RESEARCH AND RESOURCES
Research continues to demonstrate the potential for BRT in Greater Boston.
Here are resources to understand and uplift BRT and its benefits:
CENTER RUNNING IN 60 SECONDS: A VISUALIZER
What makes center-running bus lanes so much better than the familiar curbside bus lanes we've seen pop up all over the region? They allow bus riders to travel free from traffic congestion and the conflicts of turning and parked vehicles (usually deliveries and drop offs). They also create safer conditions for pedestrians by narrowing the distance to cross the street and calming traffic. Check out our new animation to see how center-running lanes work in action (available in Spanish, too)!
GREATER BOSTON’S BUS TRANSFORMATION
This new ITDP/BostonBRT Streetfilm features former Boston Mayor Kim Janey, Somerville Mayor Curtatone, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak, and other local leaders sharing insights on the opportunities and challenges ahead.
This playbook from ITDP outlines critical steps and decision points to implement a bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor in Massachusetts between the cities of Everett and Boston. Included are data-rich insights into specific on-the-ground conditions and illustrations of creative bus priority improvements in Everett along a potential Everett-to-Boston BRT corridor.
BETTER RAPID TRANSIT FOR GREATER BOSTON
In 2015, the Barr Foundation led a research effort to answer the question: could BRT work in Boston? Barr and ITDP convened a study group of transit experts, planners, and business and civic leaders to investigate the possibilities of implementing BRT throughout the metropolitan area. The following report outlines the Study Group’s conclusions and the benefits Gold Standard BRT has to offer Greater Boston.
GETTING TO BRT: AN IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE FOR U.S. CITIES
While momentum around BRT in the United States continues, BRT remains largely unfamiliar to most Americans. Many projects that would otherwise be labeled as bus improvements or bus priority under international standards have become branded in American cities as BRT. This leads to misperceptions among U.S. decision makers and the public about what to expect from BRT.
In 2019, ITDP developed a guide to offer proven strategies and insights for successfully implementing BRT within the political, regulatory, and social context that is unique to the United States. Through three in-depth case studies and other examples, the guide shares the critical lessons learned by several cities that have successfully implemented, or are in the midst of completing, their own BRT corridors.
DATA RESULTS FROM BOSTON-AREA BUS PILOTS
Visit the Where is there BRT in Greater Boston? page to see results from bus pilots launched throughout 2018 in multiple Boston-area communities.
