Paper short abstract:

Across African cities, bus rapid transit, a bus-based mode of urban transport, has become one of the fastest growing transport models. This paper examines BRT as a transport product, a policy of transit-oriented development, and a symbolic, experiential and political practice.

Paper long abstract:

The global reproduction of bus rapid transit (BRT) - a rapid mode of urban public transport that promises the high-quality and speed of a rail system alongside the operating flexibility and low-cost of a bus network - has been tremendous in recent years, and with new systems launched annually across African cities, it is one of the fastest growing transport models of the 21st century. BRT systems are commended for improving mobility by reducing travel time and improving comfort and reliability; and its transformation into an international policy success is often attributed to its affordability, brief implementation phase and generous political payoffs. Yet the measure of success - the viability of the system - remains dubious in many cities. In practice, the measurement of success fluctuates over the years as the system opens, adjusts, improves, is abandoned, or simply does not reach the promised cost-to-benefit calculations. This paper examines BRT as a power-laden product of transport provision, a policy of transit-oriented development and devolution, and a symbolic, experiential and political practice. These arguments incorporate concepts of science and technology studies into policy mobilities to explain that BRT is more than just an imitation of the red busways in Bogota but a story of comprehensive, locally-driven change.