BEAD Tool v2.0
BRT Evaluation and Design Tool — HTML Web Version
Developed by S G Architects, New Delhi | IUT India | TRIPP IIT Delhi
1. Introduction
1.1 What is BEAD?
BEAD is a parametric performance evaluation tool for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors. It translates physical design parameters — bus lane type, station geometry, signal timing, pedestrian access, bus fleet type — into quantified Level of Service (LOS) grades across ten performance indicators, culminating in an overall corridor score of 0–100.
This HTML version (v2.0) is a standalone web application that replicates the calculation engine of the original Excel-based BEAD v1.70, removing the need for Microsoft Excel or macros. It works in any modern web browser with no internet connection required after the file is downloaded.
1.2 What does BEAD evaluate?
BEAD evaluates a BRT corridor segment-by-segment across ten indicators:
- Operational Bus Speed — average speed of buses on the corridor (km/hr)
- Passenger Journey Speed — average door-to-door speed of a BRT passenger (km/hr)
- Peak Bus Speed — maximum permitted bus speed (safety indicator, km/hr)
- Bus Delay per Station — average time a bus loses at each station stop (sec)
- Total Passenger Delay — cumulative delay experienced by a passenger per trip (sec)
- Walking Distance (Return Trip) — total walking a passenger does for a complete return journey (m)
- Speed Ratio vs Private Vehicle — BRT corridor speed as a fraction of average motor vehicle speed
- Speed Ratio vs Mixed Bus — BRT corridor speed compared to a regular bus in mixed traffic
- Barrier-Free Score — accessibility quality score (0–1)
- Corridor Capacity (PPHPD) — passengers per hour per direction
1.3 Who is this tool for?
BEAD is designed for transport planners, urban designers, BRT consultants, academics, and students engaged in the planning, design, evaluation, or benchmarking of BRT corridors — particularly in Indian and South Asian urban contexts.
1.4 Scope and limitations
BEAD evaluates operational performance of a given design. It does not perform traffic simulation, detailed signal optimisation, or cost-benefit analysis. Results are indicative and should be validated against field surveys for live corridors.
2. Getting Started
2.1 System requirements
Any modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari — version 2020 or later). No internet connection, server, or plugins required after the HTML file is saved locally.
2.2 Opening the tool
Double-click bead-tool.html to open it in your default browser. All data is held in memory for the session; it is not saved automatically. Use the Export CSV button on the Results page to save your results.
2.3 Navigation overview
The tool is a 4-step wizard:
- Step 1 — Corridor Info: Name the corridor, set its length and global defaults.
- Step 2 — Segment Details: Divide the corridor into homogeneous segments and define their basic properties.
- Step 3 — Segment Inputs: For each segment, complete Forms 3–6 covering station design, junction parameters, pedestrian access, and bus operations.
- Step 4 — Results: View the LOS grades, overall score, segment matrix, and improvement notes.
Click any step tab in the top bar to navigate. Completed steps show a ✓ mark.
2.4 Tooltips
Every input field has a hover tooltip. Move your cursor over any field label or input to see a brief description and the relevant manual section reference (shown as an orange badge, e.g. §3.1).
3. Step 1 — Corridor Information
3.1 Corridor identification
These fields identify the corridor for reporting purposes only; they do not affect calculations.
- City Name — Name of the city where the corridor is located.
- Corridor Name — Name or code of the BRT corridor (e.g., "North–South Trunk").
- Start Point — Name or description of the corridor's northern/western terminus.
- End Point — Name or description of the corridor's southern/eastern terminus.
3.2 Corridor parameters
- Corridor Length (km) — Physical length from first to last bus stop. Range: 2.5–40 km.
- Average Trip Length in City (km) — Average motorised trip length in the city (not just the BRT corridor). This controls how much of a typical journey is on the BRT corridor vs. feeder/access legs. Must be between 2.5 and 40 km. Use census or household survey data; in the absence of data, use 0.7 × corridor length as an estimate.
- Number of Segments — Divide the corridor into 1–20 homogeneous segments. Each segment should have uniform station type, bus lane type, and land use. A change in any of these typically warrants a new segment.
