased its
average operating speed from 16 km/h to 22 km/h at peak time and
26 km/h off peak time, which has reduced a previous 1-h journey to
1
Data source: China Bus Rapid Transit www.chinabrt.org.
110 T. Deng, J.D. Nelson / Research in Transportation Economics 39 (2013) 108e113

Project Development
BRT Feasibility Construction Trial Full
Proposal Study Phase Operation Operation

Year

Mach 2003 April 2003 Early 2004 December 2004 December 2005

Fig. 2. Timeline of key events in the evolution of Beijing Southern Axis BRT Line 1.

37 min (Darido, 2006). This equates to a 38.3% reduction in average have a lower satisfaction on reliability, comfort & cleanliness and
travel times for passengers. overall satisfaction of the BRT service than those who do not have
a car alternative for their journey.
3.2.3. Service frequency
The Southern Axis BRT Line 1 provides a Monday to Sunday 3.3. Cost issues
service, running from 05:00e23:00. The service frequency is
approximately 1.5 min during the peak and 2e3 min off peak. The 3.3.1. Capital cost
service frequency is quite high so that the passengers do not need The capital cost (infrastructure and vehicle) of the BRT Line 1 per
to time their arrival at a station. km was US$ 5M at 2004 rates. This is more expensive than other
BRT projects in China, partly because of the construction of exclu-
3.2.4. Schedule reliability sive busways and stations. Another reason is that there was no
The median busway effectively separates BRT from other traffic. previous experience in BRT planning in China and thus many of the
Transit signal priority at the intersection helps to reduce the delay planning works were developed for the first time.
at red traffic lights. The punctuality rate of BRT is 90% on schedule,
considerably higher than that of conventional bus lines. 3.3.2. Operating cost
The fare structure of BRT is the same as the conventional bus
3.2.5. Service quality services: one single trip costs 1 Yuan by cash or 0.4 Yuan by smart
A recent passenger survey conducted by Deng and Nelson card for adults and 0.2 Yuan for students using a smart card.2
(2012), suggested that passengers were generally content with Currently, the fares are not integrated with other modes. As for
the BRT service, with 85.5% of passengers rating overall satisfaction the Metro or LRT service, one single trip costs 2 Yuan regardless of
of the BRT service as “very satisfied” or “satisfied”. High-speed and payment method and age group. The study reported here did not
convenience are the main factors encouraging passengers to use collect detailed data on the operating cost of Beijing BRT, due to the
the BRT. It was also found that passengers who had a car alternative commercial confidentiality. In addition, it is important to
acknowledge that this BRT system was not designed to operate in
Table 1 a financially profitable way. The public transport service has long
Main elements of the Southern Axis BRT Line. been considered as a basic utility and element of social welfare in
Running way - A 15.8-km median busway between China, and thus transport companies are generally heavily subsi-
city centre and the south of Beijing dized by the local authority. In Beijing, particularly in order to
- Two lanes in each direction encourage the use of public transport systems, the fare is defined
Vehicles - 18 m single-articulated bus with well below the system cost.
Metro-like characteristics
- Full low-floor buses
- Three doors level boarding 3.4. Impacts on travel behaviour change
Enhanced - 17 upgraded bus stations located in
stations the median of the road
- Level boarding and alighting.
The rail-like characteristics of BRT provide a high level of service
- Connected to the pedestrian lanes and consequently can be expected to have a positive impact on
by pedestrian overpasses or underpass travel behaviour change. Hensher and Golob (2008) suggested that
Frequent - Typical headway: 1.5 min (two increased frequency and reliability have an important influence on
service vehicles) on peak and 2e3 min off peak
BRT ridership growth, since it can reduce waiting time and in-
- BRT timetable: departure station:
05:00e22:30; terminal station: vehicle time. In a recent survey on the Beijing BRT Line 1 (Deng &
05:30e23:00 Nelson, 2012), it was noted that 7.2% of trips on the BRT line 1
Pre-board - Smart card application were new trips, which were highly likely to have been generated by
fare collection - Tickets can also be purchased from
the BRT.
sales clerks at the station entrance
- Fare structure: 1 Yuan by cash or
Compared to the modal shift by those who previously used
0.4 Yuan by smart card (for adults); private car reported from some BRT schemes, 14% on Jakarta BRT
1 Yuan by cash or 0.2 Yuan by smart surveyed in the first month of operation (Ernst, 2005), 18% on Los
card (for students)
Intelligent - Transit Signal Priority e Ticketing System
transport systems - Monitoring systems e Real-time Passenger 2
Information Yuan (RMB) designates the currency used in China. 1 GBP ¼ 9.97 Yuan (March,
2012).
 T. Deng, J.D. Nelson / Research in Transportation Economics 39 (2013) 108e113 111

Table 2
ITS technologies utilized in BRT Line 1.

