Home            Contact us            FAQs
    
      Journal Home      |      Aim & Scope     |     Author(s) Information      |      Editorial Board      |      MSP Download Statistics

     Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology


Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System Impacts to Environmental Quality

1Mojtaba Shojaei Baghini, 1Amiruddin Ismail, 1Mohamad Hesam Hafezi, 1, 2Omran Kohzadi Seifabad and 1Ramez Alezzi Almansob
1Sustainable Urban Transport Research Centre (SUTRA) /Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
2Department of Urbanization, Islamic Azad University, Shoushtar Branch, Shoushtar, Iran
Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology  2014  7:1344-1350
http://dx.doi.org/10.19026/rjaset.7.400  |  © The Author(s) 2014
Received: April 22, 2013  |  Accepted: May 14, 2013  |  Published: February 20, 2014

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine the mechanism and performance of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and its impacts on environment quality. Environment quality is an indicator of regional quality of life, supporting the health and well-being of the public and sustainability of the urban and natural environment. Transit agencies are adopting vehicles with alternative fuels, propulsion systems and pollutant emissions controls. One of the ways to improve the transportation environment is through the reduction of BRT emissions to improve air quality. The primary advantage of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is that it can be adapted to a multitude of operating environments, with sufficient scalability to deliver increased carrying capacity to meet future ridership growth. Moreover, the system will also likely reduce overall the noise levels by determining suitable noise management systems. The paper finds that a BRT system offers the greatest potential for greenhouse gas reductions primarily because BRT vehicles generally offer lower CO2 emissions per passenger mile than other transportation system.

Keywords:

Air pollutant, bus rapid transit, environmental quality, transportation, vehicular emissions,


References

  1. Abane, A.M., 2011. Travel behaviour in Ghana: Empirical observations from four metropolitan areas. J. Transp. Geogr., 19(2): 313-322.
    CrossRef    
  2. Alpkokin, P. and M. Ergun, 2012. Istanbul metrobüs: First intercontinental bus rapid transit. J. Transp. Geogr., 24(0): 58-66.
    CrossRef    
  3. Brebbia, C.A., 2007. Urban Transport XIII: Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century. WIT, Southampton.
    CrossRef    PMid:17606093    
  4. Cham, L., M. Chang, J. Chung, G. Darido, C. Geilfuss, D. Henry and D. Schneck, 2006. Honolulu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project evaluation. Final Report, Project No: FTA-26-7226, United States Department of Transportation.
    PMCid:PMC1895804    
  5. Darido, G.B., 2001. Managing conflicts between the environment and mobility: the case of road-based transportation and air quality in Mexico. MIT M.A. Thesis, Integrated Program on Urban, Regional and Global Air Pollution, Report No. 23, June 2001.
  6. Delmelle, E.C. and I. Casas, 2012. Evaluating the spatial equity of bus rapid transit-based accessibility patterns in a developing country: The case of Cali, Colombia. Transp. Policy, 20: 36-46.
    CrossRef    
  7. Deng, T. and J.D. Nelson, 2011. Recent developments in bus rapid transit: A review of the literature. Transport Rev., 31(1): 69-96.
    CrossRef    
  8. Dubé, J., F.D. Rosiers, M. Thériault and P. Dib, 2011. Economic impact of a supply change in mass transit in urban areas: A Canadian example. Transport. Res. A-Pol., 45(1): 46-62.
    CrossRef    
  9. Gleave, S.D., 2003. Estimation of private vehicle trips replaced by TransMilenio: Phase II report. SDG: Bogota.
  10. Herbert, S., R. Scott and B. Eric, 2003. TCRP report 90: Bus rapid transit. Implementation Guidelines. TRB, Washington, DC.
  11. Hinebaugh, D. and R. Diaz, 2009. Characteristics of Bus Rapid Transit for Decision-making. National BRT Institute, Tampa, Fla, Feb. 2009.
  12. Imam, R. and A. Jamrah, 2012. Energy consumption and environmental impacts of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. Jordan J. Civ. Eng., 66(3): 328-339.
  13. Krzyzanowski, M., B. Kuna-Dibbert and J. Schneider, 2005. Health Effects of Transport-related Air Pollution. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
  14. Rothenberg, J. and I.G. Heggie, 1974. Transport and the Urban Environment: Proceedings. Wiley, New York, pp: 273.
    CrossRef    
  15. Schipper, L. and L. Fulton, 2002. Making urban transit systems sustainable around the world: Many birds with one bus? Transp. Res. Record, 1791(-1): 44-50.
  16. Shapiro, R.J., K.A. Hassett and F.S. Arnold, 2002. Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public Transportation. American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC.
  17. Vincent, W. and L.C. Jerram, 2006. The potential for bus rapid transit to reduce transportation-related CO~2emissions. J. Public Transp., 9(3): 219-237.
    CrossRef    
  18. Wöhrnschimmel, H., M. Zuk, G. Martínez-Villa, J. Cerón, B. Cárdenas, L. Rojas-Bracho and A. Fernández-Bremauntz, 2008. The impact of a bus rapid transit system on commuters' exposure to Benzene, CO, PM 2.5 and PM 10 in Mexico city. Atmos. Environ., 42(35): 8194-8203.
    CrossRef    
  19. Wright, L., 2004. Climate change and transport in developing nations: The search for low-cost emission reductions. German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
  20. Wright, L. and K. Fjellstrom, 2003. Sustainable transport: A sourcebook for policy-makers in developing cities Module 3a: Mass Transit Options.
  21. Zhao, P., 2010. Sustainable urban expansion and transportation in a growing megacity: Consequences of urban sprawl for mobility on the urban fringe of Beijing. Habitat Int., 34(2): 236-243.
    CrossRef    

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

Open Access Policy

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.

ISSN (Online):  2040-7467
ISSN (Print):   2040-7459
Submit Manuscript
   Information
   Sales & Services
Home   |  Contact us   |  About us   |  Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2024. MAXWELL Scientific Publication Corp., All rights reserved