Wikijunior:Public Transit/Bus

BUS

JAKARTA

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Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a special kind of bus system. While ordinary bus systems operate with traffic, BRT systems give buses extra powers. In a BRT public transit system, buses have separate lanes, large bus shelters that are like train stations, boarding platforms, and sometimes even priority at intersections. Bus rapid transit systems mix the benefits of usual bus routes and light rail.

Jakarta's bus rapid transit system is the biggest in the world. Look at the first image in the gallery below. Instead of a little glass shelter, the passengers are waiting in a small station. The boarding platform is higher up than the street. The bus is in a lane of its own, separated from the traffic by concrete bumps. Look through the rest of the pictures in the gallery, then look at other BRT systems around the world.

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Hong Kong
Hong Kong doesn't have a bus rapid transit system like Jakarta, just ordinary bus routes. But Hong Kong's buses date back to the 1920s. There are more than 700 routes operating in Hong Kong today, and almost 6000 individual buses. Unusually, Hong Kong's bus services are neither owned nor operated by the government. Instead, private companies control them.

Hong Kong also has double-decker buses, which have two levels. There is usually a large window at the front of the top level for passengers to look out. Double-deckers take up the same space on the road as an ordinary bus, bus can hold twice as many passengers. They were first made in Paris, and are now used around the world.

Bogóta

Bogóta, the capital city of Colombia, has a large BRT system. Some of its buses, like the one pictured to the left, have three segments, allowing for even more passengers. The bendy joints are called "articulations", therefore this type of bus is called a "double-articulated bus", or, because of its unusual length, a "train-bus".

Mexico City

Mexico City's BRT system, called the Metrobús, has been very useful in reducing the city's air pollution. The system helps reduces emissions of carbon dioxide by 36,000 tonnes – every year! The Metrobús has seven lines, which on weekdays usually carry more than a million passengers.