The Volvo Research and Educational Foundationswill provide a $3.5 million, five-year grant to establish the Center of Excellence in Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a consortium of researchers from four universities andEMBARQ – The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport。

The research team, headed byPontificia Universidad Católica(PUC) in Chile, is made up of experts fromMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) in the United States, Portugal’sInstituto Técnico Superior de la Universidad Técnica de Lisboaand theUniversity of Sydney’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies in Australia。他们将提供研究和分析，以支持世界范围内现有和拟议的BRT系统的成功部署。

“Our research will not only focus on the project level but also on how BRT systems interact with other elements of urban transportation, such as cycling lanes and pedestrian spaces, so cities can become more attractive places to live, work and visit,” saidJuan Carlos Muñoz, professor of PUC’s Engineering School and director of the new center.

In addition to providing research and analysis, the center will produce case studies, educate transport practitioners and develop guidelines on how cities and transit agencies can plan, design, finance, implement and operate successful BRT systems. The center will also collaborate with the recently launchedLatin American Association for Bus Rapid Transit and Integrated Transport Systems, for which EMBARQ serves as Technical Secretariat.

“These guidelines will be a major milestone in changing the way decision makers invest and design urban transport systems,” saidLuis Antonio Lindau, director ofCenter for Sustainable Transport in Brazil(CTS-Brasil), a member of the EMBARQ Network. Lindau will help lead EMBARQ’s research team with support fromDario Hidalgo, senior transport engineer of EMBARQ andLuis Gutierrez, EMBARQ’s director for Latin America.

The Center of Excellence in Bus Rapid Transitwas selected among 20 applicants. It is the eighth center funded by the foundation.