Applicability of Bogotá’s TransMilenio BRT System to the United States

Abstract

Serving the city of Bogota, Colombia, TransMilenio is one of the world’s premier Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. Commencing service in December 2000, the system was carrying over one million passengers per day by early 2006 on a 40 mile network of high capacity trunk corridors, supported by feeder services that extend system coverage to peripheral areas of the city. Completion of the second phase of the project later in 2006 will add an additional ten miles of trunk corridor, and raise weekday ridership to a projected 1.4 million passengers. The city Masterplan consists of a 241 mile network of trunk corridors and supporting feeder routes that would carry an estimated 5 million passengers per day. TransMilenio is also the centerpiece of a long-term urban renewal and mobility strategy that prioritizes walking and cycling and discourages private vehicle use. In November 2005, the National Bus Rapid Transit Institute (NBRTI) sent a delegation of U.S. based BRT professionals to Bogota to observe the operation of the TransMilenio system, attend the First International Mass Transport Conference, and meet with Colombian transportation officials. This report provides a description of the TransMilenio system and its impacts, and discusses its applicability to the U.S transit context. The report also includes a summary of potential business opportunities for the U.S. Transit industry arising from Colombian government plans to invest over US$1.4 billion in TransMilenio system expansion and the implementation of similar systems in cities across the country. Although the characteristics of Bogota, in terms of economy, socio-political climate and urban form, are very different to those of a typical North American city, TransMilenio does demonstrate several important BRT features that are applicable to the U.S. transit context. In carrying as much as 41,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd), TransMilenio demonstrates that BRT systems are capable of accommodating passenger volumes normally associated with rail transit. These high volumes are made possible by a wide variety of system design features, including high capacity buses, exclusive runningways, level boarding, off-board fare payment, and high service frequencies that permit headways as low as 13 seconds on busy sections of the system. Even accounting for the lower passenger loadings demanded by U.S. transit users, TransMilenio demonstrates that BRT systems are capable of carrying up to approximately 28,000 pphpd in a U.S. transit context, and thus should not be ruled out of alternatives analyses in favor of LRT on the grounds of insufficient capacity. TransMilenio also demonstrates the benefits that BRT can bring in terms of capital cost effectiveness. Phase I cost a total of US$240M ($9.4M per mile) while Phase II cost $545M ($21.3M per mile). Costs are kept low partially by transferring responsibility for vehicle and fare collection costs to the private sector. The total capital cost of the 241 mile TransMilenio Masterplan, estimated at $3,320M (including vehicle and fare collection costs), is similar to the $3,041M projected capital cost of the 18 mile rail corridor proposed in Bogota in 1997. Thus, selecting BRT offers Bogota a city-wide rapid transit system for approximately the same cost as one rail corridor. Other important lessons demonstrated by the TransMilenio are included in the report under the themes of “BRT and Urban Renewal”, “The TransMilenio Business Model”, “Politics”, and “Infrastructure Characteristics”. The report concludes by discussing the different issues associated with replicating the “Bogota Model” in the U.S.