The environment around bus rapid transit stops in Indore and Ahmedabad, India

Abstract

An understanding of the environment around transit stops provides useful information concerning key urban design features that can promote sustainable urban development and mass transit systems. Although several researchers have analysed the associations between the built environment and transit ridership for rail-based systems, few have examined this relationship for Bus Rapid Transit systems. This research expands in India the data collection and the analysis of direct demand models I previously tested in Latin America by examining associations between built environment attributes and BRT ridership in Indore and Ahmedabad. I found positive associations for high-quality pedestrian environments, the level of non-motorized transport friendliness and the presence of affordable housing. However, I found negative associations for vacant land, low urban density, and large blocks. My findings suggest the importance of a high-quality pedestrian infrastructure and the necessity of the presence of affordable housing to make BRT systems more sustainable.