Istanbul BRT: the Metrobüs

[Gokhan]

In Istanbul they have built a BRT system in the median of a major east - west freeway by taking a lane in each travel direction. It's called Metrobüs. The ridership demand is huge, as this being a very heavily congested corridor, especially after the removal of lanes. Current ridership is around half a million a day.

This is the latest that happened: Buses are overcrowded since you can't chain-link them like LRVs or HRVs. They bought the 85-ft-long hybrid buses from a company called Phileas in Netherlands for $1.7 million per bus. They have a rated capacity of close to 200.

The buses have been delivered recently and the nightmare have begun. Due to the excessive demand, typically more than 300 or up to 400 people have boarded a single bus. This, in combination with the steep slopes in Istanbul, have resulted in many buses breaking down very often, resulting in the entire operation being halted because of the blocked lane. Even when they run, the buses are unable to climb the steep slopes with a heavy load with a speed more than 10 MPH or so.

My opinion on BRT versus rail transit is simple. Don't waste money on BRT. If you are going to build transit, always build rail transit. It will be much more useful to people. Or save the money and don't build anything.

This short video clip shows the people pushing the broken Metrobüs they were supposed to ride on the freeway.

[bobdavis]

Reminds me of a supposed set of rules for a 19th Century stage coach line:
In the event coach becomes stuck in mud--
First class passengers may remain seated.
Second class passengers will get out and walk to lighten load.
Third class passengers will help push.
Also there's a photo from the "bad old days" when most electric railway news was about abandonments that shows a streetcar being pushed past a "dead spot" in the trolley wire by a loyal band of trolley enthusiasts out for a "last run".

[Gokhan]

The "real Metrobüses," that is the 85-ft-long hybrid Phileas buses, have started operating early May. That's when the new troubles began. There have been many breakdowns, claims of the bus not being able to climb steep slopes, and one incident in which a tire blew and the bus went over the barriers and crashed two cars on the freeway. Apparently the reason behind the problems are the overloaded buses, up to 400 people boarding the bus, which is rated about 185 people.

There is also the political debate going on, asking whether there were bribes in the deal with Phileas. This line is actually the line with the highest ridership demand in Istanbul, going from the European end of the metropolitan area to the Asian end, with an expectedd ridership of several million a day.

I think the reason why BRT was chosen is because since the ridership is so high, the revenue is so high, and the municipality that governs the metropolitan area operates the buses and they wanted to benefit from the ridership. The rail operations are under a different company, affiliated with the municipality, but the revenue for the municipality, hence the politicians, would be less.

But, regardless, the Metrobüs will be the ultimate test of BRT in the world. The question is whether BRT can serve the functionality of HRT or fully grade-separated LRT in a corridor with ridership of more than million passengers a day. The empirical answer which will come in several years from now will greatly impact the future of BRT in the world.

My guess is that BRT won't be able to meet the ridership demands. Overcrowded stations, overcrowded buses, buses broken down due to too many passengers boarding are all indications of this. But we will wait and see. Of course, if BRT succeeds, then implications are also huge. I doubt for the latter though.

[Gokhan]

Here are some pictures taken on June 22, 2009, of the metrobüs, that is the BRT system in Istanbul that runs in the median of the freeway that goes from west to east through the spine of the Metropolitan area.







People still don't understand why they call it "metro" büs, and they say this is the good old bus running on a dedicated lane and there is nothing metro- or train-like about it. I agree that the metrobüs is a misnomer. It's used in some countries, where the bus runs on a rail-like guideway, as opposed to pavement. But this is just BRT like the Orange Line here.

The picture taken in the bus is on a Mercedes - Benz liner, probably about 70-ft-long. It's a very nice and modern bus, and as Mercedes - Benz has a factory in Turkey and the main supplier of buses there, they are relatively cheap. They are single-articulated (two sections hinged together). Note that the bus driver sits in an enclosed area.

The new buses they bought are made by the Dutch company Phileas. They are diesel - electric hybrid and have the capability to be operated without the driver. They are 85-ft-long and double-articulated (three sections hinged together). People like to refer to them as the "real" metrobüs'es. But their story has turned out to be just like the Breda LRV story here. They were not powerful and tough enough to climb the slopes of Istanbul when they are packed with almost 400 people in a single bus. Many of them broke during the first weeks and many of them are still in the yards, not being operated due to problems like breakdowns and lack of power. The Turkish parliament has called an investigation into the contract with Phileas.

Note how long the platforms are. They are at least 600-ft-long. This is because these buses run back to back and it's not uncommon for six or more buses to line in the station.

I guess LRT would be more expensive; although much better, and they had some other difficulties, such as potential problems with rail tracks on the Bosporus bridge, where the buses cross from Europe to Asia. But the system is working nevertheless, carrying more than a million people every day, even though not as fast or comfortable or energy-efficient as LRT.

The driving side in Turkey is the right side of the road, as seen by the cars on the freeway in the picture. But you can notice that the metrobüs'es drive on the left, in the wrong way. Guess why? (Note that when they reach the Bosporus bridge, they share lanes with other vehicles and hence the buses zigzag to the other side when they enter and leave the bridge.)

[dasubergeek]

Jul 17, 2009 15:21:04 GMT -8 Gokhan said:

The driving side in Turkey is the right side of the road, as seen by the cars on the freeway in the picture. But you can notice that the metrobüs'es drive on the left, in the wrong way. Guess why? (Note that when they reach the Bosporus bridge, they share lanes with other vehicles and hence the buses zigzag to the other side when they enter and leave the bridge.)

For the same reason the Harbor Transitway buses switch sides at each stop -- so that the boarding doors are on the correct side. If they didn't switch, they would have to buy right-hand-drive buses which could only be used in centre-line configurations like you show.

[Gokhan]

Double-posting from a different thread a news article about court charges over the Mercedes - Benz Capacity buses pictured above.

[wad]

Jul 20, 2009 8:35:41 GMT -8 dasubergeek said:

For the same reason the Harbor Transitway buses switch sides at each stop -- so that the boarding doors are on the correct side. If they didn't switch, they would have to buy right-hand-drive buses which could only be used in centre-line configurations like you show.

The only Harbor station where the buses change sides to board is at the Green Line station. All the others are split stations, except Artesia, which is a conventional sawtooth transit center in the park & ride lot.