Functional group Key ITS elements Purpose

Operations Management Advanced Scheduling Dispatch System
Automatic Vehicle Locationing (AVL)
Advanced Communication System (ACS)
Transit Priority System Transit Signal Priority (TSP)
Real-time Passenger Automated on-board Stop Announcements
Information Travel Information Display System
Ticketing System Off-board Electronic Fare Payment
Smart-cards
Monitoring System Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
- Improve scheduling activities and adherence
- Monitor bus locations and movement
- Provide real-time information to operating staff for making timely
schedule adjustments.
- Support operational management by efficient information transmission
- Reduce delays at intersections
- Increase reliability of BRT operation
- Pre-warn passengers of stop and speed up the unloading operation.
- Indicate the time of arrival of the next bus
- Reduce vehicle dwell time and improve passenger flow
- Provide quick payment
- Reduce human intervention
- Enhance operational security
- Improve passengers’ perception of safety

Table 3 3.6. Impacts on property development along the corridor

Travel speed of general traffic: Before and after implementation of BRT in Beijing,
km/hr.
A full-featured BRT system generally has received significant
Time Period Direction Before BRT (km/hr) After BRT (km/hr) investments in support of construction of exclusive busways and
Morning 7:00e9:00 To South 23.73 25.46 enhanced stations. Such a capital-intensive BRT project has the
To North 19.08 e capability to improve the accessibility of land near BRT stations and
Noon 11:00e13:00 To South 24.21 26.12
thus could have positive impacts on property values with proximity
To North 24.39 26.70
Evening 17:00e19:00 To South 23.41 23.44 to BRT stations. Currie (2006) argued that modern BRT systems had
To North 23.21 25.47 a strong capability to lead bus-based Transit Oriented Development.
Source: based on Lin and Wu (2007, p.10).
Some well established BRT systems in Latin America have gained
intensive attention, especially in Bogotá. Positive property devel-
opment impacts resulting from BRT implementation in Bogotá
Angeles Orange Line surveyed in the fourth month operation (Munoz-Raskin, 2010; Rodríguez & Mojica, 2009; Rodríguez &
(Callaghan & Vincent, 2007), 29%3 on Nantes BHLS surveyed in the Targa, 2004) and Seoul (Cervero & Kang, 2011) have been identified.
third month operation (Rabuel, 2010), the percentage of modal shift In Beijing, a congested and land-constrained city, BRT Line 1 has
on BRT line 1 (12.4%) does not seem very high. However, it is also shown some positive effects on property development along
important to note that the surveyed modal shift from private car is its corridor, after 6 years service. In a survey to local real estate
already encouraging, considering that car ownership in Beijing is agents who specialize in the property market within the BRT
generally lower than many western cities. The evidence that car corridor area, it was found that BRT Line 1 has a high profile within
users are willing to use the BRT system suggests that a high-quality the local property market. To many customers, BRT was funda-
bus-based rapid transit can attract modal shift. mental to their interest in the local area. There was generally
a consensus on the prosperous nature of the property market, such
as rising property values, rents, and real estate performance,
3.5. Impacts on the traffic environment benefiting from the opening of BRT. From the perspective of local
real estate agents properties adjacent to BRT stations benefit from
A notable fact is that the operation of BRT not only provides accessibility enhancement. Interviews with developers suggest that
significantly faster operating speeds for the bus service, but also BRT Line 1 has provided some opportunities for joint development:
improves the travel speed of the general traffic that runs parallel to the travel time savings conferred by BRT has made locations near
the exclusive busway, as shown in Table 3. a BRT station more desirable for development. Many residential
Before implementation of BRT, conventional buses had to projects, specifically high-density apartments, were built after the
frequently stop to pick up and drop off passengers, and that not implementation of the BRT system, and this is mainly due to the
only caused delay for the bus itself but also for general traffic. After accessibility enhancement in the southern area.
the introduction of BRT, some bus lines were cancelled and the
number of required vehicles was reduced. The larger station spaces
4. Conclusions and policy implications
also reduce the interference between BRT and general traffic. In
addition, the modal shift from previous car use to BRT service has
Heavy pressures on the transport budget have prompted policy-
contributed to traffic congestion relief. The improvement in travel
makers to seek an affordable way to provide a high quality trans-
speed was also found from the survey of Los Angeles Orange Line
port service. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) presents a cost-effective and
(Callaghan & Vincent, 2007), which indicated that since the
flexible alternative for high-performance transit services and thus
opening of the Orange Line, southbound traffic flow had improved
has increasingly gained interest from policy-makers. Beijing BRT
around 7% during the morning peak time, and northbound traffic
Line 1 is a significant transport improvement to the southern area
flow in the evening rush hour improved by 6%. In Toulouse, the
and has greatly improved accessibility for communities along its
average speed of car increased by 3% between 2007 and 2008, due
route to the city centre. From the experiences of the Southern Axis
to the opening of BHLS (Rabuel, 2010).
BRT Line 1 in Beijing, it is concluded that:

