So-called “bus rapid transit” — basically upgraded bus services — is a very promising transit option. It’s cheaper than rail and, perhaps more importantly, can be put into place faster. It’s not an adequate substitute for rail, but it is a very useful addition to the toolkit. But one major problem with BRT is that really excellent BRT systems exist on a continuum with plain old buses, which can encourage cities to wind up cutting corners and rolling out a substandard product while claiming to be embracing BRT. Streetfilms takes an interesting look at le Mobilien, an excellent Paris BRT system that provides a good example of what BRT done right would look like.
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