Buses World News

BUS LANES * USA: TESTED in DC

* D.C. - Will test bus-only lanes on a short stretch of Georgia Avenue

-- New dedicated bus lanes debut next week in a four-block stretch of Georgia Avenue NW, in what would be the District’s first enforceable bus lanes in decades... Although it’s a short third-of-a-mile stretch of transit lane, officials say it should help speed up bus travel in what currently is a clogged portion of the route served by Metrobus routes... The 70s line is one of the city’s busiest, carrying about 20,000 passengers from downtown Washington to downtown Silver Spring. Buses in the corridor have high ridership throughout the day. Now the buses will have their own lane from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday trough Saturday, DDOT said... The bus lanes pilot on Georgia Avenue answers growing calls for prioritizing bus travel in some of the region’s busiest corridors where buses carry a substantial number of commuters yet are often stuck behind the general traffic. Metro, an active advocate for bus lanes, hasn’t had many dedicated lanes since most of the region’s more than 60 miles of bus lanes faded into history after the arrival of Metrorail in the 1970s. The agency currently runs buses on transit-only lanes in Alexandria... D.C. transportation officials say they hope to use the Georgia Avenue pilot as testing ground for larger future projects. DDOT also is planning to install rush-hour bus lanes along 16th Street NW...
(Photo courtesy of Metro: Bus Lane on 14th Street next to the Mall in the early 1970s) -- Washington, DC, USA - The Washington Post, by Luz Lazo - April 5, 2016

* Virginia - To help ease Va. 7 congestion, a plan for bus-only lanes

-- New buses that can zip past traffic in their own lanes are the recommended way to help Northern Virginians navigate a congested Va. 7 between Tysons and Alexandria... The recommendation being presented Thursday is that buses would follow the Spring Hill Metro to Falls Church where the buses would then follow the red line to connect to East Falls Church, then continue to the Mark Center only, without continuing to either Van Dorn St. or King St. Metro stations... As presented, the proposed bus route is expected to draw 9,500 new transit riders each day, at a construction and related cost 70 percent less than light rail and operating costs about 40 percent lower than light rail... With bus-only lanes, like those that have opened along Route 1 between Arlington and Alexandria, buses would be able to bypass much of that traffic to speed up trips. That Metroway service is set to open additional bus-only lanes in Arlington on April 17...
(Image Courtesy of NVTC) -- Washington, DC, USA - WTOP, by Max Smith - April 6, 2016

Labels: bus lanes, bus rapid transit - BRT

BUS LANES * Dubai / UAE - Four central Dubai roads to have ones

Abu Dhabi,Dubai/UAE -The National, by Eugene Harnan -March 25, 2010: -- Motorists in Dubai will lose a lane on some of the city’s roads when dedicated bus and taxiways are introduced in May... The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is introducing the lanes on four roads in the city centre at a cost of Dh8.5 million (US$2.3m)... Signs will be visible on the four roads beforehand but the police will not enforce the new rules until May 15. Motorists who use a bus lane at any time of day will risk a Dh600 fine... The agency will take 16 buses off the roads after the lanes are in use because it expects the change to reduce congestion, said Mattar al Tayer, the RTA chairman and executive director... Dubai has 1,540 buses running on 119 routes and carrying 325,000 passengers on an average day. The RTA says there is a bus every 10 to 15 minutes at every stop. The agency wants 30 per cent of residents using public transport by 2020... (Photo by Jeffrey E Biteng / The National - The Roads and Transport Agency wants 30 per cent of Dubai’s population using public transport by 2020)

* Dubai / UAE - Special Bus Lanes Mean Fewer Traffic Snarls

Dubai,United Arab Emirates -The Khaleej Times, by Shafaat Ahmed -26 March 2010: ... True, there are genuine issues, but given the number of cars that ply on Dubai’s roads (Dubai has one of the highest per capita number of cars), the best infrastructure would be inadequate... The sooner many of us leave our cars at home and board public transport the better the situation will get. At least that’s what the RTA is suggesting.

