Public transport in low-income Asian (LIA) cities fails to meet people¿s mobility needs
generates high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and worsens social exclusion. Following
successful Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects in Bogota and Curitibá LIA countries promoted BRT
in their large to medium-sized cities. However the political and institutional structure
distinctive to LIA cities makes their implementation difficult. This book investigates policy
tensions by examining the planning and attempted implementation of BRT projects taking Bandung
and Surabaya in Indonesia as case studies. It analyses BRT to understand how power and
communication gaps in institutional relationships between different actors at multiple levels
of governance create conflict and concludes that top-down policies and funding mechanisms
cause tension in intergovernmental relationships. It also found that BRT solutions generated
socio-political tension arising from the socio-economic realities and local political dynamics
that shaped city structure mobility patterns and capacity in resolving conflicts. The
superimposed BRT solution generated discursive tension because conflicting discourses were not
aligned with local economic social and environmental issues. The book highlights the need to
take into consideration the vital role of local social and political actors institutions and
planning processes as they respond to and shape policies that are imposed by higher levels.
