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Determinants of bus rapid transit (BRT) system revenue and effectiveness – A global benchmarking exercise

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  • Merkert, Rico
  • Mulley, Corinne
  • Hakim, Md Mahbubul

Abstract

Bus rapid transit systems (BRT) have evolved in all shapes and sizes around the world in the last 30years motivated by providing greater efficiency and value for money than potential alternatives. This paper aims to explore and compare the effectiveness (including its determinants) and revenue potential of 58 BRT systems globally. A key research question for this paper is to what extent there is a trade-off between long term capital expenditure and short term operating cost. The results suggest that BRT systems located in developing countries or countries that have high population densities are successful in generating higher revenues per passenger and unit of input than their conventional bus counterparts but are from a community perspective not more cost effective in doing so. Better BRT standards and hence higher capital expenditure, while significantly increasing patronage and input effectiveness do not have a significant impact on either yields or cost effectiveness. In contrast, public ownership and the number of stations are on average associated with higher cost effectiveness scores.

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  • Merkert, Rico & Mulley, Corinne & Hakim, Md Mahbubul, 2017. "Determinants of bus rapid transit (BRT) system revenue and effectiveness – A global benchmarking exercise," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 75-88.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:106:y:2017:i:c:p:75-88
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2017.09.010
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    2. Merkert, Rico & Mulley, Corinne & Hakim, Md Mahbubul, 2018. "Trade-offs between transaction cost, operation cost and innovation in the context of procurement and asset specificity – The example of the bus industry," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 173-179.
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    5. Dubé, Jean & Andrianary, Eugénie & Assad-Déry, François & Poupart, Janie & Simard, Justine, 2018. "Exploring difference in value uplift resulting from new bus rapid transit routes within a medium size metropolitan area," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 258-269.
    6. Georgios Georgiadis & Ioannis Politis & Panagiotis Papaioannou, 2020. "How Does Operational Environment Influence Public Transport Effectiveness? Evidence from European Urban Bus Operators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-19, June.
    7. Cheranchery, Munavar Fairooz & Maitra, Bhargab, 2021. "Improving quality of ordinary bus service in Kolkata city: Integrating conflicting requirements of users and transit operator," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 17-27.
    8. Tsai, Ming-Chih & Merkert, Rico & Tsai, Mei-Ting & Lin, Shiau-Chi, 2021. "Towards a taxonomy-based preferred-customer model for suppliers in air cargo express service markets," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
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