3
Rabuel (2010) suggested the high modal shift was observed in Nantes BHLS,
a) A full-featured BRT could offer higher passenger capacity,
because the busway was deployed in a previously poorly served area and public operation speed, and more reliable and comfortable service
space was reorganised to restrict car use. than a conventional bus.
112 T. Deng, J.D. Nelson / Research in Transportation Economics 39 (2013) 108e113
b) A full-featured BRT could be a significant transport improve-
ment to the local area. It can have a positive impact on travel
behaviour change.
c) A full-featured BRT could have positive effects on the attrac-
tiveness of residential properties in the proximity of BRT
stations.
The implementation of Beijing BRT Line 1 has provided some
lessons for further development of BRT systems. The key lessons
may be summarized below.
4.1. Suggestions for improving BRT operation
Although implementation of the BRT Line 1 is generally
considered a considerable success, there has been some local crit-
icism and these need to be highlighted:
a) First mile and last mile links
Integrating BRT with different transport modes, such as bus,
Metro/LRT, cycling, and walking is undoubtedly crucial to
improving the overall door-to-door journey. In the case of Beijing,
while much attention was paid on improving bus interchange with
the BRT, less care has been given to non-motorised transport,
especially the bicycle, which is the most convenient transport
mode widely used in China. Integrating the BRT system with bicycle
can significantly expand the customer catchment area and improve
the door-to-door journey. However, only 6.1% of passengers, a very
low percentage, used a bicycle to access BRT, according to the
recent BRT passenger survey (Deng & Nelson, 2012). The narrow
bike lanes and lack of ample secure bicycle storage at stations are
the main reasons discouraging the use of bicycle. In addition,
folding bicycles currently are not allowed to be taken on board,
which also limits the use of bicycle. Publicly-sponsored bicycle
systems could be developed to encourage people to use a more
environmentally friendly way to access BRT.
b) Station design problems
In the case of Beijing, an impressive feature of BRT stations is the
pedestrian overpass or underpass which provides safe pedestrian
access. However, few of those stations are equipped with lifts
which makes accessing BRT quite difficult for cyclists, disabled,
pregnant women, children, and elderly people. Besides, the waiting
environment is not pleasant. Many passengers complain that the
station shelter is not adequate to protect passengers from
inclement weather.
c) Application of Transit Signal Priority system
A Transit Signal Priority (TSP) system is typically used to help
BRT reduce delays at intersections. However, it was found that
some transit signal priority lights are not in working condition.
Without the support from TSP, it is difficult to guarantee the speed
and reliability of BRT.
d) Integration with transit network
BRT needs to be operated as an integrated part of the overall
regional transit network. Currently in Beijing, busways are placed in
the middle of the road and BRT operates on the busway corridor
only and ends in terminals. Passengers need to use an underpass or
overpass to reach feeder buses, making transfer quite difficult for
passengers. In Guangzhou, the trunk-lines can go beyond
BRT corridors. Routes operate both inside and outside the BRT
corridor, allowing passengers to easily transfer among the main and
feeder lines.
e) Safety issues
Barriers physically separate the BRT from general traffic, but the
exclusive busway may encounter some unexpected use by other
transport modes. In the case of Beijing, occasionally some cars or
even tricycles intrude the busway corridor, due to drivers’ care-
lessness. In addition, a few passengers climb over the barrier to find
a shortcut to the BRT station. All of these have resulted in hidden
trouble for safe BRT operation. Therefore, strict regulations and
more clear traffic signs should be made to ensure operation safety.
f) Image and identity issues
Bus services are often criticized for the slow operational speed
