Logotype
Photo: Juan Carlos Muñoz
Bus Rapid transit: America Latina centered - Across Latitudes and Cultures (BRT-ALC)

A Centre of Excellence for BRT development

Elliot Sclar
[...We envision that our CoE will be an agent for change in cities worldwide seeking to transform their public transport systems. On one hand, we expect to participate through different links, in specific projects needing our scientific background and tools. On the other hand, we expect to become a valuable resource for cities looking for advice on what type of transformation their public transport system needs; how to promote it among decision makers, citizens and the media; and how to design, implement and operate it...], from the project proposal of J.C. Muñoz, Director of the newly established Centre of Excellence in Santiago, Chile.

BRT-ALC

In 2010, a new Centre of Excellence will be implemented in Santiago, Chile. The project is conducted by Juan Carlos Muñoz, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the College of Engineering, and Associate Professor at the Department of Transport Engineering and Logistics of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC).

This CoE will work as a consortium of five institutions also including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Instituto Superior Técnico of the Technical University of Lisbon, University of Sydney's Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, and EMBARQ (The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport) Network.

While this page is under preparation, a short summary of the abstract can be found below as a starter.

The primary goal of this CoE will be to develop a new framework for the planning, design, financing, implementation and operation of bus rapid transit in different urban areas, offering clear guidelines to decision makers on when and how such projects can enhance mobility and meet accessibility needs. An essential goal is to make the knowledge developed through the Center widely available to support more successful BRT deployment, and in particular to identify elements which are transferable between existing and prospective systems. The focus will be not only at the project level, but also on how such projects interact with other elements of the urban system so that the total urban mobility system is transformed.

Our CoE will build on three main foundations:

  • Social and technical research, providing rigour and depth in problem formulation, analysis and evaluation.
  • First hand empirical experience in the planning, design, finance, implementation and operation of BRT systems, providing a “feet on the ground, results oriented" approach.
  • Political and policy analysis, providing vision and experience about the challenges of implementing BRT systems in real settings.

Our CoE will provide four major outcomes, each producing several deliverables:

  • A BRT Observatory, that will gather, interpret and present data on real cases of BRT implementation, or preparation for such implementation, in the form of case studies.
  • A BRT Laboratory, that will develop in-depth understanding of the factors and relations underlying system performance, be it on the physical, financial, institutional or other dimensions, developing or improving analytical methods and their supporting instruments.
  • A BRT Educational program, that will deploy the knowledge gained from the Observatory and Laboratory in such a way that it generates added value to the real world of practitioners as well as didactic materials to support teaching, education and training for regular and long-life learning.
  • Support in BRT Implementation and Dissemination through the world wide work of the different CoE partners and associated institutional networks.
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