Institutional and Regulatory Options for Bus Rapid Transit in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience

An increasing number of cities are looking at bus rapid transit (BRT) as a lower-cost alternative to meeting their mass transit needs. Less fully explored, however, has been the link between BRT and the implementation of transit system regulatory reforms. In a growing number of cities around the world, the introduction of a BRT system has also been used to implement some important long-term transit-sector reforms. Because BRT makes bus operations more profitable, the introduction of BRT gives the municipality additional leverage to demand more from private operators. This paper discusses how, in an increasing number of cities, BRT projects have been used to (a) facilitate a smooth transition to a sometimes more efficient trunk-and-feeder or hub-and-spoke bus routing system, (b) increase private-sector investment in the transit system, and (c) change private bus operating contracts to include quality-of-service requirements.