and infrequent, inconvenient and unreliable service. As a rubber-
tyred system, the BRT system needs to overcome the negative
perception of bus services through effective marketing, branding
and the modern design of buses and stations. In the case of Beijing,
the exclusive busway has played a significant role in increasing the
image and identity of BRT. Although Beijing BRT has already
adopted advanced vehicles (high capacity, articulated buses, level
boarding, air-conditioned and low emission) and stations (shelter,
waiting seats), much more needs to be done to enhance vehicles
and stations aesthetically. In addition, logos and colours need to be
well designed to increase its appeal to passengers. A good example
is the Las Vegas MAX BRT system (Diaz & Hinebaugh, 2009): the
colour and logo are well integrated into the identification of vehi-
cles, stations and the facilities. A marketing campaign actively
introduces the service and educates citizens and visitors in Las
Vegas.
4.2. Improving the operational sustainability of BRT
It is important to note that operating cost efficiency is critical for
BRT investment. In many cases, operating without subsidy is a main
reason that many budget-constraint cities seek BRT as the traffic
solution. In some Latin American cities (Porto Alegre, Guayaquil,
et al.), BRT systems operate with no public subsidies and return
a profit to private sector firms. In the case of Beijing, the fare is
defined below the operation cost level and that has generated great
financial difficulties for operators. Currently, Beijing BRT is heavily
subsidized by the local government. Similar to Latin American
cities, China has high passenger volume levels and low labour costs,
which may make operating BRT profitably possible if the system
operation structure is well designed. Thus, the local authority needs
to examine the effect of subsidies on operational efficiency and
undertake a full review of fares policy and structure to improve the
operational sustainability of BRT.
4.3. BRT project funding issues
BRT can use existing infrastructure which makes constructing
BRT generally less costly than other rapid transit systems. To date,
BRT projects are overwhelmingly funded by public sources. Some
BRT systems, such as in Bogotá (Rodríguez & Mojica, 2009), and
Seoul (Cervero & Kang, 2011) have caused land value uplift effects.
Since the land value capture resulting from BRT projects could be
a sustainable and important funding source contributing to BRT
investment, it is suggested that the local authority should actively
look for joint development opportunities with developers in the
planning stage. In the case of Beijing, although BRT Line 1 has
provided some opportunities for joint development, promoting
 T. Deng, J.D. Nelson / Research in Transportation Economics 39 (2013) 108e113
land development was not within the scope of planners. The
transport authority has not taken an active role in pursuing joint
development opportunities around BRT stations. For future
implementation of BRT, it is suggested that the local authority
should seriously consider applying value-capture tools to help
finance BRT investments and actively look for joint development
opportunities with developers in the planning stage.
Except for the interest in land value uplift effect, recently, there
is growing interest in the mechanism for financing BRT infra-
structure through publiceprivate partnerships (PPP). Lindau,
Senna, Strambi, and Martins (2008) argued that the PPP scheme
should be developed to attract the private investment to finance
BRT infrastructure and thus increase financial sustainability
elements of BRT projects. In the case of the BRT system in Santiago
(Chile), Hook, Fjellstrom, and Diaz (2006) found that 69% of Phase I
BRT infrastructure and 100% of vehicles and fare collection were
paid by the private sector operators.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41201102) and the
Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Shanghai
University of Finance and Economics (No. 2012110324). The authors
would like to thank the anonymous referee for constructive
comments. Any remaining errors are ours.
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