Bus Rapid Transit Vs. Light Rail
Too often theAi??Bus versus Light Rail debate omits to mention the operational costs associated with public transport.Ai?? This is the great weakness of the bus when there are significant numbers of passengers to be carried.
Official American cost comparisons show that the cost of carrying a passenger on light rail is approximately 2/3rds that of carrying a passenger by bus.Ai?? Large numbers of passengers means substantially higher operating costs if buses are the only available mode.Ai?? At the upper bands of passenger numbers heavy rail is the cheapest.
The higher cost of bus operation is due to driver wages.Ai?? Compare the capacity of a bus with that of a modern LRV and then further consider that these LRVs are often operated in multiple units with only one operator.Ai?? Now work out the productivity of the bus driver compared with the LRV operator!Ai?? And remember “platform costs” of public transport comprise some 80% of total operating costs.
Considerations such as these are of course usually lost on theAi??financial bean counters of the English speaking countries who fixate on Capital Costs rather than Lifetime Costs of a service.
yep… and unlike any bus lanes where you have to wait… this heavy metal scares the traffic away. fast and efficient however with comfort only those who realize their vitality knows about it’s significance.