Guangzhou BRT Construction Begins

Posted: 17 Dec 2008

Related to: Guangzhou BRT, Developing High-Quality, Low-Cost Mass Transit, China
Contributed by: Karl Fjellstrom

Guangzhou’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system commenced construction on November 30, 2008 and will be operational by the end of 2009.  With an expected peak ridership of at least 20,000 passengers per hour in one direction, the system will have more than double the passenger capacity of any other BRT system in Asia.  More than 600,000 passengers will use the corridor each day.  This system will be the first to combine the convenience of direct services with the speed and station quality normally only found on trunk and feeder BRT systems.



The groundbreaking ceremony for the Guangzhou BRT system.  Source: Duan Xiaomei

Major stations will include footbridges and escalators, and the system features a connecting tunnel to underground metro stations in three locations, integrating with two different metro lines. Continuous bike lanes are provided along the corridor, and 5,500 bike parking spaces have been included in the design of the BRT stations.  The construction cost is around $6 million (US dollar) per kilometer.