Jaime Lerner

Curitiba opened its first express-bus corridors in 1974 during Lerner's first mayoral term. Dedicated road space made buses a structural part of the city's development plan, rather than an afterthought to car traffic. He supplied political backing while the IPPUC planning institute and transport teams developed the system. Later integration and station designs arrived in stages, so the mature Curitiba model should not all be attributed to that opening year.