Understanding barriers and opportunities for promoting transit-oriented development with bus rapid transit in Bogotá and Quito

The implementation of bus rapid transit (BRT) in several Latin American cities has provided researchers with an opportunity to study the capacity of BRT in promoting transit-oriented development (TOD) and the issues associated with the unintended consequences of their impacts on equity outcomes. Using a qualitative data analysis of semi-structured interviews involving key participants in Quito and Bogotá, in this paper five emerging themes are identified explaining the framework of BRT-associated barriers and opportunities for TOD: coordination, expertise, development, management, and equity. Issues are highlighted related to the timing difficulties between the land use sector and the transportation sector, the complex relationship between public and private sectors with different perspectives on urban development in an uncertain environment with little trust between the parties, the complexities of redevelopment and renewal measures in already urbanized areas, and the general perception of TOD as a concept foreign to all except transportation planners. •Timing difficulties between the land use and transportation sectors with a key role of planning instruments to enable TOD.•Complex relationship between the public and private sectors in terms of trust and differences on urban development outcomes.•Difficulties to promote redevelopment and renewal measures with multiple property owners in already consolidated urban areas.•Dilemma between the expansion of BRT and generation of affordable housing due to changes on land values at expansion areas.•Perception of rail-based systems as the “T” in a foreign concept known as TOD rather than associations with BRT systems..