The TransMilenio BRT system in Bogotá, Colombia, is an excellent example that is often praised as an innovative model for mass transport – with the first TransMilenio corridor on Avenida Caracas playing a significant role in improving traffic safety. Findings show that the BRT system has contributed to an estimated 50% reduction in traffic fatalities on the avenue, helping avoid more than 200 traffic deaths during its first nine years of operation.
TransMilenio is not the only BRT system to dramatically improve traffic safety. BRT and other transit priority projects in Guadalajara and Mexico City (Mexico), Ahmedabad (India) and Melbourne (Australia) have similarly curbed traffic crashes and fatalities, while improving transport quality in their respective cities. The improved safety record is mainly due to the changes in street infrastructure typically needed to accommodate a BRT system—such as creating a central median, making crosswalks shorter, and reducing the number of mixed traffic lanes—all of which tend to contribute to fewer crashes.
The report also cites figures from other studies that highlight public transport – such as by bus – as the safest mode of urban travel, with a much lower fatality rate than automobiles, both for vehicle occupants and other road users.
In addition to reducing traffic crashes and saving lives, bus travel, notably BRT, is well-documented for its impacts on reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and improving travel times, local air quality and accessibility. When it comes to return on investment, Bus Rapid Transit is the mobility hit for Smart Cities.
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