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D6-3BUSWAYS AND BUS LANES IN BRAZIL AND JAPAN

Marisa Garcia, Graduate StudentKoshi Yamamoto,Professor

Departmentof Civil Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology,Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466, Japan

ABSTRACT Some cities in the world, especiallythose in developing countries, have adoptedbusways and bus lanes as cheap and feasiblemethods to alleviate the problems associatedwith high traffic demand and congestion.Rapid rail tran sit has proven to be unfeasiblein most developing countries, requiring hugecapital investments, sophisticated technologyand technical expertise fo r its proper operationand maintenance of a level not likely to befound in most third world countries.It has been obsew ed that with the appropriatemix of operational and des ign featu res suchas exclusive lanes, bus priority traffic signal,overtaking at sto ps and high capacity vehicles,bus systems have been able to achieve thesam e performance levels as rail transit butfor far lower costs, having the additionaladvantages of route flexibility and demandadaptability.In thispaper, a comparison of the performanceof busways and bus lanes between Brazil andJapan is presented, as well as a description ofthe special features, innovative solutions andmeasures introduced into each of the systemsin order to improve management of them andtheir operational performance. An evaluationof the main features of busways and bus lanesthat impact their efficiency and performanceis included.To better understand the different treatmentafforded busways and bus lanes between thetwo countries, four Brazilian busway systemsand two Japane se bus lane systems have beenincluded in this study.I. INTRODUCTIONIn developing countries, high capacity bus prioritysystems are the most practical solution to beimplemented so far to solve the problem of high trafficdemand and saturation. Rapid rail transit systems haveproven to be uneconomical to establish and maintain.

As a result of limited resources, creative and innovativelow cost solutions to such transportation problems a remore likely to be developed in third world countriesthan in developed ones. In developed countries,economic stability permits more sophisticated solutionssuch as high speed subway systems and the like to beimplemented.In Brazil, the expertise developed in establishing andoperating busway and bus lane systems proved to beso successful that they could assist in setting up similarsystems in other countries.In Japan, due to the narrowness of the streets, veryfew applications of such systems can be seen. The onlyexamples of such systems in Japan are in Osaka andNagoya City ( known for its large avenues, introducedas part of the war rehabilitation plan). Within Brazil,the most successful systems are in the southern citiesof Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and the centralcity of Belo Horizonte.The study also takes into account the differences inculture, environment, demand and physicalcharacteristics between the two countries.

11. CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSWAYSAND BUS LANESA. BUSWAY AND BUS LANE DESIGNBus lanes are reserved spaces allocating priori tyto busesover other forms of transportation through the use ofpainted lines and signs. Busways are bus expresswaysphysically separat ing buses from other traffic flowsthrough the us e of median strips and baniers.In Curitiba and Belo Horizonte, the busways aresegregated by concrete barriers and grass median stripsrespectively. In Sao Paulo an d PortoAlegre, the buswaysare next to the median strip, segregated by heavy roadstuds.In Nagoya, both curbside and central bus lanes areidentified as being for buses only through the use ofyellow painted lines on the road. Private vehicles mayuse the lanes during only non-peak hours.Th e implementation of busways met with far greaterpublic resistance tha n for bus lanes. This can be

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explained by the far greater inconvenience buswayscause to private motor vehicles.To reduce interaction between private motor vehiclesand buses, intersections are spaced out more than theywould otherwise be. As well as this, it is not possiblefor private motor vehicles to cross busways at everyintersection. As a result, the perceived inconveniencecaused to private motor vehicle drivers by making themgo a little out of their way to get to their ultimatedestination, occasionally leads to violations of trafficregula tions. In the case of Curitiba, it was found thatprivate motor vehicle drivers have to travelapproximately400 meters extra due to the busways toget to their destination.Despite the above incontinences and the fact thatthey are more expensive to implement than bus lanes,busways are still considered to be the most efficientform ofbus system. Buses do not suffer from interferencefromprivate motor vehicles and there is no requirementfor police control asbus priority is guaranteed throughphysical segregation. As a result of this, higher speedsare able to be achieved. The curbside bus lanes inNagoya e.g. the Hoshizaki Route, are very tempting forprivate motor vehicle drivers to use to reduce travellingtime. As a result the efficiency of these bus lanes isdependent on the discipline of private vehicle driversand continuous strict enforcement by the authorities.

