Curitiba, Brazil first adopted its Master Plan in 1968. Since then,
it has become a city well known for inventive urban planning and
affordable (to the user and the city) public transportation.
Curitiba's Bus Rapid Transit system is the source of inspiration for many other cities including the TransMilenio in Bogotá, Colombia, Metrovia in Guayaquil, Ecuador, as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles.
This video illustrates how Curitiba's public transportation system
operates and the urban planning and land use principles on which it is
based. It includes an interview with the former Mayor and architect Jaime
Lerner. Current city employees also discuss the improvements that are
being made to the system to keep it up to date and functioning at the
capacity of a typical subway system.
Curitiba is currently
experimenting with adding bypassing lanes on the dedicated BRT routes
and smart traffic lights to prioritize buses. They are even
constructing a new line which will have a linear park and 18km of bike
lane that parallels the bus transit route.
