Vehicle Selection for BRT: Issues and Options

Abstract

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a flexible, high performance rapid transit mode that com-bines facilities, equipment, service and intelligent transportation system (ITS) ele-ments into a permanently integrated system with a quality image and unique iden-tity. Vehicles are an extremely important component of BRT systems, because they not only contribute significantly to BRT's image and identity, but also play a strong role in achieving measurable performance success. Vehicle-related planning and design issues confront BRT planners in seven basic areas: