Costs

 A study by the United States Government Accountability Office from 2000 found that the
average capital cost per mile for busways was $13.5 million while light rail average costs were
$34.8 million.
 Operational costs of running a BRT system are generally lower than light rail .
 BRT systems usually had lower costs based on "operating cost per vehicle hour", "operating cost
per revenue mile", and "operating cost per passenger trip", mainly because of lower vehicle cost
and lower infrastructure cost.
 The initial capital costs of Diesel BRT are also much lower than a trolleybus system.

Kesennuma Line in Japan damaged in 2011 tsunami, JR

proposed the line's conversion into a dedicated bus
rapid transit (BRT) route, before railway's full
restoration.

Criticism
BRT systems have been widely promoted by non-governmental organizations such as the Shell-funded
EMBARQ program, Rockefeller Foundation and Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
(ITDP), whose consultant pool includes the former mayor of Bogota (Colombia), Enrique Penalosa.

 Contaminating effects and maintenance

 Beside the potential conflict of interests, BRTs are being questioned worldwide because
of their contaminating effects in the urban environment.
 bus rapid transit often uses diesel- or gasoline-fueled engines
 potentially making the BRT system more expensive to operate in the long term.

 Failures and reversal

 a principal criticism of BRT systems is that they may not accomplish their promise of an
efficient, rapid flow of passengers along their dedicated bus lanes.
 The lack of permanence of BRT has also been criticized
Example:
a. Delhi, where a BRT system was
scrapped
b. Aspen, where drivers are lobbying the government to allow mixed-use traffic in
former BRT lanes as of 2017
c. Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce has called for bus lanes to be scrapped in
certain areas of the city "as an experiment."

d. Bangkok was also making plans to scrap a set of bus-only lanes, as of early 2017