Strengths and Weakness of Bus in Relation to Transit Oriented Development

While Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has almost exclusively concerned rail based modes there has been a recent interest in bus related TOD with an emphasis on new bus rapid transit (BRT) developments in North/ South America and Australia. This paper takes a critical look at the strengths and weakness of bus based transit systems in relation to TOD through a review of the literature and an assessment of TOD related developments. The performance of BRT systems in relation to TOD are considered with specific reference to BRT systems in Australia. In addition TOD related to local suburban or ‘low order’ bus service is considered. The paper describes the general concept of TOD and how this relates to features of transit modes, outlines the literature relevant to bus based TOD and identifies the strengths and weakness of bus based transit systems in relation to TOD. It concludes by using the findings of the review to identify ways in which bus based TOD might be better planned and implemented.