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Journal ArticleDOI

The equity impacts of bus rapid transit: A review of the evidence and implications for sustainable transport

TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of empirical evidence on the equity impacts of operational bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in the Global South is presented, focusing on vertical equity, i.e. whether BRT systems achieve progressive benefits for poorer segments of the population.
About: This article is published in International Journal of Sustainable Transportation.The article was published on 2018-02-07 and is currently open access. It has received 87 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Bus rapid transit & Equity (finance).
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed an analysis of the effects of the subsidy from an accessibility perspective using potential accessibility measures to employment opportunities and assessed its impact on equity, showing that both the current structure of the pro-poor subsidies and alternative scenarios for increasing its coverage are progressive, improving accessibility and equity for those with access to the subsidy.

120 citations

01 Sep 2003
TL;DR: The author's assertion that traditional transport policies created an unfair distribution of accessibility and environmental impacts is not new and remains an accusation that warrants strong reinforcement because it has too often been ignored, despite the fast-growing numbers of poor living in cities of the developing world.
Abstract: The book is a welcome and a very timely contribution to a woefully understudied area of concern. Eduardo Vasconcellos's focus on environment and equity in urban transport developments in the developing countries highlights the Achilles' heel of transport planning practice in this part of the world. The paradox of Third World cities whereby, on the one hand they need to modernize their transport infrastructure and services, and on the other hand, need also to deal effectively with profound social and economic inequalities, is truly a huge challenge. This is particularly so as much policy and planning guidance in this field to date has been at best inadequate or inappropriate, and at worst downright negligent. This publication has the potential to make a major contribution to the field of urban transport planning in developing countries. It comes from a person with considerable experience in both transport planning practice and research and who, significantly, is from the developing world. The author's assertion that traditional transport policies created an unfair distribution of accessibility and environmental impacts is not new; it nevertheless remains an accusation that warrants strong reinforcement because it has too often been ignored, despite the fast-growing numbers of poor living in cities of the developing world. The book offers a valuable summary of current conditions of urban transport developments in developing countries. Most interestingly, it attempts to provide an insight into how (and why) these developments took place, giving due attention to social and institutional concerns that are all too frequently addressed inadequately. The analyses of the types of proposals that are typically employed in Third World cities, in particular, provide interesting reading. The views expressed and the perspective offered may not be received well by many politicians , consultancy firms, construction companies, and other automobile industry interests that see the future of cities in the developing world closely associated with automobile dependency. For Vasconcellos strongly challenges this premise and adds his voice to a growing chorus of transport specialists who advocate more sustainable and equitable responses to urban transport needs. These challengers of conventional wisdom have become increasingly influential in certain political circles and among several international development agencies, albeit rather belatedly. Their influence, however, remains dwarfed by that of the motor vehicle lobby. The unashamed sociological and political bias of the book, drawing in some instances from Marxist paradigms, poses many challenges to the conventional wisdom of transport analysis …

90 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored how accessibility appraisal of transport plans can be used to evaluate policy scenarios and their impacts for different social groups or examined whether the results of project appraisals are sensitive to the time threshold of choice.

83 citations


Cites background from "The equity impacts of bus rapid tra..."

  • ...Over the past decade, there has been growing concern over the equity impacts of public transport investments (Ciommo & Shiftan, 2017; Lucas, 2012), particularly of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects, which are increasingly being adopted worldwide (Delmelle & Casas, 2012; Venter et al., 2017)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A vulnerability/inequity framework is applied to conceptualize how to enhance disaster recovery and avoid perpetuating inequities when weighing the diverse needs of communities across long time horizons.
Abstract: In the immediate aftermath of disaster, governments usually act quickly to reduce risk and to recover their communities' socio-economic functioning. Policy makers in these situations need-but may not have the capacity or time for-substantial analysis and public debate about how to balance short- and long-term societal needs. Inadequate attention to this challenge may result in a deepening of the inequities that increase vulnerability to disaster impacts. We review case examples to illustrate how post-disaster policies may influence the nature, pace, and inclusiveness of community recovery. We then apply a vulnerability/inequity framework to conceptualize how to enhance disaster recovery and avoid perpetuating inequities when weighing the diverse needs of communities across long time horizons.

