GUIDED BUS: A PRACTICAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF URBAN CONGESTION

In recent years, in many towns and cities in the United Kingdom, a great deal of work has been undertaken to investigate the scope for Light Rail systems to provide attractive facilities capable of encouraging car travellers to switch to public transport. Some of the more promising schemes in the larger urban centres will follow Manchester and Sheffield and progress beyond the planning stage. In the majority of cases the prospects for early implementation are slight. This paper examines the potential for a lower-cost bus-based solution capable of earlier implementation or making use of segregated alignments in advance of an eventual Light Rail scheme. Consideration is given to the role of the bus in the public transport hierarchy and, in particular, to the circumstances in which Guided Bus may be a more appropriate solution than Light Rail. The scope for bus-based solutions is illustrated by reference to feasibility studies in Glasgow and Cambridge where Guided Bus schemes have been developed for comparison with Light Rail proposals. Consideration is given to the design requirements for Guided Bus operation on segregated off-street alignments, on two-way or tidal guideways in central reservations or at kerb edge, and on-street using bus lanes and other priority measures. Opportunities and difficulties in converting disused rail alignments to guideway are detailed. Speedy and comfortable transit is essential to secure the desired objective of attracting the car user. In scheme design and vehicle specification, emphasis must be placed on encouraging the perception of a quality system. A Guided Bus route needs priority measures only where there is a need to bypass congestion. Unlike Light Rail, infrastructure is therefore not continuous. This allows available resources to be concentrated to provide more radical, effective and expensive solutions at critical points. In conclusion, an assessment is made of the impact of Guided Bus in central areas where operational requirements must be reconciled with the needs of pedestrians and local circulating traffic, and the impact on townscape and the environment. (A) For the covering abstract of the seminar see IRRD 859670.