NEW!
Comparison of Bus Rapid Transit & Light Rail Transit
characteristics
By Samuel L Zimmerman, Principal for Transportation Planning
DMJM-Harris — Arlington VA USA. Information on comparative
Bus Rapid Transit and Light Rail Transit characteristics. Download
it here.
New busways, transitways and rail systems
have been implemented throughout the world in the past three years.
Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have been well represented because
of their favourable cost characteristics compared to rail, and
their flexibility.
Transport Roundtable Australia’s
previous Smart Urban Transport conferences have reported on up
and coming, and newly operational, new generation BRT systems
in Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Taipei, Los Angeles and Brazil.
These presentations were complemented by presentations on new
urban rail systems in Asia, Europe and the USA.
Smart Urban Transport 2003 conference
focused on what operational lessons can be gained from the now
considerable body of operational experience with BRT and new railways.
It took a global state-of-the-art perspective:
» How important
is the urban design element for successful BRT?
» Successful approaches for suburban
and central city markets
» How has BRT been able to go against
the usual downwards prevailing patronage trends?
» Can BRT truly be perceived by users
to be of similar quality as modern rail systems and attract
significant diversion from cars?
» How have planned passenger information
systems performed?
» What role can integrated ticketing
play? Are smart card systems really necessary?
» How do BRT operations relate to the
entire public transport system in terms of branding and marketing?
» What institutional lessons have been
learned?
» How much management of BRT operations
is really needed?
» Value for money – in retrospect
where would engineering design changes be made if starting again?
» Land use–transit interaction
issues and role of urban design in creating BRT systems that
are safe and attractive for users and ‘good neighbours’
for adjoining development
Parramatta was chosen as the location
for this Smart Urban Transport 2003 conference to provide conference
delegates with the first hand opportunity to see how the Liverpool-Parramatta
T-way has integrated urban design, bus operations and transport
engineering (including extensive ITS applications). First hand
reports on how the first few months of the system have fared were
provided by the Transitways team, which is delivering the western
Sydney T–Way network on behalf of project partners Transport
NSW and the Roads and Traffic Authority..
Key note speakers from North and South
America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand reported on latest
trends in BRT from around the world, including:
»
From Washington DC, Lee Schipper, Co-director of EMBARQ (World
Resources Institute), and co-author of the book “Sustainable
Bus Systems for the Future” published by the Paris-based
International Energy Agency, will report on future directions
for bus transport in the developed and developing world.
» Kevin Borras, editor of global transport
magazine Traffic Technology International will speak on trends
in European transit and provide entertainment at the conference
dinner.
A series of presentations on the Liverpool-Parramatta
T-way were featured. A total of over 20 invited presentations
by international and Australasian speakers, many representing
new BRT and rail systems, were made.
The Conference was held on 27 & 28
May 2003. An optional short course was held on 29 May 2003 on
Economic Evaluation of Transport Infrastructure Projects.
Host State Sponsor of Smart Urban Transport
2003 was the State Transit Authority of New South Wales.
For details of the international Smart
Urban Transport 2003 conference please contact:
Ozaccom Conference Services
PO Box 164, Fortitude Valley QLD Australia
4006
Phone: +617-38541611
Fax: +617-38541507
Email: tra@ozaccom.com.au
Host State Sponsor
State Transit has four
business units: Sydney Buses, Sydney Ferries, Newcastle Bus and
Ferry Services and Western Sydney Buses (which operates services
on the Liverpool-Parramatta T-way). State Transit manages the
largest bus and ferry operation in Australia. Almost 5,000 State
Transit employees deliver bus and ferry services 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. A high priority is given to accessibility and
environmental performance.State Transit’s
bus fleet totals 1,935 buses operating on more than 300 routes
in the Sydney metropolitan area and extending to Parramatta in
the west. Sydney Ferries’ fleet totals 28 vessels which
operate around Sydney Harbour, to Manly and along the Parramatta
River. Newcastle Buses’ fleet operates 29 bus routes over
a large part of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region. Newcastle
Ferries operate services between Newcastle and Stockton. Every
working day, the bus and ferry fleet delivers 16,000 trips and
carries 650,000 passengers. This equates to more than 200 million
passengers every year.
Major Sponsor
ALSTOM is the global specialist
in energy and transport infrastructure. ALSTOM Intelligent Systems
provide ITS solutions for transportation projects both within
Australia and internationally. ALSTOM's engineering solutions
range from heavy electrical and mechanical design, construction
and installation through to computer based automation, communications,
software and systems integration, all performed under standards
based accredited ISO9001quality management. Project involvement
can range from system study and consulting to a complete one-stop
turnkey solution. Recent projects in Sydney using ALSTOM's transport
systems expertise include the Eastern Distributor, the M5 East
and the computer upgrade for the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. All these
projects have been delivered ahead of time and within budget.
Other important projects currently underway include the Parramatta
Rail Link and the Western Sydney Orbital. ALSTOM is particularly
proud to be of service to the Liverpool Parramatta Transitway
project as the ITS Contractor.
Sponsors
Endorsed By
Official Conference Magazine
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