- Operation Type — Closed system: all buses run the full corridor, no branching (e.g., Bogotá TransMilenio trunk). Open system: buses from outside the corridor enter/exit the dedicated lane (e.g., mixed trunk-feeder operations). This affects capacity, wait time, and passenger delay calculations.
4. Default Engineering Parameters
These are system-wide constants used throughout all calculations. They are pre-loaded with BEAD calibrated defaults derived from Indian BRT field studies. Override them only if you have site-specific data.
⚠ Changes to defaults affect all segments simultaneously. Segment-specific speed overrides are available in Step 2.
4.1 Bus dynamics
- (a) Average Bus Acceleration (m/s²) — Typical acceleration from rest to operating speed. Default: 0.21 m/s².
- (b) Average Bus Deceleration (m/s²) — Typical deceleration to stop. Default: 0.28 m/s².
- (c) Reaction Delay at Intersection (sec) — Time between green signal and first bus movement. Default: 2 sec.
4.2 Speed settings
- (d) Speed Limit for Buses (km/hr) — Design operating speed of buses on the BRT lane. Default: 55 km/hr. Typical range: 30–80 km/hr.
- (w) Avg Motor Vehicle Speed in City (km/hr) — Average speed of private motor vehicles in the city, used for speed ratio calculations. Default: 24 km/hr.
4.3 Bus capacities and lengths
| Bus Type | Capacity (pax) | Length (m) | Notes |
|---|
| (m) Minibus | 40 | 8 | Small feeder / paratransit-style |
| (n) Urban Bus | 80 | 12 | Standard 12m low-floor bus |
| (o) Articulated | 110 | 17 | 18m articulated low-floor |
| (p) Bi-Articulated | 160 | 27 | 24m bi-artic, highest-capacity |
4.4 Pedestrian parameters
- (e) Walking Speed (m/s) — Average pedestrian walking speed. Default: 1.15 m/s.
- (f–h) Level Differences (m) — Vertical height change for half-subway, full subway, and FOB crossings. Used in pedestrian delay calculations.
- (i–k) Climb Rates (m/s) — Effective vertical climb speed for escalator, ramp, and stair access. Stair rate is for vertical height gain.
4.5 Cross-road parameters
- (u) Avg Cross Road Width (m) — Used in pedestrian delay calculations for uncontrolled crossings.
- (v) Avg Delay to Find Gap for Crossing (sec) — Average gap-finding delay for pedestrians at uncontrolled crossings. Default: 30 sec.
4.6 System parameters
- (x) Avg Distance to Private Vehicle Parking (m) — Used to estimate private vehicle door-to-door time for speed ratio comparison. Default: 50 m.
- (y) Total Distinct Routes (Open System) — Number of different bus routes using the corridor (open systems only). Affects headway and wait time calculations.
- (z) Avg Waiting Time — Mixed (sec) — Average wait time at a bus stop outside the BRT corridor in mixed traffic conditions.
- (aa) Avg Waiting Time — Corridor (sec) — Average wait time at a BRT corridor station. Usually calculated automatically from headway; override only if known from field data.
- (y) Headway Deviation — Mixed / Dedicated — Fraction representing variation in bus arrival intervals. Mixed traffic: 0.50 (50% irregular). Dedicated lane: 0.05 (near-clockwork).
4.7 Signal timing defaults
- Green Phase — Without/With Turning (fraction) — Proportion of signal cycle allocated to straight-ahead and turning buses respectively. Default: 0.25 straight, 0.08 turning.
- Signal Cycle Lengths (sec) — Minimum and maximum desirable signal cycle durations for different intersection configurations. Used when no site-specific cycle length is entered in Form 4.
4.8 Advanced defaults
- Intersection Width (m) — Width of the junction (stop-line to stop-line). Used in far-side station traversal time. Default: 50 m.
- Ratio of Turning Buses — Fraction of buses that turn at intersections. Default: 0 for closed systems.
