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The purpose of this report is to provide examples of BRT-based TOD as a resource for policymakers, public agencies, and the development community. The report uses a case-based research methodology, examining four developed country cities characterized by high private car usage and significant TOD around their BRT corridors.

Transit planning in the United States has tended toward viewing BRT as an analogue to light rail transit, with similar operating patterns. This model, referred to as “Light Rail Lite,” is compared to international best practices, which have often favored the development of a grade-separated bus infrastructure (“Quickways”) that in turn supports a varied mix of all-stops, express, and branching services. This model, dubbed the Quickway model, evolved out of the practical necessity of cities to meet ambitious ridership or mode split targets. The two models are contrasted along the key dimensions of BRT service, and significant differences are identified. Three international case studies—Ottawa, Bogotá, and Brisbane—are reviewed for their particular application of this model and of the results they have obtained. Four domestic cities are compared to these international examples: Eugene, Oregon, and Los Angeles are profiled for their adoption of the Light Rail Lite model, and…

A case study analysis of development around Cross County MetroLink light-rail stations in St. Louis, Missouri and policy recommendations for encouraging transit-oriented development.

The literature available on the subject of transit-friendly development (TFD) is large and growing rapidly.1 This compendium cannot be exhaustive or even comprehensive, but each entry is viewed as an important addition to the literature in the topic areas to which they are assigned. The review’s purpose is to give the user a head-start in locating information of interest in the field. The items in this literature review are organized by topic areas to allow the user to efficiently target and access the areas of greatest interest. Many of the entries are repeated where they are germane to more than one topic area. The topic areas are presented below.

This report documents the first task in the process: a survey of best practices for facilitating successful TOD, as employed by other agencies, to be used as a basis for developing guidelines for GCRTA. This “Lessons Learned” methodology offers the opportunity to utilize the most effective guidelines, without repeating the time- and money-consuming processes of attempting all approaches. The TOD practices of the following seven transit agencies were investigated and are documented within this report

This study seeks to inform City of Hercules Council and Staff about connecting the City’s waterfront to a new developing town center. This study gives technical information on the possibility of using aerial ropeways (which includes aerial trams and gondolas) and discusses alternatives such as buses and streetcars.

Transit oriented development (TOD) is a viable model for transportation and land-use integration in many rapidly developing cities of the world, including those in Asia. TOD is a straightforward concept: concentrate a mix of moderately dense and pedestrian-friendly development around transit stations to promote transit riding, increased walk and bicycle travel, and other alternatives to the use of private cars. In a way, Asian cities have historically been transit oriented, featuring fine-grain mixes of land uses, plentiful pathways for pedestrians and cyclists, and ample transit services on major roads. However, the recent ascendancy in car ownership and rising incomes are unraveling the historical transit-supportive urban forms of many Asian cities, giving rising to an increasingly car-dependent built form. By focusing new construction and redevelopment in and around transit nodes, TOD is viewed as a promising tool for curbing sprawl and the car dependence it spawns. By channeling…

In this publication, we feature 10 representative transit-oriented developments that were recently built or are in the process of taking shape. We selected these to convey a sense of the diversity and appeal of this style of community-building enterprise, and to give an idea of why someone might choose to live or work in one of these locations. And, make no mistake, it’s the choosing that is most important. Notwithstanding all the substantial merits from a public policy point of view — transit- and land-use efficiency, air quality benefits, health advantages, energy savings and the like — TODs will succeed only when people freely choose to live in them. The urban and suburban dwellers who opt for TODs do so because the developments offer a practical, preferable, more environmentally friendly — and often more affordable — way to live and travel in our increasingly complex Bay Area.