The Rail vs. Bus Rapid Transit Debate

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When making improvements to urban transportation infrastructure, cities are faced with hard choices. Because subways are often prohibitively expensive and not cost-effective unless serving the most dense of areas, many cities are turning to bus rapid transit, dedicated lanes for buses, like they have implemented in Bogota. But, as Diana DeRubertis writes, BRT can seem to just mimic what could be a light rail line, but without the comfort of riding in a trolley:

Still, for riders, skepticism about BRT persists. Will it be as sleek and comfortable as a train? Can one read on a bus, even a modern one? Is the experience a vast improvement over a bumpy city bus? Will it be slowed by car traffic? Given the infrastructure required for true BRT, why not simply pursue rail? Elevated busways can look a lot like freeways – how will they affect neighborhoods?

Read more about the debate between rail and BRT here.