Has a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) been considered?

This alternative has been studied.

Consideration should be given to the needs for this mode:

• In order to guarantee the regularity of the BRT, the insertion of BRT must be done on dedicated lanes. The other existing road functionalities (car traffic, parking, pedestrian paths and plantings, and bicycle facilities in accordance with the LOM law) must be transferred outside these roads.
• Such a configuration requires a width of about 27 metres to insert a BRT and the adjoining road functionalities in addition to a bicycle axis.

The relief is compatible with a BRT, but the existing streets do not have a width of at least 27 m, to insert lanes dedicated to buses and preserve all the functionalities of the road. Two options were then studied:

1. widening the road network by 6 to 15 m over about 5 km, which would require the demolition of many buildings (480 according to the graphic facilitation board), housing and shops: a major land impact that also translates financially (€770 million estimated for the land acquisitions thus necessary to allow work to amount to €107 million);
2. remove functions from the street : the abolition of parking alone would not be enough; car traffic would have to be eliminated (which would be transferred to the rest of the network), as well as parking spaces and about 200 trees in Vincennes. The level of performance expected for a BRT would not be reached, as the clean site would have to be shared with the emergency services, waste collection and local access.  Finally, the continuity of cycling facilities could not be ensured on several sections, resulting in non-compliance with the LOM law. Alternative routes should be sought on neighbouring roads, requiring an additional 3 to 4 metres dedicated to cycles on these roads, with new impacts on the organisation of the existing public space.

In addition, the expected attendance at the morning rush hour by 2040 is 7,200 people at the same time on the busiest section of the extension (attendance forecasts for the extension of metro 1 to Val de Fontenay detailed in chapter 5 of the consultation file, pp. 141-144). However, a BRT transports at best 2,500 passengers per hour. The metro, which can carry 5,000 to 38,000 passengers per hour, is the mode most consistent with the expected ridership.

The cost of the BRT, due to land acquisitions, would be very high (€877 million excluding tax); that of the metro (€1,710 million excluding tax) would be around double, but with a completely different proportion of land acquisitions compared to the cost of infrastructure.

At the end of this analysis, Île-de-France Mobilités proposes to continue the studies with the extension of the metro, which meets the dual need for local service and network coverage.

> Consult the BRT alternative in the consultation file: chapter 4, p.72-85.