Provision of Travelway Space for Urban Public Transport in Developing Countries Table of Contents Provision of Travelway Space for Urban Public Transport in Developing Countries.................................1 FOREWORD..........................................................................................................................................1 I. TRAVELWAYS FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES...................................2 A. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2 B. Characteristics of travel demand.................................................................................................3 C. Low−cost mass transit options....................................................................................................8 D. The impact of public transport segregation...............................................................................22 E. Planning considerations.............................................................................................................25 F. Strategy for development...........................................................................................................34 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................36 ENDNOTES...................................................................................................................................39 II. CASE STUDY: BUSWAY IN ANKARA − AN INTERMEDIATE, LOW−COST ACTION TO IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSPORT1.....................................................................................................39 A. Urban transport in Ankara..........................................................................................................39 B. The development and performance of a busway in Ankara......................................................44 C. Lessons to be learned...............................................................................................................53 D. New developments in Ankara mass transport...........................................................................55 REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................55 ENDNOTES...................................................................................................................................55 III. CASE STUDY: THE BRAZILIAN EXPERIENCE IN PLANNING, IMPLEMENTING AND OPERATING PUBLIC TRANSPORT ON SEPARATED ROAD AND LIGHT RAIL TRAVELWAYS 1............................................................................................................................................................55 A. Introduction................................................................................................................................56 B. Medium−capacity public−transport modes................................................................................59 C. Lessons from the Brazilian experience......................................................................................69 REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................75 ENDNOTES...................................................................................................................................78 IV. CASE STUDY: PROVISION OF SEPARATED TRAVELWAYS FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT − IN METRO MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES1..........................................................................................78 A. Urban development and transport.............................................................................................78 B. Development of LRT system.....................................................................................................87 C. EDSA bus lanes........................................................................................................................94 D. Lessons from the case studies................................................................................................107 ENDNOTES.................................................................................................................................112 i ii Provision of Travelway Space for Urban Public Transport in Developing Countries United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) Nairobi, 1993 The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Mention of firm names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. FOREWORD The demand for public transport services is growing steadily in the large cities of developing countries. This is most evident along the transport corridors linking ever−expanding suburban areas to main concentrations of employment and services, in particular, to city centres. Sustainable urban transport development depends to a great extent on the capacity and quality of services along these corridors, not only for obvious economic and environmental considerations, but also with regard to social equity, as these corridors largely determine the mobility of the urban poor who are pushed by land−forces to urban fringe areas and suburban localities. Most developing−country cities with a population exceeding 2 to 3 million already have at least one heavily loaded corridor on which public transport should offer a capacity and speed of travel better than what buses operating in mixed traffic conditions could provide. Public authorities when seeking such alternatives usually focus on heavy−rail transport systems such as metro. Metro systems are, perhaps, indispensable to support the development of very large cities but these are neither affordable nor a viable option in most intermediate cities. These cities will have to look for less expensive solutions using, as priority, already available public transport infrastructure. Providing public transport with partly segregated and exclusive travelway space increases both capacity and operating efficiency of any public transport system. Separated travelways not only ease or alleviate the interference from other traffic and thus the impact of transport congestion on public transport, but also allow the application of public transport operating regimes which further add to the capacity and quality of services. The objective of this publication is to promote public transport systems which will be significantly less expensive than metro and yet provide relatively high capacity and speed of travel by making use of segregated travelways. It highlights low−cost mass transit options − bus lanes, busway transit and light−rail transit − and attempts to assess their impact on transport users, transport operators and other beneficiaries in the light of the experience of a few selected developing−country cities. The publication then outlines planning considerations that must precede investment decisions for the successful implementation of public transport segregation schemes. Finally, a strategy for mass transit development is outlined for the benefit of urban transport planners and decision makers. The publication has been prepared as a part of the ongoing effort of UNCHS (Habitat) to promote the development of public transport in developing countries. It responds to the concerns expressed in Agenda 21, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, on the need for sustainable transport strategies and actions as an integral component of the sustainable development of human settlements. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Mr. P.R. Fouracre of the Overseas Centre, Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), United Kingdom, in the preparation of this publication. The publication, without doubt, has benefitted from the findings of the research programme of TRL, funded by the Overseas Development Administration. The case studies have been contributed by Messrs T. Birgonul and H. Bayirtepe, both from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey; by Mr. G.D. Esguerra, Director, Transportation Planning Service, Department of Transportation and Communications, the Philippines, and by Messrs L.A. Lindau and L.A. Dos Santos Senna, both from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Their contributions are also gratefully acknowledged. 1 Elizabeth Dowdeswell Under−Secretary−General United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) I. TRAVELWAYS FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES A. Introduction Public transport is a growth sector in most developing country cities. A World Bank estimate puts the number of daily bus trips in 1980 at 600 million; this number is expected to double by the year 2000. Recent evidence from a limited number of cities suggests no change in this trend; bus passenger trips have been increasing at average rates of between 6 and 10 per cent per annum during the last decade. The increasing demand for public transport is being driven largely by population growth. This growth not only generates more trips, but with increasing city area, and hence longer trips, people become more dependent on public transport.