Light rail or busway? A comparative evaluation for a corridor in Beijing

Like most developing cities, Beijing's public transport is unable to meet demand, but it also faces growing bicycle use. Alternative public transport improvements in a congested corridor of the city — busway, light rail and elevated rail — were modelled and compared in a simple cost-benefit analysis. Complications arose in attempting bus-bicycle modal split modelling and in making due allowance for crowding in a developing country setting. Only the busway showed a positive net present value, but whether the implied withdrawal of roadspace and consequent restraint on the growing number of motorized vehicles is a virtue or not will depend on wider policy considerations.