Sistemas de transporte público masivo tipo BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) y desarrollo urbano en América Latina

Abstract

Latin American cities have led the implementation of BRT-type Bus Mass Public Transportation Systems (named after Bus Rapid Transit), a mode of transportation that is generally characterized by the development of infrastructure that prioritizes the public transport in relation to transport in other types of vehicles, offers the possibility of paying the fare before taking the bus and allows quick access to it. More than 45 cities in Latin America have made investments in BRT-type systems, which represents 63.6 percent of the number of passengers in BRT-type systems worldwide. In Curitiba, Brazil, the BRT-type system has been implemented as a tool to foster an urban development process characterized by supporting and strengthening the public transportation system in general. In 1972, the city incorporated a network of exclusive lanes for buses and stimulated, along the five main axes of the system, high-density land development and mixed use, these structural axes have guided the urban growth process of Curitiba for decades and converge in the center of the city. The new green line of Curitiba is based on similar principles: promoting urban development that improves and facilitates the use of the mass public transport system. The Curitiba case suggests that the success of the BRT-type system may be greater through the concentration of land development along the axis of the mass public transportation system. In other studies, it has been investigated whether the BRT-type system can actually stimulate soil development.