BRT / Busways and Traffic Safety

Nicolae Duduta, Claudia Adriazola, Dario Hidalgo, Luis Antonio Lindau, Rebecca Jaffe

Transforming Transportation 2012

Claudia Adriazola-DelgadoDirector, Health & Road Safety ProgramTransforming Transportation 2012January, 27th 2012Washington, DC

BRT / Busways and Traffic Safety

Agenda

Background

Methodology

Main findings

Next steps: BRT / Busways Traffic Safety Guidelines

14% in 1900

3% in 1800

30% in 1950

Over 50% in 2007

Meta-Trends affecting sustainable cities

The transition to an urban millennium

The Global Population

2011

1 billion

10 years later….

1 billion +1 billion

BRT / Busways and Road Safety

Background

20041 Ischaemic heart disease2 Cerebrovascular disease3 Lower respiratory infections4 Pulmonary disease5 Diarrhoeal disease6 HIV / AIDS7 Tuberculosis8 Lung cancers9 TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

10 Low birth weight

20301 Ischaemic heart disease2 Cerebrovascular disease3 Pulmonary disease4 Lower respiratory infections5 TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS6 Lung cancers7 Diabetes8 Hypertensive heart disease9 Stomach cancer

19 HIV / AIDS

Leading causes of premature death in the world:

90% of traffic fatalities occur in low and middle-income countries and involve 70% of vulnerable users of the road In cities, the majority of crashes are concentrated on urban arterials, where BRTs and Busways are usually located

BRT / Busways and Road Safety

Background

There is gap in knowledge about how different BRT and Busway design features can impact vulnerable users of the road, in particular pedestrian and traffic safety

BRT / Busways and Traffic Safety Research

• Nicolae Duduta• Claudia Adriazola• Dario Hidalgo• Toni Lindau• Red EMBARQ

Collaboration • SVOW• Consia (Carsten Wass)• iRAP• Universidad Católica de Chile• ITDP • World Bank

Mexico CityGuadalajara

BogotaCuritiba

Porto Alegre

Istanbul

DelhiAhmedabad

Vancouver

Brisbane

Belo HorizontePereiraCali

BRT / Busways and Road Safety

Methodology

Data analysis: Collected and analyzed crash data from bus corridors around the world, including Bogota, Curitiba, Mexico City, Delhi, etc. Developed crash frequency models for bus corridors

BRT / Busways and Road Safety

Methodology

Road safety inspections: Conducted road safety inspections on existing BRT systems Interviewed road safety specialists from different BRT agencies to learn from their experience

Main findings: Overall safety impact of a BRT

Macrobús, Guadalajara

Main findings: Overall safety impact of a BRT

Macrobús, Guadalajara

3908339142

3920339264

3932639387

3944939508

3956939630

3969239753

3981539874

3993539996

4005840119

4018140240

4030140362

4042440485

4054440603

406640

50

100

150

200

250

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Citywide crashes

Before BRT During BRT construc-tion

After start of opera-tions

Main findings: Overall safety impact of a BRT

Macrobús, Guadalajara

1 BRT lane

2 general traffic lanes

5000

3194

Passenger per hour per direction (peak)

1 BRT lane

2 general traffic lanes

6

726

Crashes per year

Main findings: Overall safety impact of a BRT

Av. Caracas, TransMilenio

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 20100

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Series1 Tendency without TransMilenio Fatalities on corridor Tendency with TransMilenio

Annu

al fa

taliti

es o

n Av

. Car

acas

, Bog

ota

Main findings: Overall safety impact of a BRT / BuswayNot all systems have had a positive impact on safety

Cristiano Machado Busway, Belo Horizonte Corridor with the highest crash frequency citywide

BRTS, DelhiInitial increase in fatalities after the implementation of the bus system

The global picture of safety on BRT and Busways

Fatalities by road user

Pedestrians54%

Car occupants23%

Motorcyclists10%

Bicyclists5% Other

7%

The safest place to be on a bus corridor is inside the bus The most dangerous: walking to the bus station

The global picture of safety on BRT and Busways

Location of pedestrian crashes

Av. Caracas, TransMilenio

Metrobus Line 2, Mexico City

Porto Alegre, Brazil

Main findingsFactors influencing crash frequencies on bus corridors

Overall road and intersection geometry

Counterflow

Location of bus lanes (median or curbside)

Factors influencing crash frequencies

Street width and intersection size and complexity

Metrobus Line 1, Mexico City

Road width and complexity of intersections are the most important predictors of crash frequencies.

Factors influencing crash frequencies

Counterflow

Counterflow lanes were strongly correlated with higher crash frequencies across all our models (p<0.001)

Factors influencing crash frequencies

Location of bus lanes

Safety issues on center-lane systems

Illegal left turns and lane use

Safety issues on curbside bus corridors

Pedestrians and cyclists in the bus lanes

Av. Caracas, TransMilenio

Metrobus Line 2, Mexico City

Safety issues on curbside bus corridors

Right turns across the bus lanes

Av. Caracas, TransMilenio

Metrobus Line 2, Mexico City

The global picture of safety on BRT and Busways

Cyclists using the bus lanes

Av. Caracas, TransMilenio

Metrobus Line 2, Mexico City

Cyclists perceive the bus lanes as safer than the general traffic lanes, and often prefer to use them But the lanes are not designed to accommodate both buses and bicycles, and there have been serious crashes involving BRTs and bikes Metrobus, in Mexico City, has reported a growing problem with BRT / bicycle crashes

Next steps

BRT safety guidelines

September 2012