Guided Busway

[Chippy_Tea]

I never knew such things existed,

The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway - The longest in the world!!
What an interesting piece of infrastructure this is.

 

[Laner]

They have one running from Leigh to Manchester, tis a good thing in my opinion.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I wonder why they reserve them for only buses and don't open them up to other traffic when the bus isn't on it.

Kind of like a road

 

[Laner]

I wonder why they reserve them for only buses and don't open them up to other traffic when the bus isn't on it.

Kind of like a road

They wouldn’t work if they did that. The idea is to remove them from traffic and improve public transport performance in meeting the timetable.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I use the Leigh to manc one 2 minutes to the station then loads of pubs in manc

 

[Laner]

I use the Leigh to manc one 2 minutes to the station then loads of pubs in manc

I reckon it should be extended to run Liverpool to Manchester

 

[Agentgonzo]

I reckon it should be extended to run Liverpool to Manchester

If they made the roads out of steel, the buses could go faster and smoother. And have more carriages on them

 

[Laner]

If they made the roads out of steel, the buses could go faster and smoother. And have more carriages on them

Ah but would they be running?

 

[Agentgonzo]

Ah but would they be running?

Of course... just not on the advertised schedule

 

[Appleton Brews]

Isn’t a bus on tracks a tram?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Isn’t a bus on tracks a tram?

No a tram cannot travel on a normal road.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I have used used ours a lot, if i go the 12 miles to manc by car it can take upwards of an hour depending on time of day and then you have to park and pay, the bus takes 1/2 an hour tops outside rush hour, so 11-0-clock bus afternoon in some bars and cafes then home for tea fantastic, to get to liverpool it's Newton rail station to lime street

 

[Stu]

Had them in Luton for some years. Although I didn't frequent Luton that much, when I lived in Bedfordshire, I used to drive past them.

They're quite intriguing. They're like a normal bus with sensors. So they can drive off the guided busway.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

They're like a normal bus with sensors. So they can drive off the guided busway.

The ones in the OP have wheels -

 

[Stu]

The ones in the OP have wheels -


View attachment 109754

Yup. Exactly like that. The rubber bits are sensors to keep the bus within the rails.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Do they have drivers in them? Or are they autonomous?

 

[Rodcx500z]

They have drivers

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Yup. Exactly like that. The rubber bits are sensors to keep the bus within the rails.

There must be different types as the ones i read about have small wheels to keep them in position.

How are guided buses guided?​

Kerb guided buses are normal, every day buses with a driver at the wheel. What makes them different is small guide wheels attached to the front wheels of the bus, that run along the vertical face of kerbs on a purpose built track called a guideway. The guide wheels steer the bus whilst it’s in the guideway. Guideways can be used for part or all of a bus route. Guided buses can be either low-speed operations, introduced to relieve congestion in busy towns, or high-speed operations, which provide ‘light rapid transit’ (LRT) over longer distances. Other guided bus technology uses remote guidance by radio, electro-magnetic or optical systems, but Britpave, and this website, is concerned with kerb guided bus systems, and the role of slip-forming in constructing the guideways.