A Comparative Study of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and Metro Rail as an Urban mode of Transport

Abstract

To ensure the sustenance of a high growth in urban population, it is crucial for India to implement reliable and efficient Urban Passenger Transport Systems. According to a UN report "World Urbanization Prospects 2014”, by 2030, India will have more than 68 cities with more than one million population and it is expected that, nearly half of the Indian population will reside in cities, which is double the present American population. In India, public transport authorities in metropolitan cities are suffering losses which emphasizes public transport choice to be more relevant. Also, different classes of cities demand different public transport solutions. The selection criteria involve parameters such as Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic (PHPDT), average trip length, city population, average spending on public transport, cost based comparative approach. This paper examined major parameters to adopt efficient and reliable mode of transport between BRTS and Metro for other cities. This is carried by reviewing the feasibility of BRTS and Metro running in cities with maximize success rate. The focus of the study is also to provide sustainable public transport solution by assessing economic, social and environment factors of existing BRTS and Metro systems running successfully in selected city(s).