Beijing BRT: One bus every two minutes during rush hour

The speed of the buses should not fall below 25 km/h; the one-way passenger transportation capacity should reach between 10,000 and 15,000 people per hour; buses should not be more than one minute late …… In November, Control Regulations for BRT System's Operation were officially implemented. The regulations contain detailed specifications clarifying BRT's lane rights guarantee, operation, dispatch work, security management, service, ticketing, and road and station maintenance.

Beijing BRT: One bus every two minutes during rush hour

"This regulation and the Technical Specifications for BRT System's Engineering Construction have formed a standard system for Beijing's BRT and filled a gap in China's BRT industry," said a relevant official of Beijing Public Transport Holdings, Ltd. (BPT).

A bus is dispatched every two minutes during rush hour

According to the regulations, specific numbers have been prescribed for some details. For example, the speed of the system's buses should fall below 25 km/h. During rush hour, providing two to four buses can successively get in and out of a station simultaneously, the dispatch frequency should not fall below 20 buses per hour; if it is a single bus mode station, a bus should be dispatched every two minutes.

Reporters learned that so far most BRT lines have reached the standards and BRT Line One has the highest standards. On the afternoon of November 23, it took the reporter one hour and 35 minutes to travel from Qianmen to Demaozhuang in a private car, but only one hour and 10 minutes on a BRT Line One bus. "During rush hour, you can get on a bus in one minute in average; but it is hard to say how long the journey will take if you meet traffic on the way."

Stations must not allow buses to more than 60 seconds late

The system for BRT’s operation, dispatch and management should monitor the operation time of every bus at every bus stop. Allowing a plus-minus punctuality error of 60 seconds, every BRT line should examine the punctuality rate at every stop and ensure that it isn’t lower than 95 percent. In areas covered by the intelligent dispatch system, multi-lane BRT lines should harmoniously and effectively dispatch its buses in general, and guarantee that relevant lanes have reasonable transportation capacity allocation, smooth transportation and convenient bus transfer.

At present, all BRT lines said that they can monitor the operation process of every bus through intelligent dispatch equipment. Through remote and real time monitoring, the bus driver can find out his punctuality at stops already passed allowing the driver to maintain proper speed and a normal operation.