Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Alternative: Curitiba's Bus Rapid System

Curitiba is a role model for it's Bus Rapid Transit(BRT) system. Curitiba has a population of 2.2 million people, and 70% of the commuters use the BRT system. It is one of the most heavily used, yet low cost, transit system in the world.

Based on 1991 survey the system effectively caused a reduction of 27 million auto trips per year, saving about 27 million liters of fuel annually. (28% of BRT users traveled by car) Curitiba uses about 30% less fuel per capita, making it one of the lowest rates of ambient air pollution in Brazil. Today 11,00 busses makes 12, 000 trips everyday, serving more than 1.3 million passengers, 50 times the number from the 70’s. User friendly- Citizens only spend 10% of their income on travel, which is much below the national average.

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