Observatory

One of the main contributions of the ALC-BRT CoE will be to provide an Observatory of BRT (or BRT-like) corridors world wide. We plan to gather data on successful and unsuccessful BRT projects, and use this information to feed our research and generate case studies focusing on critical aspects determining BRT performance. The Observatory will also define key indicators for performance benchmark analysis among BRT systems and to compare them with rail-based technologies.
 
Currently, a survey is being carried to cover a broad sample worldwide with the aim of analyzing selected BRT-based systems at two different levels of detail:

• Shallow: a large number of bus systems (above 70) will be observed to obtain shallow indicators, i.e., indicators that can be obtained mostly from information available on-line.
• Deep: a deeper observation will be carried over a small group of bus corridors (around 16). Direct contact with government agencies, operators and designers of these systems will be needed to obtain the deep indicators.

With the information that has already been compiled, the BRTdata.org has been launched. The new website allows users to compare BRT systems and bus corridors in all 134 cities in 36 countries. The database includes 95 different indicators on system operations, design and cost, including metrics like the number of passengers per day, commercial speed, and the length of corridors. The website provides reliable and up-to-date data to help researchers, transit agencies, city officials, and NGOs understand and make better decisions to improve BRT and bus corridors in their cities.