51 citations


Cites background from "The equity impacts of bus rapid tra..."

  • ...Urban planners have used these assessments when planning for issues related to climate change, regional land-use planning, transportation, and road construction [85,106,107]....

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  • ...Case studies have shown that equity impact assessments can change decisions, enhance plan content, and improve plan implementation [106,110]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a cross-sectional analysis of accessibility changes, pinpointing low accessibility levels facilitated by the current public transport system to the most deprived groups of Bogota.
Abstract: Bogota, a paradigmatic case of urban (re)development driven by transport interventions, began transforming its public transport system anew in mid-2010. It was not until 2012 when a gradual implementation of the new integrated public transport system of Bogota (SITP in Spanish) began. By 2015, about 74% of the new bus routes were implemented. The considerable changes in supply and operational models for public transport during this period redefined travel conditions, having a direct impact on accessibility. Our research analyzes observable changes in accessibility to jobs and houses at both the home and work ends of trips as a result of differences in travel time for respondents to a household travel survey in Bogota between 2011 and 2015. The paper presents a cross-sectional analysis of accessibility changes, pinpointing low accessibility levels facilitated by the current public transport system to the most deprived groups of Bogota. Results are presented as access curves by socioeconomic levels and zones that estimate the time required to access workplaces via public transport. Results show that the location of low-income settlements implies a disadvantage as a consequence of spatial segregation that increases distances to job-opportunities. Five years after the implementation of the SITP, public transport in Bogota still fails to improve accessibility, reinforcing gaps between rich and poor groups instead of closing them.

42 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of accessibility measures for assessing the usability of these measures in evaluations of land-use and transport strategies and developments is presented in this paper, using a broad range of relevant criteria, including theoretical basis, interpretability and communicability, and data requirements of the measures.

2,185 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a framework for the development of accessibility measures and two case studies suggestive of the range of possible approaches are presented, as well as issues that planners must address in developing an accessibility measure.
Abstract: Accessibility is an important characteristic of metropolitan areas and is often reflected in transportation and land-use planning goals. But the concept of accessibility has rarely been translated into performance measures by which policies are evaluated, despite a substantial literature on the concept. This paper is an attempt to bridge the gap between the academic literature and the practical application of such measures and provide a framework for the development of accessibility measures. Issues that planners must address in developing an accessibility measure are outlined, and two case studies suggestive of the range of possible approaches are presented.

1,437 citations


"The equity impacts of bus rapid tra..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…in the past few decades (for recent reviews, see for instance El-Geneidy & Levinson, 2006; Geurs & Van Wee, 2004), consistent with an acknowledgement that the key benefit of transport is not simply mobility but the accessibility to opportunities it bestows (Handy & Niemeier, 1997; Zegras, 2011)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
Karen Lucas1
TL;DR: The early 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a growing interest amongst UK academics and policy makers in the issue of transport disadvantage and how this might relate to growing concerns about the social exclusion of low income groups and communities.

1,075 citations


"The equity impacts of bus rapid tra..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Accessibility measurement has also been central to the understanding of social exclusion and the design of plans and interventions to combat transport-based exclusion (Curl, Nelson, & Anable, 2011; Farrington, 2007; Lucas, 2012)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the effect of accessibility to jobs and houses at both the home and work ends of trips on commuting duration for respondents to a household travel survey in metropolitan Washington, DC.

435 citations


"The equity impacts of bus rapid tra..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...…transport routes or interchanges (e.g. Jaramillo et al., 2012; Teunissen, Sarmiento, Zuidgeest, & Brussel, 2015), or make the link through to the number of opportunities (jobs, medical services, food stores) reachable via the transport system (e.g. Levinson, 1998; Lucas et al., 2008; Venter, 2016)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the range of informal transport experiences worldwide, discuss the costs and benefits of the sector in general and use several case studies to illustrate different policy approaches to regulate them.

345 citations


"The equity impacts of bus rapid tra..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Paratransit services often deliver large benefits to poor populations, by providing service coverage in areas lacking formal transit, jobs for unskilled workers, and a high degree of customer responsiveness (Cervero & Golub, 2007)....

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  • ...Paratransit services are significant sources of employment of low-skilled workers (Cervero & Golub, 2007); their restructuring or replacement might reduce employment in the sector....

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