- Bus Priority Signal Inefficiency — Fraction of priority phase wasted due to implementation imperfection. Default: 0.10 (10%).
- Feeder Station Distance (m) — Average distance of feeder bus stops from the BRT corridor. Default: 150 m.
- Ramp Gradient — Grade of pedestrian ramps at grade-separated crossings. Default: 1:8.
- Time Lost per Boarding Step (sec) — Extra boarding delay caused by each boarding step (above level). Default: 0.84 sec/step.
- Avg Dwell Time — Level Boarding (sec) — Base dwell time for a bus with level boarding (no steps). Default: 11 sec.
5. Step 2 — Segment Definition
5.1 What is a segment?
A segment is a contiguous section of the corridor with uniform physical design. The corridor is divided into segments so that each can be characterised independently. Typical reasons to create a new segment include:
- Change in bus lane type (e.g., central segregated → standalone)
- Change in station type (junction → midblock)
- Change in land use character (commercial CBD → residential)
- Different intersection density or ROW width
For a simple uniform corridor, one segment is sufficient.
5.2 Segment length table
After setting the number of segments in Step 1, a table appears. Enter the length of each segment in km. Lengths must sum to the total corridor length. A running total and remaining-length indicator assist you.
5.3 Segment-level fields
- Station Type — Junction: station is at or within 80 m of a signalised intersection. Midblock: station is more than 80 m from any intersection. Roundabout: station is at a roundabout junction. This determines which signal delay formulae are applied.
- Bus Lane Location & Type — Central Segregated: physically separated median lane — highest performance. Edge Segregated: kerb-side dedicated lane with physical separation. Unsegregated: bus shares lane with mixed traffic — lowest performance. Standalone: physically separate BRT roadway, not within a highway corridor.
- Right of Way (ROW) Width (m) — Total usable carriageway width. ROW below 24 m is typically only viable for standalone bus lanes.
- Avg Distance Between Intersections (m) — Average spacing between consecutive bus stops (intersections), i.e. station spacing. Optimum range for BRT: 550–750 m. Shorter spacing increases delay; longer increases walking distance.
- Motor Vehicle Queue Length (m) — Maximum queue length of motor vehicles at intersections. Used to check feasibility of bus priority signal implementation.
- Land Use along Segment — High Catchment: dense mixed-use, commercial, or transit-oriented development with good pedestrian access. Other: residential, industrial, or low-density areas. Affects trip proportion assumptions (how many passengers walk to the corridor vs. use feeders).
- Ratio of Transfer Stations (Closed System) — Proportion of stations that serve as interchange points between BRT routes. Only for closed systems.
- BRT Bus Speed Limit / MV Speed / Routes (Segment Override) — Leave blank to use the corridor-wide defaults from Step 1. Enter values here to override for this specific segment only.
6. Form 3 — Station & Crossing Design
Accessed via the Form 3 tab within each segment accordion in Step 3.
6.1 Station platform geometry
- Station Type (Staggered / Common) — Staggered: separate platforms for each direction of travel, offset from each other (one on each side of the junction or each side of the median). Common (Island): a single central platform serves buses in both directions. Common stations require pedestrians to cross the carriageway only once.
- Overtaking Lanes for Buses? — If Yes, an additional bypass lane allows express buses to pass stationary boarding buses. Overtaking lanes significantly increase capacity at stations with high frequencies. Required if simultaneous buses > 1 and single-lane station is used.
- Station Location in Bus Way (Near-side / Far-side) — Near-side: station is before the intersection stop line (in the direction of travel). Buses must stop, board, then proceed through the signal. Far-side: station is after the intersection — buses pass through the signal first, then stop. Far-side stations eliminate the double stop-and-go but add junction traversal delay.
- Station Crossing Alignment — How pedestrians cross the carriageway to reach the station platform: At-grade (signalised): surface zebra/pelican crossing. Half Subway: partial underground crossing. Full Subway: complete underpass. FOB (Foot Over Bridge): overhead pedestrian bridge. Grade-separated crossings eliminate crossing delay but add vertical travel time.