RTA bus services at a glance

◆ Buses operating during peak hours: 1,080

◆ Number of routes: 119

◆ Annual ridership: 120m in 2009 compared to 107m in 2008,11.2 per cent increase

◆ Number of internal trips per year: 3 million

◆ Number of intercity trips per year: 362,000

◆ Coverage: 100 per cent of Central Business Districts, 75 per cent of suburban areas

In an attempt to drastically expand the use of public transport from a meagre six per cent to 30 per cent by 2020, the RTA is adopting various measures — some very practical and a few not so cool... By introducing toll on busy roads, increasing parking fees, launching the Metro and by introducing more buses as well as dedicated bus and taxi lanes, the RTA’s strategy of less carrot and more stick seems to be working... The various modes of the mass transit system — Dubai Metro, public buses, marine transport and taxis – together transported 288.777 million people in 2009, with a daily ridership of nearly a million people... Apart from saving a lot of time and enhancing the punctuality of buses, according to RTA calculations, the first phase of the project will save Dh104 million annually, which is otherwise spent in traffic snarls... (Photo by Juidin Bernarrd/KT: A dedicated lane for RTA buses on the Bur Dubai-Shindiga tunnel road.)

Labels: bus lanes

Bus Lanes * UK - Keep buses moving

Lauder,Berwickshire,Scotland,UK -The Scotsman (Edinburgh), by JOHN MILLIGAN-4 July 2008: -- With bus lanes proving so successful, buses might now be given some longitudinal priority where their timetables are wrecked by roadworks... I suggest, 50m ahead of a crucial roadworks, a sign that reads: "When the light is at red, all vehicles except buses wait here."... As soon as your queue is stopped by a red light, leaving the opposite lane empty until the other queue is started by a green light, buses can overtake and go to the front...

Labels: bus lanes

BUS LANES * Ireland - Dublin operating hours extension proposed

Dublin,Ireland -Busrage -18 June 2005: -- Dublin City Council, who are now very keen to appear active on the transport front in our fair city, are talking about extending bus lane operating hours from 7pm to 8pm... They are also talking about making the lanes active on Sundays in cases where they are not currently.. We love the idea, but why stop there? Why not make them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - with services using them to boot?... Oddly enough, a poster on boards.ie suggests that the plan will not be put into practice. Why? Because “they didn’t have enough information on traffic levels at 8pm”. We can thank our lucky stars that these muppets won’t be on the Dublin Transport Authority then...

Labels: bus lanes

BUS LANES * New Zealand - Motorway ones, off beaten track for tourists

Marilyn Squire,Takapuna,New Zealand -The New Zealand Herald, by Phoebe Falconer -May 01, 2008: -- I was on the pedestrian bridge crossing from Akoranga bus station to the AUT campus when I noticed three tour company buses in the southbound motorway lanes. This was 8am on a weekday, and the traffic was bumper to bumper. I was curious as to why these buses were not using bus lanes, as surely it would have been much quicker. Is it not permitted for tour buses to use bus lanes, even if they are full of passengers? ... (Photo by Paul Estcourt - Tourist coaches don't have a ticket to ride in the fast lane)

Labels: bus lanes

New busway * N. Zealand - A hit but numbers down elsewhere

Auckland,New Zealand -The New Zealand Herald, by Mathew Dearnaley -March 20, 2008: -- Spectacular passenger growth spurred by Auckland's $300 million Northern Busway has been overshadowed by a patronage decline elsewhere... The Auckland Regional Transport Authority yesterday reported that more than 80,000 passengers caught Northern Express buses last month - the first in which the two-lane dedicated busway operated in both directions with all four of its stations feeding suburban services into it... (Photo / Brett Phibbs - Passenger numbers on the Northern Express are up; not so for the rest of Auckland's buses)

Labels: bus lanes

* New Zealand - Bus lanes give way to walkers

Proposed bus lanes on a busy strip of road have been refined following concerns about pedestrian safety

Auckland,New Zealand -The Auckland/stuff.co.nz, by JUSTINE GLUCINA -14 September 2007: -- Out of the 2000 brochures hand-delivered to properties along a 5km stretch on Remuera and St Johns roads, 100 replies were received during a five-week feedback period... Half opposed the bus lanes, 24 percent were in support and endorsed passenger transport as a viable alternative to the private car, while 26 percent were neutral...(Picture from showbus.co.uk: Howick & Eastern MAN 58 is seen in Auckland Bus Station in compnay with two Stagecoach Auckland MANs. )

Labels: bus lanes

Bus Lane * New Zealand - Green light for

Wellington,New Zealand -The Dominion Post, by DAVID DICKENS -13 April 200: -- The first stage of a $16 million bus lane policy that will strip residents of their rights to park cars on busy thoroughfares has been approved by Wellington City Council... Council officers now have the authority to develop the plan to turn roadside car parks into 40 kilometres of peak-hour bus lanes on the main roads in city suburbs from Ngauranga Gorge to Island Bay... Mayor Kerry Prendergast urged councillors at yesterday's strategy and policy committee meeting not to "falter" on the bus lanes scheme...

Labels: bus lanes