Bus Rapid Transit in China: A Comparison of Design Features with International Systems

The document compares BRT systems in 18 Chinese cities against international counterparts across 30 indicators. It finds that Chinese systems score significantly lower in 11 design areas and recommends improvements in infrastructure, network planning, and vehicle technology to help China reach its goal of 5,000 kilometers of BRT by 2020.

• An analysis of 99 data points from 59 cities across 21 countries identified 11 design indicators where Chinese BRT systems score significantly lower than international systems.
• To improve BRT performance, the paper recommends several design enhancements: simplifying intersections with traffic signal priority, planning multicorridor networks to reduce transfers, promoting multimodal integration with biking, adding express and limited-stop services, creating fully dedicated bus lanes in high-demand segments, providing passing lanes at stations, optimizing station spacing, improving pedestrian access, ensuring accessibility for passengers with special needs, and adopting cleaner vehicles such as electric buses.
• China established a national target to implement 5,000 kilometers of BRT by 2020; as of 2015, 2,991 kilometers had been implemented, leaving a requirement of over 2,000 kilometers to be built in the following three years.
• BRT is currently perceived in China as a second-class service compared to private vehicles and urban metros, necessitating design and performance improvements to change public perception.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Bus Rapid Transit in China: A Comparison of Design Features with International Systems. https://www.wri.org/research/bus-rapid-transit-china-comparison-design-features-international-systems

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Bus Rapid Transit in China: A Comparison of Design Features with International Systems. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/bus-rapid-transit-china-comparison-design-features-international-systems.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Bus Rapid Transit in China: A Comparison of Design Features with International Systems |url=https://www.wri.org/research/bus-rapid-transit-china-comparison-design-features-international-systems |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendbus, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Bus Rapid Transit in China: A Comparison of Design Features with International Systems}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/bus-rapid-transit-china-comparison-design-features-international-systems}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }