California Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has the potential to improve mass transit service and contribute to reduced traffic congestion in urban areas. To achieve this improvement in service BRT will require the use of dedicated bus lanes together with lane assist and precision docking (LA/PD) to accelerate the passenger boarding process. Using this approach, BRT lanes can be reduced somewhat in width. However, such a reduction will result in increased channelization of traffic which in turn can lead to a more rapid development of pavement distress. With today’s improved pavement engineering technology, it is possible to design and construct pavement infrastructure which can result in long term and cost effective pavement performance (both in terms of pavement deterioration and equipment wear and tear). At the same time the system can be environmentally friendly with reduced traffic noise and increased passenger comfort from a smoother ride.