The ‘bus rapid transit’, or BRT, was first developed in Curitiba in Brazil. It’s a public transport system that treats buses a bit like trains, giving them dedicated bus lanes and stations where people can buy their tickets and then board from a platform. Curitiba’s came into service in 1974 and is used by 85% of the city’s residents. Plenty of other cities have copied the idea since, and BRT systems now operate in over 200 cities around the world. Here’s one in Belo Horizonte:

There are a number of advantages. Buses travel on their own lanes and don’t get snarled up in traffic. People buy their tickets in advance at the station, so boarding is fast and there’s no delay as passengers pay the driver. The time savings from direct boarding and skirting the traffic make buses quick, reliable and efficient – and able to directly challenge cars as…