(South Comdor)PORT0*LEGRE

(Assis Brasil)S A 0PAULX)

B. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICSOF BUSWAYS ANDBUS LANES.

LANEEXCLUSIVEcEwRAL s.oh 580m 4 1 0 m

7 2 h 600 m 530mL A N E

MEDIUM

AVERAGE AVERAGEDISTANCE DISTANCEI ITY 1 L 1LENGTH1STOP IJUNCTION 1

(TokoRoute) 1 0 . 5 h 7 ~ ) m 4AGOYA KERB-SIDE

Table 1. Physical Characteristicsof Busways/Bus lanes

Average commercial bus speeds appear to be related tostop and junction distances.

The longer the junction and distance between bus stops,the higher the speed able to be achieved.The location of the buswaybus lane also impacts uponthis. Indowntown areas, veragespeeds always decreaseas buses are caused to stop more frequently and thejunction distances are shorter.In the cases covered in this study, average speeds varybetween 17 km/h and 27 km/h.In the same systems, average speeds increased byapproximately 4-7 km/h after buswaysbu s lanes wereintroduced.

111- OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICSA. CAPACITYIn Brazil, 65% of the population regularly use publictransport. As a result, Brazilian bus systems, includingthose covered here, must cope with the problem ofhigh bus flows without decreasing their efficiency oroperating performance.In Curitiba, busways (South, North, West, East andBoqueirao Conidors) operate a t N1 capacity. At peakhours, one articulated bus (170 passenger capacity)and one standard bus (105 passenger capacity) departevery minute (16.500 passengers/hour/direction)rapidly causing a train formation of vehicles reducingthe system's efficiency.A temporary solution to alleviate he saturation problemwas to introduce bi-articulated buses (270 passengercapacity).The problem has also been minimized through theimplementationof an auxiliary bus system, divertingsome passengers to alternate routes.Special buses run parallel to the central busway systemfor a segment and then subsequently take differentroutes.On the main route, special closed circular bus sta tions(tube stations) made of glass require passengers toprepay fares before boarding and provide same levelboarding and alighting.Tube stations have a length of 12 metres and a radiusof 2.75 metres. Station doors are stra tegical ly locatedand of the automatic sliding type. Doors are able to bemanually operated in case of emergency.The stations are able to be entered at either end.T h e entrances are equipped with turnstiles which arecontrol led by a conductor and operated by bus tokens.The conductor is responsible for operating the station'sdoors when buses arrive at the stations.Buses have no stairs or conductors and have the capacityto carry 110 passengers at a time.The system runs for 16.5 kilometers, has ten tubestations, no intermediate stops and operates at afrequency of one minute intervals during peak hours.Also, the adoption of articulated buses in the system

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has been planned to meet th e future demand.

Figure 1. Busway System in Curitiba and across-sectionalview of a tube station.In Sa0 Paulo, where evening peaks can reach 20.300pass/hour/dir., the most critical bus flows are in thefirst third part of the corridor (the main bus system).The solution adopted has been to provide more busesto cover this part of the corridor. Travelling shorterdistances, these buses are able to cover this criticalarea more frequently, meeting the higher passengerdemand.The problem in Nagoya is the reverse of the Braziliancities. In Nagoya, effort is centred on trying to att ractcommuters to the public transportation systems toreduce congestion caused by private motor vehicles.Nagoya is an automobile-dependent city. Only 8.0% ofthe populationmake use of the city's bus transportationsystems whereas 27,2 % of the population use the city'srailway systems ( of which 11,4%use the subwaysystem).Poor public transport patronage in Nagoya can beexplained by the region's high percentage of roadconstruction (82.5% of paved roads). Th e city's roadsprovide good access to central locations in the city,attracting private cars to the demm ent of publictransport usage.The introduction of two bus lane systems in Nagoya

resulted in 2% of private motor vehicle driversconverting to using bus transportation.Dailypassengers increased from 10,100 to 16,200 (iustafter the bus lane implementation) on the Toko Routeand 20,200 to 25,000 daily passengers on the Shindeki-machi Route.Despite the poor patronage of Nagoya's bus systems,the systems are very important for people dependenton public transportation as not all areas in Nagoyahave access to the region's subway system.

