Skip to main content

Quality public transport systems key to safety, says report

A new report, Traffic Safety on Bus Priority Systems, produced by Embarq with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, argues the case that investment in high quality public transport systems in developing world cities can help achieve significant traffic safety benefits, while meeting the growing mobility needs of city residents. According to the World Health Organisation (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
February 9, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A new report, Traffic Safety on Bus Priority Systems, produced by 2091 Embarq with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, argues the case that investment in high quality public transport systems in developing world cities can help achieve significant traffic safety benefits, while meeting the growing mobility needs of city residents.

According to the 1819 World Health Organisation (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, says the report, an opportunity to reverse that trend.

This report highlights a unique opportunity to leverage the growing investment in BRT and other bus priority systems in cities around the world to improve safety while meeting the growing mobility needs. Indeed, the number of new 6865 BRT systems has increased in recent years, as the early experiences in Latin America have inspired cities in other regions of the world to improve their public transport systems. The recent commitment by eight multilateral development banks to direct US$175 billion over ten years to sustainable transport will further contribute to this growth.

The report says that evidence in the report clearly shows that high quality public transport systems can result in significant safety benefits on the streets where they are implemented, reducing injuries and fatalities by as much as 50 per cent. But in order to achieve these benefits, it is important to ensure that the new systems being built incorporate high quality infrastructure and safety features.

The report provides detailed, data driven recommendations for incorporating safety into the design, planning, and operation of different types of bus systems, drawing from data analysis and road safety audits and inspections of existing bus systems around the world.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • EIB backing for London transport
    September 15, 2015
    The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide US$1.5 billion for investment in the London transport network. The 35 year loan from Europe’s long-term lending institution will support major projects, including significant upgrades by Transport for London (TfL) at Victoria and Bank Tube stations, which will transform passenger access at two of the busiest stations in the capital. The new support was announced by Jonathan Taylor, vice president of the European Investment Bank and Steve Allen, ma
  • C40 Cities report: 'Nearly every' city has too much air pollution
    April 10, 2023
    Traffic initiatives such as low-emission zones will be vital in reaching climate targets, report says
  • How can US transportation be ‘re-envisioned’?
    October 17, 2019
    In her address to this year’s ITS America Annual Meeting, congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, called for a ‘re-envisioning’ of transportation. Her speech is below – and ITS International asks a number of US experts what they would like to see ‘re-envisioned’…

    I would like to welcome  ITS America to the nation’s capital.

  • Costing transit is complicated case
    August 19, 2015
    David Crawford welcomes fresh thinking from Canada. Public transit improvements can bring society “significantly more value” than conventional transport models normally indicate, argues Canadian researcher Todd Litman. “Traditional evaluation practices originally developed to assess roadway improvements, and focus primarily on vehicle travel speeds and operating costs. “They do not generally quantify or monetise basic mobility benefits, vehicle ownership and parking cost savings, or efficient land developme