A New Approach to Urban Traffic Congestion: BT Proposes Nonstop, High-Speed, High-Capacity Transit
Oct. 23, 2026 09:54
Future Transportation
Conceptual layout connecting BT’s mainline, branch routes, and passenger terminals (Source: related research paper, DOI: 10.1016/j.samod.2026.100072)
The question behind BT is straightforward: must urban travel continue to involve waiting at traffic signals and in congestion, while public transport repeatedly slows, stops, and starts? BT seeks to address this challenge by separating passenger access points from the mainline used by vehicles moving at speed. Under the concept, vehicles would not stop on the mainline to pick up or drop off passengers. Instead, boarding and alighting would take place at terminals connected to branches that diverge from the mainline.
The BT network features a vertically separated layout, with vehicles traveling in opposite directions on one-way guideways at upper and lower levels. This arrangement is intended to reduce crossing movements and allow compact grade-separated interchanges, making it possible to examine installation options in dense urban areas where ground space is limited. The mainline would support continuous travel, while branch routes would handle vehicle entry and exit as well as passenger boarding and alighting. Depending on local conditions, terminals could be considered near major destinations, building entrances, or elevators and other convenient access points.
This division of functions is central to BT. Rather than simply adding semi-autonomous vehicles to ordinary roads, the concept integrates dedicated infrastructure, vehicle operations, and traffic control into one system. Using standardized vehicle specifications, a central control system would coordinate vehicle spacing and the timing of entry and merging to help maintain mainline flow. Dedicated passages are intended to reduce interference from general traffic, pedestrians, and roadside obstacles, while avoiding repeated interruptions to mainline operations caused by passenger stops.
The paper published in 2026 calculated BT’s theoretical passenger capacity under several operating assumptions. If three lanes each carried two vehicles per second, with five passengers per vehicle, the calculation would be: three lanes × five passengers per vehicle × two vehicles per second per lane × 3,600 seconds per hour. This yields a theoretical capacity of 108,000 passengers per hour per direction. With the same vehicle flow but 10 passengers per vehicle, the calculated capacity rises to 216,000 passengers per hour per direction; with 20 passengers per vehicle, it reaches 432,000.
The paper also presents a scenario with a higher assumed capacity. With three lanes, 20 passengers per vehicle, and three vehicles per second per lane, the theoretical result is 648,000 passengers per hour per direction. This scenario assumes a 10-meter vehicle spacing and a speed of 30 meters per second (108 km/h). These figures are theoretical calculations based on specified assumptions, not results demonstrated in actual operations.
These calculations illustrate that BT’s potential capacity could depend not only on the number of lanes but also on the number of seats per vehicle and the rate of vehicle flow. A service in which all passengers travel seated is another feature the concept is designed to support. The paper analyzes continuous-flow operation at 108 km/h in its basic assessment and assumes a speed of 162 km/h in a separate illustrative network design for Manhattan.
Artificial intelligence is presented as a potential support for BT’s centralized control system. It could be used to forecast passenger demand by time of day, dispatch vehicles, coordinate spacing and merging, and respond to incidents or service disruptions. In a network linking many branches and terminals, adjusting vehicle flows as demand changes would be important. BT’s distinguishing feature, however, is not artificial intelligence alone, but the combination of dedicated infrastructure, a branching network, standardized vehicles, and centralized control. AI could serve as a supporting tool to improve the operating efficiency of this architecture.
Alongside the construction of new dedicated facilities, BT proposes examining whether existing underground transport infrastructure could be adapted. Depending on their structure, condition, and safety requirements, older subway or light-rail tunnels, as well as sections requiring additional capacity, could be assessed for potential modification. If existing facilities can be reused, there may be opportunities to reduce the scope and duration of construction compared with building an entirely new subway line. Actual feasibility and expected savings in cost or time remain to be assessed.
BT Corp. stated that advancing the concept into a practical transportation system would require collaborative research and technical assessment involving researchers, companies, engineers, and public agencies in transportation, civil engineering, architecture, automotive technology, and artificial intelligence. BT is intended to go beyond proposing a new type of vehicle or road: it approaches urban infrastructure, passenger access, and vehicle flow as parts of an integrated system.
If future research and real-world trials establish its feasibility, the concept could offer another way to use limited urban space more efficiently and reduce the time people lose to congestion.
The related paper was published in Sustainability Analytics and Modeling. Its DOI is https://doi.org/10.1016/j.samod.2026.100072. Further information is available at BT’s website, www.biti.run, and an introductory video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/hVd0smhJWDU. For inquiries, contact btcom@naver.com.
About BT Corp.
BT Corp., based in Gwangju, South Korea, develops Branch Transit (BT), a high-capacity urban transit system combining dedicated guideways, semi-autonomous vehicles, and AI-powered traffic control. Its design enables fast, frequent, nonstop travel while reducing traffic interference. Applications include new infrastructure and subway retrofitting. The company promotes open research, global collaboration, and standardization.
Website: http://www.biti.run
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Taejin Park
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