Traffic Safety on Bus Priority Systems

Recommendations for integrating safety into the planning, design, and operation of major bus routes
by Nicolae Duduta, Claudia Adriazola-Steil, Dario Hidalgo, Toni Lindau, Vineet John and Carsten Wass - January 2015

One of the primary challenges associated with rapid global urbanization is how to ensure the safety of city streets. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 1.2 million people die on the world’s roads each year, and traffic crashes could become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 without intervention. The growth in bus rapid transit (BRT) and bus priority systems worldwide—which serve more than 31 million people each day in 189 cities—is an opportunity to reverse that trend. New evidence from this report clearly shows that high quality public transport systems can improve traffic safety, reducing injuries and fatalities by as much 50 percent in some cases. Pilot-tested over two years in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Delhi, India; Mexico City, Mexico; and Istanbul, Turkey, these recommendations address design strategies to make bus priority systems safer at intersections, transfer stations, pedestrian crossings, and more. 

This report is made possible through funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies. 

Read more on TheCityFix

Share

Claudia Adriazola-Steil
Safe and high quality bus rapid transit (BRT) for Brazil
Safe mobility on Istanbul's Metrobüs corridor
Sustainable Urban Mobility
Health and Road Safety
Ahmedabad, India
Arequipa, Peru
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Curitiba, Brazil
Guadalajara, Mexico
Istanbul, Turkey
Lima, Peru
Mexico City, Mexico
New Delhi, India
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
São Paulo, Brazil
active transport
bus rapid transit (BRT)
buses
street design
traffic safety
Creative Commons

Key Findings

Every year, more than 1.2 million people die in traffic crashes worldwide, equivalent to nearly five Boeing 747 plane crashes every day. As developing economies grow and private car ownership becomes more mainstream, the number of associated crashes and fatalities will continue to rise.

The challenge of traffic safety often flies under the radar in cities, where the social and economic challenges of accommodating growing populations take precedent. Without meaningful change, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) projects that traffic crashes could become the fifth leading cause of premature death worldwide by 2030. This takes a particular toll on cities, which are already home nearly half of global traffic fatalities. City leaders must prioritize traffic safety measures to ensure that their citizens have safe, healthy, and economically prosperous cities to call home.

Key findings from this report reveal the varied safety benefits for passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists that come from designing safe, high quality bus priority systems. This report contributes to a growing body of research on creating cities that are safer by design. In contrast to traditional approaches to road safety that emphasize education and behavioral change, this approach seeks to account for human error in the planning and design of transport systems to reduce the risk of traffic crashes and injuries.

Key facts

Design interventions on bus priority corridors can reduce traffic fatalities on the corridors by 50 percent

Adding a central median to a street can reduce fatal or injury crashes by 35 percent

Pedestrians are the group most vulnerable to the safety impacts of poor street design, and usually represent over half of the fatalities on a bus corridor

About this Report

Improved planning and design of bus priority systems can benefit 31 million people every day

One of the primary challenges associated with rapid global urbanization is how to ensure the safety of city streets. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 1.2 million people die on the world’s roads each year, and traffic crashes could become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 without intervention. The growth in bus rapid transit (BRT) and bus priority systems worldwide—which serve more than 31 million people each day in 189 cities—is an opportunity to reverse that trend.

New evidence from WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities’ Traffic Safety on Bus Priority Systems report clearly shows that high quality public transport systems can improve traffic safety, reducing injuries and fatalities by as much 50 percent in cities like Ahmedabad, India and Guadalajara, Mexico.

Continue reading

Stay Connected

Sign up for updates

Register to Receive Our News and Announcements Subscribe

Connect with us

More