GRTC Pulse Bus Rapid Transit has served Richmond, Virginia since June 2018.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), also called bus rapid transit, is a bus-based public transit system designed to increase capacity and reliability over the conventional bus system. Typically, the BRT system includes roads designated for buses and gives priority to buses at intersections where buses can interact with other traffic; along with design features to reduce delays caused by passengers boarding or exiting buses or buying fares. BRT seeks to combine the capacity and speed of the subway with the flexibility, low cost, and simplicity of the bus system.
In the United States, several mid-sized cities use BRT as an alternative to light rail because of perceived costs and political will. Notable examples of mid-sized cities with BRT as a pillar of public transit include the Silver Line in Grand Rapids, Michigan, GRTC Pulse in Richmond, Virginia and BusPlus in Albany, New York. Some satellite cities and suburbs leading to larger cities also have bus rapid transit systems as supplemental public transportation services to light rail and commuter rail. For example, the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray has a planned Murray-Taylorsville MAX BRT route. Denver suburbs of Fort Collins and Washington, D.C. suburbs of Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia contain a Metroway system.
Some major cities have their own BRT routes within city limits that function as their own rapid transit line or as auxiliary routes to the rail lines in their respective city. In Cleveland, the HealthLine, which is considered the standard for BRT in the United States, serves most of the city. Minneapolis has the Red Line, and Los Angeles has plans to switch to an express streetcar.