BRT infrastructure shouldn’t be considered for private vehicles

Recently, the Minister for transport, when addressing a group of experts, urged them to find solutions to the ever growing traffic congestion in cities, especially the large ones like Dar es Salaam.

One of his proposals was on the use of BRT (Bus Rapid Transport) infrastructure, currently under construction, by private vehicles which would be charged a fee. 

This, he argued, would catch two birds at the same time: relieve congestion from the main roads, and also generate government revenue. 

It seemed illogical, he argued, that, a BRT road should remain unused, especially at peak hours, when vehicles were gridlocked in a nearby street.

The Minister’s thoughts are certainly food for thought, especially among those who have an interest in urban transport and the origin, principles and objectives of BRT.

According to public transport historians, the first BRT system in the world was the Bus way in Runcorn, England which was first conceived in the Runcorn New Town Master plan in 1966, but opened for services in October 1971.

All its 22 kilometres (14 miles) were operational by 1980. The second BRT system in the world is the Rede Integrada de Transporte (RIT, integrated transportation network), implemented in Curitiba, Brazil, in 1974. 

Since then BRTs have been adopted in many cities, with improvements to reflect local circumstances.

For a transit system to be a “true” BRT, five characteristics are considered essential: One, there must be BUS-ONLY LANES; two, bus way alignment must keep buses away from the busy curb side where cars are parking, standing, and turning; three, there must be an off-board fare collection system; four, there must be prohibition of turns for traffic across the bus lane at intersections; and five, there must be platform level boarding.

These features most significantly result in a faster trip for passengers and make travelling on BRT more reliable and more convenient; attracting car owners and therefore reducing congestion and pollution. 

If buses run on electricity, like HE President Samia is envisaging, emissions are minimised, a no-mean contribution to fighting global warming.

BRT systems have a number of objectives in mind: Speed: BRT aims to reduce commute times by providing dedicated lanes for buses; Reliability: BRT aims to provide a reliable and FREQUENT public transit service; Efficiency: BRT aims to provide a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable public transport; Accessibility: BRT aims to provide accessible public transport for people with disabilities, children, pregnant mothers and mothers with children; as well as the old and the infirm; Safety: BRT aims to provide a safe and secure public transport system; and, Environmental impact: BRT aims to reduce traffic congestion, energy consumption, and vehicle emissions.

BRTs are not just roads. They include bus stations, embarking and disembarking facilities, and environmental endowments such as trees and greenery. 

Passengers should feel safe and secure and not having to worry about speeding vehicles on a BRT corridor.

The Minister’s ideas were possibly informed by the current situation in Dar es Salaam, where BRT buses are few, with long intervals between them, which may make roads seem idle. 

A fully fledged BRT system will have many buses, running on a known timetable. 

There would be buses every five or ten minutes, thus the idea of excess capacity or bus lanes lying seemingly underutilised, does not arise.

Indeed, BRT bus frequencies should increase during peak hours, the very hours which the Minister thinks call for the utilisation of bus lanes by private vehicles.

The other idea to think about is that once private vehicles (including lorries?) are allowed on BRT bus lanes, their volume cannot be affected significantly by high fees since the demand for road space is inelastic, meaning that even if the price of using the road increases, the quantity demanded will not significantly decrease. 

That why we see more and more vehicles, especially cars on congested roads, despite the ever increasing cost of driving (high taxes on vehicles and fuel, as well as costs emanating from congestion itself).

Once private vehicles are allowed on BRT bus lanes, these latter will immediately turn into other congested roads and indeed the BTR idea of persuading owners of private cars to leave them at home and jump on the buses will have been essentially thrown out of the window.

Instead of thinking about BRT roads, the Minister may want to think of introducing fees on private vehicles using congested roads (eg during peak hours), with the view of encouraging owners to leave them at home and use public transport instead, which hopefully will be efficient and comfortable, like is envisaged in the case of BRT. 

The money thus raised, should help finance the expansion of the road infrastructure network which is inadequate in many ways.

Traffic congestion may not be solved by quick-fix ideas. During his days, the then Prime Minister Lowassa (RIP) ordered that vehicles use three (of the four) lanes to go into the city centre of Dar es Salaam, and the reverse, to get out of the city centre, during peak hours. It caused chaos and was soon abandoned.

Tanzania can learn a lot from the successful BRTs in Curitiba (Brazil) and Bogota (Trans-milenio, Colombia)

Bearing all the above in mind, hopefully experts will eschew the idea of turning BRT infrastructure to the use of private vehicles.