A Policy Move towardsSustainable Urban Transport in Pakistan: Measuring the Social, Environmental and Economic Impacts of Lahore BRT System

Abstract

We examine the impacts of a sustainable urban transport initiative, the first Bus Rapid Transit System launched in Lahore, Pakistan in year 2013.Wemeasure the socio-economic and environmental impacts of theBRTusing aquestionnaire-based survey that collected informationon customers’ travel purpose, travel frequency, travel time, mode access, previous travel mode choices (pre-BRT) and travel mode choices at present. Weestimate that,on average,a BRTpassenger savesabout 46 minutes per day on a singletrip. However, the modal shift from personal automobiles to theBRT system is found to be only 4 percent, i.e.,significantlyless than the shift found in otherworldwide BRT systems.Moreover, weestimate the reduction inthenumber of private vehicles on roads, total distance travelled in km and associated travelling costs and,subsequently,the reduction in the carbonemissions. We concludethat the Lahore BRTtransit systemneeds to be expandedto other parts of the city.