Comparative Study of Addis Ababa City Light Railway Project and Equivalent Bus Rapid Transit Mode of Transport
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Date
2016-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In rapidly developing cities automobile ownerships and their utilization is
increasing and accordingly the problem of traffic congestions quickly go from
bad to worse. It is, therefore, necessary for these cities to construct and operate
a transit system. The basic question that must be addressed in formulating an
urban transport strategy for a given city is to decide on the type of public
transit suited for the city.
Light rail transit is seen as a better choice for the cities than busways, perhaps
because of their lack of image and knowledge of what is achievable using busbased
system. This document is a research product on comparative study of the
Addis Ababa City Light Railway project and an equivalent Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT) system. That is defined as a high quality bus-based transit system that
delivers fast, comfortable and cost-effective urban mobility through the
provision of segregated right-of-way infrastructure. The research is conducted
to show whether or not the bus-based system’s effectiveness and economic
worth as compared to Light rail transit.
After examining the light rail and its equivalent BRT system in terms of
performance, cost and impact, the research found out that the BRT system has
capacity, commercial speed and quality of service which is not less than to the
LRT system. Moreover, due to low cost and flexibility of BRT system they can
cover more area and reduce or remove more small cars from street than LRT
can do thereby reducing emission as compared to LRT.
The results of economic analysis show net present value of Birr -170 million,
benefit-cost ration of 0.965, Internal rate of return of 9.45 % and more than 30
years payback period for LRT system, In case of BRT system; net present value
of ETB 2.54 billion, benefit-cost ratio of 2.15, Internal rate of return of 27.4%
and payback period of eighth years were calculated. Thus the BRT system gives
maximum befit to the society for investment, due to low investment cost and
shortage of implementation time, utilization of the existing infrastructures for
the city which needs immediate solution to urban transport problems and ease
of operation, construction, design with limited amount of budget. Therefore, the
BRT system is a better transport option for the commuters in Addis Ababa.
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Keywords
Light Rail Transit, Bus Rapid Transit