- Boarding Level — Level (floor-height): platform height matches bus floor — zero boarding steps, fastest boarding. Low Step (1 step): one step between platform and bus floor. Standard Step (2 steps): conventional kerbside boarding. Each step adds approximately 0.84 sec per dwell cycle.
- Fare Collection — Off-board: fare paid at station entry gates before boarding (POP/AFC). Eliminates fare delay at bus doors, significantly faster boarding. On-board: fare paid to driver/validator at bus door. Adds per-passenger delay.
6.2 Distance from Stop Line (m)
For near-side stations: distance from the front edge of the first bus at the station to the stop line. For far-side stations: distance from the rear edge of the last bus to the stop line. Standard value: 26 m. Larger values increase pedestrian walking distance to the platform.
7. Form 4 — Junction Design
Accessed via the Form 4 tab within each segment accordion in Step 3.
For Midblock station segments, a second set of junction parameters appears (the midblock intersection between stations). Complete both sets.
7.1 Signal parameters
- Signal Cycle Length (sec) — Total signal cycle duration at the junction adjacent to the station. For grade-separated junctions, enter 60 (or leave blank). Typical range: 60–150 sec. Longer cycles increase average signal delay.
- Grade-Separated Intersection? — If Yes, the junction is flyover/underpass — buses face no signal delay. Station delay calculation switches to dwell + accel/decel only.
- Bus Turning at Intersection? — Whether BRT buses turn at this junction. Select No for most closed-system segments. Turning buses face additional delay and capacity loss.
- Traffic Turning Movements? — Whether general motor vehicles turn at this junction. Affects green phase distribution and pedestrian phasing.
- Intersection Type — 2-arm (T-junction or crossroads with one closed arm), 3-arm (T-junction), or 4-arm (crossroads). Determines minimum/maximum signal cycle and phase structure.
- Bus Priority Signal? — If Yes, the signal controller gives extended or early green to approaching buses, reducing average signal delay by approximately 30–50%. Cannot be selected if buses are in mixed traffic or if grade-separated.
- Dedicated Pedestrian Green Phase? — An all-red phase for vehicles during which pedestrians can cross in all directions. Increases pedestrian safety but adds to vehicle/bus signal delay.
7.2 Midblock junction parameters
Appears only when Station Type = Midblock. A midblock station has an additional signalised intersection between stations (not co-located with the station). Complete the same signal parameters for this intermediate junction.
8. Form 5 — Pedestrian Access
Accessed via the Form 5 tab within each segment accordion in Step 3.
These fields define how pedestrians access the BRT station platform, which directly affects the Total Passenger Delay and Walking Distance indicators.
- No. of Accesses to Station — Number of entry/exit points to the station. More accesses reduce average walking distance to reach the platform and improve the barrier-free score. Minimum recommended: 2 (one per end of platform).
- Primary Pedestrian Access Type — At-grade: direct surface path. Half Subway: partial underpass (level change ~1.5 m). Full Subway: full underpass (~3 m level change). FOB: overhead bridge (~7 m level change). The primary type determines the calculation of vertical climb delay. Elevators are mandatory for accessibility but are not used as the primary access type due to lower pedestrian throughput.
Pedestrian access type in Form 5 applies to the access structure, while Station Crossing Alignment in Form 3 applies to how pedestrians cross the carriageway. Both must be consistent.
9. Form 6 — Bus Operations
Accessed via the Form 6 tab within each segment accordion in Step 3.
9.1 Bus fleet
- Bus Type — Select the bus type operating on this segment: Minibus (8 m, 40 pax), Urban Bus (12 m, 80 pax), Articulated (17 m, 110 pax), or Bi-Articulated (27 m, 160 pax). The type determines station length, platform length, and PPHPD capacity. Use articulated or bi-articulated for high-demand urban corridors.
- No. of Simultaneous Buses — Number of buses that can board/alight simultaneously at the station per direction. 1 = single-berth station; 2 = two-berth (tandem) station. Higher values increase capacity but require longer platforms. If overtaking lanes are present, this can be 2 even with a single-berth platform.
