Madrid will have a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT, according to the English singles). It will be in operation in its northern area and, for the moment, it will have a line between Valdebebas and Ramón y Cajal Hospital. The route, to the end, will be more than 15 kilometers and half an hour.

But what is a Bus Rapid Transit? It's just a high-capacity bus that works like a tram. And despite the mobility of a bus, the BRT will run on an exclusive lane that will speed up its journeys and have priority at roundabouts and traffic lights.
The aim of this new public transport service will be to connect the Valdebebas district with the nearby reference hospital in the shortest possible time, making 19 stops in each direction. For this purpose, works have been carried out in 68 passages where 390 detectors have been installed. When these systems detect the arrival of the BRT, they will open the traffic lights in its path to give priority to private vehicles.

The appeal of this type of vehicle is that separating the lane for its passage is much easier than setting up all the infrastructure a tram needs. The cost of the works will be 12.8 million euros, of which four will be for the new traffic lights. The vehicles will be electric and their cost will exceed five million euros (without VAT), of which two million will be contributed by the Next Generation funds.

A system with its shortcomings

Although the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has confirmed that the new BRT will be available from May, the Popular Party has not been the only political group that has opted for this system. From Más Madrid they already offered vehicles of this type to facilitate commuting on eleven lines.

Its advocates say that by driving in a separate lane and giving priority to traffic lights, travel times can be cut in half in many cases. For example, and for this purpose, it will not be possible to pay in cash in the new vehicles of the city of Madrid.

To travel, it will be necessary to have a multi-transport card or a bank card that will be validated at the previous entry. To get a single ticket, there will be a vending machine on the platforms that will only accept cash. The price will be the same as the other transports in the city.

The problem is that, once again, although the lane is separated, it will have to cross the spaces where other vehicles cross, and they will also be deprived of the right of way. In theory, the system seems ideal, as it gives some flexibility to what the tram has to offer, but in practice, it will have to rely on the good work of the drivers.