The Bangkok Transit System (BTS) is a 23.5 kilometre elevated heavy rail system in the central area of Bangkok that was opened in 1999. Recent patronage has been about 280,000 trips per weekday, which is a little under half of that originally forecast and is a little over 60 percent of its currently estimated patronage potential. The system has provided significant benefits for its users and the community. Door-to-door travel time for many people using the system is about half of that by former transport modes. The environmental benefit resulting from the reduction in road traffic is substantial. The diversion of former road-based trip to the BTS released road capacity that allowed additional travel to be generated with associated increased emissions and also with economic and social benefits to the community. The paper outlines the features and travel demand impacts of the BTS, and describes an evaluation that quantified the external benefits of the BTS to road users and to the community at large. The evaluation gave specific consideration to the effect of generated road traffic on these benefits. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E209537. This paper may also be accessed by Internet users at: http://www.btre.gov.au/docs/atrf_02/program.html
Abstract