- Bus Capacity (pax) — Override the default capacity for the selected bus type. Leave blank to use the default from Step 1 settings.
- Bus Length (m) — Override the default bus length. Leave blank to use the default.
10. Running Calculations & Interpreting Results
10.1 Running the analysis
After completing all segment forms (Forms 3–6 for every segment), click "Run BEAD Analysis". The tool validates inputs and calculates all indicators. If any required field is missing, an alert will indicate which segment and form needs attention.
10.2 Overall corridor score (0–100)
The overall score is a weighted sum of the LOS scores of all ten indicators, averaged across segments by length. The weights reflect the relative importance of each indicator in the BEAD framework:
| Indicator | Weight |
|---|
| Total Passenger Delay | 22% |
| Passenger Journey Speed | 16% |
| Speed Ratio vs Private Vehicle | 13% |
| Speed Ratio vs Mixed Bus | 11% |
| Barrier-Free Score | 9% |
| Walking Distance | 10% |
| Corridor Capacity (PPHPD) | 10% |
| Operational Bus Speed | 3% |
| Bus Delay per Station | 2% |
| Peak Bus Speed (safety) | 4% |
Score interpretation: 81–100: Ideal · 70–80: Good · 60–69: Average · 50–59: Below Average · Below 50: Poor
10.3 LOS summary table
Shows the corridor-average value and LOS letter grade for each of the ten indicators. Arrows (↑/↓) indicate whether increasing or decreasing the value improves performance.
10.4 Segment matrix
A table showing all ten indicator values for each individual segment, with colour-coded LOS badges. The bottom row shows each segment's individual score out of 100. Segments with significantly lower scores identify design weaknesses in specific parts of the corridor.
10.5 Improvement recommendations
Any indicator at LOS C or below is listed with a specific design recommendation. Address the highest-weighted indicators (Passenger Delay, Journey Speed, Speed Ratios) first for the greatest score improvement.
11. Level of Service Reference
| LOS | Score | Description |
|---|
| A | 1.0 | Ideal — best achievable performance |
| B | 0.8 | Good — above standard performance |
| C | 0.6 | Fair — meets minimum standards |
| D | 0.4 | Poor — below standard, improvement needed |
| E | 0.2 | Very Poor — significant deficiencies |
| F | 0.0 | Unacceptable — fails minimum performance |
11.1 Operational Bus Speed (km/hr) — LOS A ≥ 23
Average speed of BRT buses on the corridor, accounting for signal delay, dwell time, and accel/decel losses. Higher is better. Influenced primarily by signal cycle length, bus priority, and grade separation.
11.2 Passenger Journey Speed (km/hr) — LOS A ≥ 14
Average speed of a BRT user from their trip origin to destination, including walking to the station, waiting, riding, and walking from the station. Influenced by station access quality, headway, and operational speed.
11.3 Peak Bus Speed (km/hr) — LOS A ≤ 40
The maximum permitted bus speed on the corridor. This is a safety indicator — lower speeds are safer for pedestrians and cross-traffic. LOS A = 40 km/hr or less. High-speed corridors score lower on this indicator.
11.4 Bus Delay per Station (sec) — LOS A ≤ 30
Average time a bus loses at each station stop (signal wait + dwell + acceleration/deceleration losses). Dominated by signal cycle length and dwell time. Reduced by bus priority signals, grade separation, and off-board fare collection.
11.5 Total Passenger Delay (sec) — LOS A ≤ 250
Total delay a passenger experiences per trip: pedestrian crossing delay, fare payment delay, platform walking, and waiting. Reduced by grade-separated crossings, off-board fare collection, and higher bus frequency.
11.6 Walking Distance — Return Trip (m) — LOS A ≤ 900
Total walking distance for a complete return journey (both trips), including station access, platform walking, and feeder/transfer walking. Reduced by closer station spacing, more station accesses, and better pedestrian connectivity.
11.7 Speed Ratio vs Private Vehicle — LOS A ≥ 1.1
Ratio of BRT corridor operational speed to average motor vehicle speed. Values ≥ 1.0 mean BRT is as fast as driving. Achieved through grade separation, bus priority, and high speed limits.