B. OVERTAKlNG AT STOPS.The provision of overtaking facilities at bus stops is animportant characteristic of bus systems. Studies haveshown that most time spent at bus stops is due to thenumber of buses at the stop and is not related to thetime required by passengers to board or alight .The ability to overtake at bus stops enables buses tooperate independently of each other, arriving at anddeparting from bus stops without delay.I t has been observed that higher overall average speedsand capacities are able to be achieved where overtakingfacilities are providing.Three of the six bus systems analyzed in this studyenable overtaking at bus s tops: Toko Route ( Nagoya),AV. 9 de Julho (Sao Paulo) a nd AV.C. Machado ( BeloHorizonte).Buses operating in the bus lanes in the Toko Routestop only at major bus stops (limited-stop buses) topermit higher speed operations.Bus bays have been installed at regular bus stops onthe route so that limited-stop buses can pass regularbuses (permitted during non-rush hours ) on theirjourney without delay.In Sa0 Paulo an d Belo Horizonte, OVertaking is able totake place in the central part of the busway systemwhere the bus stops are located.In Port0 Alegre's busways, higher speeds and lowerbus flows have been achieved following the introductionof transfer terminals in the central area, eliminatingthe overlap of feeder routes, allowing smooth transfersbetween small feeder buses and the articulated busesusing the busways.

C. FARE AND PHYSICAL INTEGRATION.In Curitiba, the Integrated Transport System allowspassengers to use trunk (busway), feeder andinterdistrict lines for a flat fare.Once within the system, transfers are possible insidethe terminals. No further fare payment is necessaryreducing the time required to board or disembark.In Nagoya, a reduced fare system exists for transfersbetween ordinary buses and Toko Route buses.On the Shindeki-machi Route, both city buses andprivately owned Meitetsu Company buses operate

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cooperatively, employing a common ticketing system.Passengers are able to board eithe r bus using the sameticket.

FARE TYPEFlat fare ( transportation tokens)

D. FARE SYSTEMFare system and fare collection methods appear tosignificant ly influence the regularity of services due tothe variations they cause in passenger boarding anddisembarking times. Fare systems for the busways andbus lanes covered by this study were evaluated asfollows:

BO A RD I N GTIME2.0 s - 3.0 s

Multiple fares ( various valuesusing normal currency) 3.0 s - 4.0 s

l l.0 s - 8.0sMultiple fares (normal currencywith fare control deviceinside the vehicle)

54

control device within the bus)

340 290 250304 256 220

carry up to 28.000 passengers per hour per directionat an average speed of 19 kilometers per hour.It was also verified that the speed increased in 20% inthe analyzed corridors with corresponding fuel savings.In Curitiba, a less formalized bus ordering system is inoperation. Buses are scheduled in such a manner thatthey reach bus stops in sequence.Analyzing the Sao Paulo example, the following generalformula was deduced as being a requirement of anyconvoy system to be implemented:

3600- 6 p / ( 2 + n )C = 4 + 8nbeing C ( , ~ p )= capacity (in buses/hour) in a determined

p = number of passengers boarding pern = average number of buses per convoy

segment of the com dorhour

For convoys operating in exclusive lanes, the hourlybus capacity (buses per hour) depending on the timespent waiting at a bus stop, maximum speed andnumber of buses in the convoy, where multiple busstops are involved was found to be as follows:

Table 2. Boarding time according to fare type I BUS STOP CAPACITY (BUSES/HOUR)FOR CONVOYS WITH MAXIMUM SPEEDIn the case ofCuritiba, there are "ticketed areas"(arearestricted to passengers that have paid fares) withinthe terminals. Passengers are able to transfer betweenbuses without and additional fare payment, reducingaverage boarding time by approximately 1.0 second

per passenger.

