Suitable Bus Stop Locations for a Proposed Bus Rapid Transit Corridor in a Developing Country City: An Analytical Hierarchy Process Approach

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most densely populated developing countries, and so is its capital Dhaka, where ever-growing travel demand is causing congestion and numerous other transportation problems. To improve the situation, the “Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka (STP)” was conceptualized in 2005 with the plan of developing mass transit systems (buses and rail), which was revised in 2016. The revised STP proposes two BRT bus routes for Dhaka city: BRT Line 3 and 7. Bus stops on the proposed routes are the ultimate point locations where people at large will access these BRT services. Therefore, determining the locations of bus stops is crucial for these proposed routes’ overall efficiency and accessibility. In this study, we proposed a bus stop selection technique for the BRT Line 3 in Dhaka, which considers multi-variate influencing factors, including travel demand, population density, land use, accessibility of pedestrians, and accessibility of rickshaws. We collected data on these factors through a field survey for 77 intersections along the study route. After that, a composite score is assigned for each study intersection based on the five factors’ relative value and priority weights obtained via the Analytical Hierarchical Process technique. Finally, based on the composite score and selection criteria, we suggested 25–40 intersections for suitable bus stop locations along the study route. The methodology used in this study to select suitable bus stop locations will provide citizens with better utilization and transit experience as envisioned by the BRT routes.