11.8 Speed Ratio vs Mixed Bus — LOS A ≥ 1.5
Ratio of BRT corridor speed to mixed-traffic bus speed. Values ≥ 1.5 mean BRT is 50% faster than a regular bus on the same route. Driven primarily by lane segregation quality.
11.9 Barrier-Free Score (0–1) — LOS A = 1.0
Composite accessibility score based on: low-floor buses (1 = low-floor, 0 = high-floor), level boarding (no steps), closed system, and absence of turning bus traffic conflicts. A score of 1.0 requires: low-floor bus + level boarding + closed system + no turning buses.
11.10 Corridor Capacity (PPHPD) — LOS A ≥ 20,000
Passengers per hour per direction. Product of bus throughput per hour and bus capacity. Determined by signal cycle length, dwell time, and bus type. Articulated and bi-articulated buses significantly increase this indicator.
12. Exporting Data
Click the Export CSV button on the Results page to download a comma-separated file containing:
- Corridor identification and overall score
- Per-indicator corridor average values and LOS grades
- Per-segment values for all ten indicators
The CSV can be opened in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application for further analysis or reporting.
⚠ Data is not automatically saved between browser sessions. Always export before closing the browser tab.
13. Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| BRT | Bus Rapid Transit — a high-quality, bus-based transit system with dedicated infrastructure |
| BEAD | BRT Evaluation and Design Tool — this software |
| LOS | Level of Service — A–F grading of performance |
| PPHPD | Passengers Per Hour Per Direction — corridor capacity metric |
| ROW | Right of Way — total width of the road corridor |
| Near-side | Station located before (upstream of) the intersection |
| Far-side | Station located after (downstream of) the intersection |
| Grade separation | Physical separation of conflicting traffic streams by level (flyover/underpass) |
| Dwell time | Time a bus spends stationary at a station while passengers board/alight |
| FOB | Foot Over Bridge — elevated pedestrian crossing structure |
| Off-board fare | Fare paid at station entry, not on the bus |
| Closed system | BRT where buses operate exclusively on the dedicated corridor |
| Open system | BRT where buses may branch onto regular roads at corridor ends |
| Overtaking lane | Extra lane at a station allowing express buses to bypass boarding buses |
| Staggered station | Separate platforms for each direction, offset from each other |
| Common / Island station | Single central platform serving both directions of travel |
14. Tips & Common Errors
14.1 Common input errors
- Segment lengths don't sum to corridor length — Check the running total shown in the segment table. Adjust the last segment to absorb rounding differences.
- Bus turning = Yes in closed system — In a closed system all buses run end-to-end; turning buses would leave the system. Set Bus Turning = No for closed system segments.
- Bus priority selected with unsegregated lanes — Bus priority signals require that buses can be detected separately from mixed traffic. Not applicable for unsegregated lanes.
- Very short intersection spacing (< 300 m) — A warning appears because short spacings make BRT operations difficult. Consider combining segments or redesigning the corridor.
- ROW < 24 m with central/edge segregated lanes — Central segregated lanes require minimum ~28–30 m ROW. Use standalone or unsegregated lane type for narrow ROW.
14.2 Improving the score
Focus on the highest-weighted indicators. The single biggest improvement levers are:
- Reduce Total Passenger Delay (22% weight) — Install grade-separated crossings, off-board fare collection, and increase bus frequency.
- Increase Passenger Journey Speed (16% weight) — Reduce station spacing, improve feeder connectivity, increase operational speed.
- Improve Speed Ratio vs Private Vehicle (13% weight) — Grade-separate key intersections, install bus priority signals, increase speed limit.
- Improve Speed Ratio vs Mixed Bus (11% weight) — Upgrade to physically segregated or standalone bus lanes.
14.3 Using segment overrides
Segment-level speed and route overrides (Step 2, bottom of the segment row) allow modelling corridors where BRT bus speed limits vary by section — e.g., a faster outer section and a slower inner city section. Leave these blank to use the global defaults.