BUSES IN T H ECONVOY STOP T I M E

IV. SPECIAL FEATURESA. CONVOYSConvoys (bus ordering systems) were developed in theSao Paulo busways of Brazil in 1979.Buses assemble in convoys and travel the entire journeyin convoy formation according to their route. They stopat the same time in their respective berths and boardtheir respective waiting passengers.This technique is still used in the Sao Paulo and Port0Alegre busways systems.Bus convoys are often capable of carrying almost twicethe normal busway passenger capacity in heavilycongested areas. On some of the heaviest travelledcomdors in Brazil, a combination of busways and busconvoys utilizing up to 260 buses has been able to

464 400 360384 330 294

Table 3. Multiple Bu s Stop capacity for convoys*Convoys in Sao Paulo usually consist of six buses.

B. CURITIBAS TRINARY SYSTEMThe introduction of the central busway system inCuritiba was part of a master plan to change the radialconfiguration of the city, inducing a linear expansion

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tha t integrates the road system, mass transportationsystem and land use.The introduction of a central busway is alwaysaccompanied by a reduction in the speed of privatemotor vehicles using the surrounding roads. This isexpected as roads surrounding the busways are normallynarrowed.In the case of Curitiba, a trinary system was developedto minimize this problem. A set of roads consisting ofthe central busway itself, the slow bordering trafficroads and two wide through traffic roads wasestablished. Each road runs parallel to the buswaysystem road. The wide through traffic roads are oneway, facilitating the smooth flow of private motorvehicles tha t could otherwise be strangled by the otherbordering roads.

C. ARRIVALTIME INDICATORSIn Nagoya, bus arrival time indicators were installedalong the busway to reduce uncertainty and passengersanxiety over expected arrival t ime . Commuters areencouraged to wait if they know their bus is expectedto arrive soon, rather than seek an alternative modeof transport. Electronic devices at bus stops advisewaiting passengers of approaching buses. Approachingbuses within three bus stops are indicated on theelectronic panel. The panels also advise of travel timesto main bus stops on a real time basis.

V. BUSWAYS/BUS LANES ADVANTAGES ANDDISADVANTAGESFrom the systems analyzed in this study, someadvantages and disadvantagesof busways and bus lanescan be observed:- Curb-side lanes are the easiest to be implemented,require minimum physical changes and permit easystopping by buses and boarding/disembarkation bypassengers. They, however have the potential to causeproblems with property access and for turning traffic.They are difficult to control without proper enforcementand are slower than other types of bus lanes due totheir "marginal friction" i.e. closeness to the curb, trees,poles and pedestrians.- Central lanes present neither problems for propertyaccess nor for adjacent roads turning traffic, since thebusway is located in the middle of the road.They provide better identification of the public transportsystem and because of reduced interference from othervehicles, higher average speeds can be achieved.The disadvantages of central bus lanes are:* They can only be implemented in wide streets.' Where there is only one central curb, difficulty in

boarding and disembarking can be expected.* They cause potential problems for vehicles travellingalongside the busway th at need to cross it to enter thetransversal roads (usually, three-phase traffic lights arenecessary in controlled intersections).* Passengers must use general traffic pedestriancrossings.* They are more difficult and more expensive to beimplemented than curbside lanes, often resulting inopposition from various groups.- Both busways and bus lanes can great ly improve busregularity by eliminating 70% of the factors that causedelays. Higher frequencies can be achieved for loweroperational costs and improved itineraries can bearranged due to the fact that contra-flow lanes can beimplemented, Busways and bus lanes require lowerinvestments tha n rail-based systems and in some casescan reach similar performance levels, having the addedadvantage of route flexibility and demand adaptability,not possible in fixed route systems.

VLCONCLUSIONS:A. How successful the implementation and operationof busways / bus lanes is depends t o a great extent on:- the interaction between agencies responsible forplanning and coordinating t he transportation sector andland use explains the success of Curitiba's Integratedtransportation System. The Institute of Research andUrban Planning of Curitiba(1PPUC) which is in chargeof transportation and urban planning and theUrbanization of Curitiba(URBS), responsible fo r themanagement and operation of mass publictransportation system, work together in mutualcoordination and cooperation to achieve their objectives.- the cooperation and discipline of private motor vehicledrivers in observing usage and parking restrictions.- the reliability and effectiveness of the bus operationin being able to convert private motor vehicle driversinto public transport users.B. In Curitiba, the problem of busway capacity couldnot be overcame by adding more buses to the system.The indiscriminating addition of buses can create otherproblems such as:- over 120 buses per hour, formation of trains ofvehides inevitably cause decreases in bus speeds andbus regularity.- although flows of more than 350 buses/hour can beaccommodating in busways systems, it was observedthat terminals with more tha n 60 departures per hourare difficult to properly organize.- accumulation of buses at intersections reduce th e

