Rede Integrada de Transporte (also known as RIT, Portuguese: Integrated Transportation Network) is a bus rapid transit system in Curitiba, Brazil.
Curitiba has a well planned transportation system, which includes dedicated lanes on major streets for a bus rapid transit system.[1] The buses are long, split into three sections (bi-articulated), and stop at designated elevated tubes, complete with handicapped access.[2] The system, used by 85% of Curitiba's population,[3] is the source of inspiration[4] for the TransMilenio in Bogotá, Colombia, Metrovia in Guayaquil, Ecuador as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles, California, and for a future transportation system in Panama City, Panama, Transmetro system in Guatemala City, Guatemala, the Metrobús of Mexico City and for the city of Bangalore.[5]
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History
By the 1960s, Curitiba's population had ballooned to 430,000, and some residents feared that the growth in population threatened to drastically change the character of the city. In 1964, Mayor Ivo Arzua solicited proposals for urban design. Architect Jaime Lerner, who later became mayor, led a team from the Universidade Federal do Paraná that suggested a reduction of traffic in the downtown area and a convenient and affordable public transit system.[6]
This plan, known as the Curitiba Master Plan, was adopted in 1968. Lerner closed November 15 St. to vehicles, because it had very high pedestrian traffic. The plan had a new road design to minimise traffic: the Trinary Road System. This uses two one-way streets moving in opposite directions which surround a smaller, two-lane street where the express buses have their exclusive lane. This concept was first adopted in 1979, with the North-Side Trunk Line.[7]
Five of these roads form a star that converges to the city centre. Land farther from these roads is zoned for lower density developments, to reduce traffic away from the main roads. A number of areas subject to floods were condemned and became parks.[8]
In the 1980s, the Rede Integrada de Transporte was created, allowing transit between any point in the city by paying just one fare.[9]
Routes
- Express (Expresso Biarticulado): These are large high-capacity buses that have exclusive traffic lanes, spreading radially from the city centre in 5 directions. They are treated as an "above-ground subway" because of their speed, capacity and frequent service. They have bright red color schemes and operate with tubular shaped stations. Passengers pay to enter the stations. This allows very quick boarding and disembarking. It is considered shameful to cheat on fares.
- Inter-neighborhood (Interbairros): These are green buses that travel outside downtown. Lines 1 and 2 circle the city centre, the latter with a bigger radius. Lines 3 to 6 are important connections between some neighborhoods.
- Direct lines (Linha Direta): Commonly called ônibus ligeirinho (quickie bus), these are silver buses designed to be the quickest links between two points. They cover large distances with few stops. They link with tube stations. Curitiba is the pioneer in the worldwide Rapid Bus development.
- Feeder (Alimentador): These are local bus lines and are painted orange. All of them link one passenger terminal to a neighborhood and feed the express buses and other RIT lines with passengers. Large windows allow better sightseeing.
- "Downtown Circulator" (Circular Centro): These small white buses are designed to circle the city centre, and are used by pedestrians as a quick way of getting to the other side of the area.
- Regular routes (Convencional): These yellow-colored buses operate radially from the city centre.
- Interhospitals (Interhospitais): These white buses circle the town and link the main city hospitals.
- Tourism line (Linha Turismo): These colorful buses focus on the city's attractions. Paying R$15.00 / US$6.25 allows one to get on and off the bus five times, at the attraction of interest.
Transit Centers
Curitiba has 21 transit centers, where it is possible to transfer between routes for free. Most of them are connected by bus lanes and offer riders great flexibility.
- Bairro Alto
- Barreirinha
- Boa Vista
- Boqueirão
- Cabral
- Cachoeira
- Campina do Siqueira
- Campo Comprido
- Capão da Imbuia
- Capão Raso
- Carmo
- Centenário
- CIC
- Fazendinha
- Hauer
- Pinheirinho
- Portão
- Santa Cândida
- Santa Felicidade
- Sítio Cercado
- Vila Oficinas
References
- ^ The US Government Environmental Protection Agency website highlights the Curitiba transit project, describing the success of the city masterplan in numbers.
- ^ Publictransit.us
- ^ A study on Curitiba transportation by The University of Upsalla
- ^ BBC mentions transit system as landmark of Brazil's south
- ^ Indian Institute of Technology Delhi states Bangalore to adopt Curitiba transit system. These cities are listed in a study from Sidney University on Bus Rapid Transit, as well as in a study by the Japanese Institute for Global Environment Strategies with the UN Collaborating Center on Energy and Environment at the Risoe National Laboratory of Denmark which echoes this list.
- ^ Undisputed history of project as told by CNN reporter
- ^ A História do Transporte Coletivo de Curitiba Retrieved on January 30th 2009
- ^ The plan is well documented and can be seen in the bus route map: [Image:Curitiba_PublicTransport.png|Bus route plan]
- ^ One fare is confirmed by a US federal research stating that: "Passengers pay a single fare ... with unlimited transfers between buses". This may not be the same price to all passengers, as indicated by this CNN source, which claims the "system is subsidized by wealthy residents of the city center area", who perhaps pay more. In any case, all sources agree that payment for all transfers are done once for all daily rides, outside the stations, and prior to entering the bus.
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