Bus rapid transit can improve air quality if car and motorbike drivers start taking trips by bus, especially in Asian cities like Ahmedabad, India. Photo by Madhav Pai.

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 12, 2010 – The city of Ahmedabad, India has received the 2010 Sustainable Transport Award for the Janmarg bus rapid transit (BRT) system---a mass transit system designed to reduce carbon emissions and improve accessibility for urban residents.

Dario Hidalgo, a senior transport engineer with EMBARQ - The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport, sits on the selection committee. For the first time in the award's six-year history all of the nominees were from developing countries.

"This announcement is really a game-changer for cities that are trying to improve transportation, environment and quality of life," said Hidalgo. "Many cities in the developing world face immense economic and political challenges that make it hard for sustainable transport projects to get off the ground. There's no question that international recognition of this year's Sustainable Transport Award nominees will translate into greater local support for these projects."

The Sustainable Transport Award is given annually to a city that uses transport innovations to increase mobility for all residents, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and increasing cyclist and pedestrian safety and access.

“Everybody had doubts about whether bus rapid transit, which works well in Latin American cities like Bogota or Curitiba, would be workable in Indian conditions,” said I.P. Gautam, municipal commissioner for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corp. “After operating 18 kilometers of a real BRT system in Ahmedabad, we have cleared this doubt. Janmarg is a suitable answer for improving congestion and creating a better environment.”

Ahmedabad’s Janmarg BRT system moves 18,000 passengers daily. The city plans to incorporate high‐quality pedestrian facilities and bicycle lanes in some corridors, and it has also initiated car‐free days to reduce traffic.

The cities receiving honorable mentions include Cali, Colombia, for transforming citywide BRT service with MIO; Curitiba, Brazil, for opening a new BRT line and city park on a former federal highway; Johannesburg, South Africa, for creating Rea Vaya, South Africa’s first BRT and the first public transit system that connects Soweto to the downtown district; and Guadalajara, Mexico, for completing a full BRT system in less than two years and at an affordable cost. The Center for Sustainable Transport in Mexico (CTS-Mexico), a member of the EMBARQ Network, provided technical support to help launch Guadalajara’s new system, called Macrobús, a 16-kilometer line that moves about 130,000 passengers daily and reduces average travel time by about 30 percent.

“Being nominated for this year’s award is not only motivating, but it also shows that Macrobús is recognized as an international best practice,” said Diego Monraz Villaseñor, director general of Sistema de Tren Electrico Urbano, Guadalajara’s multimodal mass transit agency. “This award means more than honoring buses, infrastructure and technology. Ultimately, it helps us promote a cultural change towards a more organized and sustainable transport system.”

For more information about the award, visit www.st-award.org.

And read the official press release on ITDP's Web site:
http://www.itdp.org/index.php/projects/update/ahmedabad_2010_sustainable...