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visibility and safety of pedestrians using pedes triancrossings.- Exhaust fumes and noise pollution can be very severein areas where the frequency of buses is high, leadingto increased complaints from citizens.C. Busways can be easily converted into HOV (highoccupancy vehicle) lanes or medium capacity systemssuch as light rail transit systems.The implementation would not have a major impacton land use pattems or urban development as the impactwould already have occurred at the time the previoussystem was implemented. The new system would beless likely to fail as demand for the system would alreadyexist.D. As in Nagoya, extensive road construction creates asociety dependent on private motor vehicle usage. Suchsituation is difficult to reverse.Uncontrolled development based on car predominancycreates urban areas poorly suited to publictransportation and delays the development of masspublic system facilities.The balance between private and public transit usagevaries according to existing transit system - when issimilar to the private cars performance, the conversionfrom public transport to the auto is less th an when thepublic services are inferior.Rapid and semi-rapid transit systems as a result,experience lower levels of passenger losses than streettransit systems. In Nagoya, until 1984, when the buslanes were implemented, passenger losses in bus systemwere increasing annually, whereas the number ofcommuters using the subway system were graduallyincreasing.If paral lel improvements occur in roadways and publictransportation e.g.. the introduction of bus lanes andan expansion of the subway system, this can moderatethe conversion of people to private motor vehicles.REFERENCES[ l ] V.K. Vuchic, Urban Public Transportation: Systemsand Technology, 1st . edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc.,Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1981.[21 D. Banister and P. Hall, Transport and Public PolicyPlanning, 1st. edition, Mansell Publishing Ltd., London,1981.[3] IPPUC - Insti tuto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbanode Curitiba, Estudo de pre-viabilidade :Bonde Modemo,IPPUC Press, Curitiba, Brazil, 1990.[4] J. W. Dickey, Metropolitan Transportat ion Planning,2nd. edition, Hemisphere Publishing Corporation,U.S.A., 1975.[SI G. Gardner, A Study of High Capacity Busways inDeveloping Cities, Proc. Instn.Civil Engrs. Tramp., 185-191.1992.

[6] N. A. Tyler, The contribution of Expert Opinion tothe Design of High Capacity Bus Priority Systems,Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference onCivil Structural Engineering Computing- CML-COMP89, London, England, 1989.[7] A. Katoh and Y. Haji, The Development of UrbanTransportat ion Policies for Nagoya, Proceedings of theFifth World Conferece on Transport Research, Vol. 111,c-141, Westem Periodicals Co., Ventura, U.S.A., 1989.[8] C . J. Khisty, Transportation Engineering: anintroduction, 1st. edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc., NewJersey, U.S.A., 1990.[9] J.L. Taylor and D. G. Willians, Urban PlanningPractise in Developing Countries, Pergamon-Press,Britain, 1990.[l o] City Planning Bureau, Planning for Nagoya, NagoyaCity, Japan, 1989[ l l ] Kiyotaka Hayashi, Urban Development in Nagoya,City Planning Bureau of the City of Nagoya, NagoyaUrban Development Corporation, March 1990, Nagoya,Japan.[12] Nagoya Municipal Transportation Bureau, TheNagoya City Bus and Subway System, June 1990,Nagoya, Japan .[13] Nagoya City Transportation Bureau, Key RouteBus System, 1990, Nagoya, Japan.[14] E. de Boer, Transport Soaology - Social Aspectsof Transport Planning, Pergamon Press, 1st. edition,Britain, 1986.[15] T. Boukhris and F. Kuhn, L'integration Dun MetroLeger Dans Un Reseau de Transports Collectifs D'uneMetropole, International Transportation Conference,Tunisia, 1992.

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