Applicability of Bogot

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Applicability of Bogotá's TransMilenio BRT
System to the United States

• Alasdair Cain
• Georges Darido
• Johan Barrios
• National Bus Rapid Transit Institute - CUTR / USF
• Michael Baltes - Federal Transit Administration
• Pilar Rodriguez - TransSystems Corp

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Presentation Outline

• Comparing Bogotá with cities in the U.S
• Applicability to the U.S
• Passenger capacity
• Attracting choice riders
• Capital cost
• Business model
• Urban renewal / mobility program
• Conclusions

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The TransMilenio System
Phase I Phase II Americas NQS (north) NQS
(south)/Suba
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Comparing Bogotá to U.S cities
Bogotá, Colombia U.S Cities
Urban form Population of about 8 million in greater Bogotá Higher density development CBD-focused urban form Lower income groups live on the city periphery Urban form Only a handful of US cities gt 5 million population Lower density development Decentralized activity centers Lower income groups live near the CBD
High demand for transit (gt65 of mode share) Car travel is expensive Majority do not own cars, many captive riders Low demand for transit (lt5 of mode share) Car travel is relatively cheap Majority have access to a car
Fare box recovery ratio gt 1.0 Transit service operated by private sector, regulated by public sector Private sector responsible for vehicle purchase Fare box recovery ratio lt 1.0 Transit service regulated, and operated by public sector Service operations are subsidized
Labor costs lt 20 of total operating costs Labor costs 35 75 of total operating costs
Capital cost of transit infrastructure requires public sector subsidization Capital cost of transit infrastructure requires public sector subsidization
Private vehicle travel subsidized by public sector, resulting in increasingly severe traffic congestion Private vehicle travel subsidized by public sector, resulting in increasingly severe traffic congestion
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Bogotá 210 250 people per hectare
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Passenger Capacity
Bicycle way
Sidewalk
5m
7m
10.5m
1-3m
3 - 8m
7m
10.5m
1-3m
3 - 8m
Busway
Busway
Sidewalk
Lateral Sep.
Lateral Sep.
3 general purpose lanes
3 general purpose lanes
Central Separator on-TM Stations
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Passenger Capacity
TransMilenio
U.S passenger loading
Source TCRP Report 100 Transit Capacity and
Quality of Service Manual
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High quality transit infrastructure is also
required to attract choice riders
Mode Split in Bogotá 1998 to 2005
Bicycle way
Sidewalk
5m
7m
10.5m
1-3m
3 - 8m
7m
10.5m
1-3m
3 - 8m
Busway
Busway
Sidewalk
Lateral Sep.
Lateral Sep.
3 general purpose lanes
3 general purpose lanes
Central Separator on-TM Stations
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.and thus address congestion management goals
Si estos idiotas solo tomaran el bus, yo ya
estaría en la casa.
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Capital Cost
Heavy Rail (1997 Proposal) TransMilenio Phase 1 TransMilenio Phase II TransMilenio Master Plan
Capital Cost (Infrastructure) 2,350M 240M 545M 2,300M
Vehicles / fare collection 691M 100M 80M 1,020M
Total Capital Cost 3,041M 340M 625M 3,320M
Length km (Length miles) 29km (18.0 miles) 41km (25.6 miles) 41km (25.6 miles) 388km (241 miles)
Cost per km (Cost per mile) 105M / km (169M / mile) 8.3M / km (13.3M / miles) 15.2M / km (24.4M / mile) 8.6M / km (13.8M / mile)
Weekday Ridership 795,000 792,000 468,000 5,000,000
Coverage of Citys Total Transit Trips 16 percent 16 percent 10 percent 85 percent
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Capital Cost
System / Location Mode (runningway) Trunk Length (Miles) Capital Cost (2003 USD M) Capital Cost per Mile (2003 USD M / Mile) Average Weekday Ridership Average Weekday Pass / Mile
San Pablo Rapid Oakland, CA BRT (mixed traffic) 14 .3.2 0.23 6,100 436
Las Vegas MAX Las Vegas, NV BRT (bus lane) 7.5 20.3 2.7 6,300 840
SilverLine Phase I Boston, MA BRT (bus lane) 2.3 27.3 11.9 14,000 6,087
Metro Orange Line Los Angeles, CA BRT (exclusive ROW) 14.0 350 25.0 21,000 1,500
TransMilenio (Phase 1) Bogotá, Colombia BRT (exclusive ROW) 25.6 340.0 13.3 792,000 30,907
TransMilenio (Phase 2) Bogotá, Colombia BRT (exclusive ROW) 25.6 625.0 24.8 468,000 18,281
North South Corridor Salt Lake City, UT LRT (surface) 15.0 397.3 26.5 20,000 1,333
Hiawatha Corridor Minneapolis, MN LRT (surface tunnel) 11.6 612.6 52.8 25,000 2,155
Red Line Los Angeles, CA HRT (underground) 16.5 5,557.3 337.6 96,000 5,832
Metrorail Washington, D.C HRT 112.0 16,300.0 (Estimated) 145.5 956,000 8,536
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Business Model
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Business Model
Operating Efficiency
Bogotá's TransMilenio
Single Public Monopoly (U.S transit industry)
Bogotá's traditional system
Private sector involvement
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Urban Renewal / Mobility Program
Before
After
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TransMilenio is now a major city icon!
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Politics

• Political philosophy
• Awareness of the BRT option
• Define service requirements before making mode
  selection decision
• Identify a high-profile champion
• Highlight BRT advantages
• Shorter implementation period
• Use of local expertise
• Lower cost (lower risk, lower long term debt
  commitment)
• National government support

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Conclusions

• BRTs passenger carrying capacity is similar to
  LRT in a U.S transit context (assuming high
  capacity infrastructure)
• High quality BRT infrastructure is required if it
  is to attract choice riders and thus achieve
  congestion reduction goals
• BRT projects are most likely to succeed when
  implemented as part of an integrated package of
  sustainable transport and land-use measures
• BRTs lower capital costs offer U.S cities the
  opportunity to implement rapid transit networks
  (as opposed to isolated corridors) capable of
  addressing city-wide mobility objectives

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Thank You

• Alasdair Cain
• Senior Research Associate
• National Bus Rapid Transit Institute
• Center for Urban Transportation Research
• University of South Florida
• cain_at_cutr.usf.edu
• [phone]
• Full report available at www.nbrti.org