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Guided buses arebuses capable of being steered by external means, usually on adedicated track orroll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance ofschedules even duringrush hours. Unlikerailbuses,trolleybuses orrubber-tyred trams, for part of their routes guided buses are able to share road space with general traffic along conventional roads, or with conventional buses on standardbus lanes. Guidance systems can be physical, such askerbs orguide bars, orremote, such as optical or radio guidance.
A guided bus line can be categorised asbus rapid transit and may bearticulated bus andbi-articulated bus, allowing more passengers, but not as many aslight rail ortrams, which are not constrained to a regulated maximum size in order to freely navigate public roads.
The kerb-guided bus (KGB) guidance mechanism is a development of the earlyflangeways, pre-dating railways. TheGloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad[1]of 1809 therefore has a claim to be the earliest guided busway. There were earlier flangeways, but they did not carry passengers.[2][3] From 1861 to 1872 another system with one central grooved rail was used in the Manchester region.[4]
The first modern guided busway system was opened in 1980 inEssen, Germany. This was initially a demonstration track, but it was periodically expanded and is still in operation as of 2019.[5]
The first guided busway in the United Kingdom was inBirmingham, theTracline 65, 1,968 feet (600 m) long, experimentally in 1984.[6] It closed in 1987.[7]
Based on the experience in Essen, in 1986 theGovernment of South Australia opened theO-Bahn Busway inAdelaide.[8][9] This is a 12-kilometre guided busway with 2 interchanges along the route. (Klemzig Interchange &Paradise Interchange) before ending atTee Tree Plaza Interchange.[10]
InMannheim, Germany, from May 1992 to September 2005 a guided busway shared the tram alignment for a few hundred metres, which allowed buses to avoid a congested stretch of road where there was no space for an extra traffic lane. It was discontinued, as the majority of buses fitted with guide wheels were withdrawn for age reasons. There are no plans to convert newer buses.[11]
TheNagoya Guideway Bus opened in March 2001 and is the only guided bus line in Japan.
TheCambridgeshire Guided Busway betweenCambridge andSt Ives, at 25 kilometres (16 miles), is the world's longest guided busway. It opened on 7 August 2011.[12]
Between 2004 and 2008, a 1-mile (1.5 km) section of guided busway was in operation betweenStenhouse andBroomhouse in the west ofEdinburgh. The route was later converted for use byEdinburgh trams.[13][14]
Guided buses are to be distinguished from rubber-tyred systems that cannot run other than along a dedicated trackway, or under fixed overhead power lines.
Tram-like guided busway (rubber-tyred tram) systems include:
The first one is replaced with conventional trams and the other is being used as a trolleybus without the guide system.
Also called "trams on rubber tyres".
Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) is equipped with various optical and other types of sensors to allow the vehicle to automatically follow a route defined by a virtual track of markings on the roadway. A steering wheel also allows the driver to manually guide the vehicle, including around detours.Just like guided busway, electric buses use batteries to power their electric motors, and ebus combine elements of guided trolleybuses introduce new IMC (In-Motion Charging) technology, and wireless charging technology from embedded coils in roadways to automated depot charging pads as for "opportunity charging" electric buses while they are on the road, typically at bus stops or terminals, rather than solely at the depot,electric road system, is a road that provides electric power to vehicles as they travel on it, guided bi-articulated bus system for urban passenger transport.[15][16][17]
Optical guidance relies on the principles ofimage processing. A camera in the front of the vehicle scans the bands of paint on the ground representing the reference path. The signals obtained by the camera are sent to an onboard computer, which combines them with dynamic parameters of the vehicle (speed, yaw rate, wheel angle). The calculator transmits commands to the guidance motor located on thesteering column of the vehicle to control its path in line with that of the reference.
Optical guidance is a means of approachinglight rail performance with a fast and economical set-up. It enables buses to have precision-docking capabilities as efficient as those of light rail and reduces dwell times, making it possible to drive the vehicle to a precise point on a platform according to an accurate and reliable trajectory. The distance between the door steps and the platform is optimized not to exceed 5 centimetres (2 in). Level boarding is then possible, and there is no need to use a mobile ramp for people with mobility impairments.
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The Optiguide system, an optical guidance device developed bySiemens Transportation Systems, has been in revenue service since 2001 inRouen andNîmes (only at stations), France, and has been fitted totrolleybuses inCastellon (Spain) since June 2008 and will be in service on buses in the cities ofBologna (Italy).[18]
Another system was introduced in 2017. CalledAutonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) and developed byCRRC, it uses optical systems to follow markers on a roadway. The ART system is frequently referred to as a "trackless tram" and occasionally as an "optically-guided bus".[19]
Other experimental systems have non-mechanical guidance, such as sensors or magnets buried in the roadway.[20][21] In 2004,Stagecoach Group signed a deal withSiemens to develop an optical guidance system for use in the United Kingdom.[22]
Two bus lines inEindhoven, Netherlands, had usedPhileas vehicles. Line 401 from Eindhoven station to Eindhoven Airport is 9 km (5.6 mi) long, consists largely of concrete bus lanes and has about 30 raised stop platforms. Line 402 from Eindhoven station to Veldhoven branches off from line 401 and adds another 6 km (3.7 mi) of bus lanes and about 13 stops.[23] Years before the last trip of a Phileas bus in 2016, the regional authority for urban transport in the Eindhoven region (SRE) decided to discontinue the use of magnetic guidance system. In 2014 the manufacturer, APTS, was declared bankrupt.
TheDouai region in France is developing a public transport network usingAPTS Phileas technology and dedicated infrastructure. The length of the lines will be 34 km (21 mi). The first stage is a line of 12 km (7.5 mi) from Douai via Guesnain to Lewarde, passing close to Waziers, Sin-le-Noble, Dechy and Lambres-lez-Douai. 39 stop platforms will be provided with an average distance between the stops of 400 m (440 yd). A number of stops will be placed on the right-hand side of each lane. Central stops between both lanes will be placed at locations with limited space at the right side. This requires vehicle to have doors on both sides. The buses using Phileas technology were in use from 2008 to 2014.
On 3 November 2005, a licence and technology transfer agreement was signed between Advanced Public Transport Systems (APTS) and theKorea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI). KRRI was to develop the Korean version of Phileas vehicle by May 2011.[24]
Since June 2013, 3 miles (1.5 miles each way) of theEmerald Express (EmX) BRT in Eugene, Oregon, has used magnetic guidance in revenue service on an especially curvy section of the route that also entails small radius S-curves required for docking. The driver controls braking and acceleration.[25]
On kerb-guided buses (KGB) small guide wheels attached to the bus engage vertical kerbs on either side of the guideway. These guide wheels push the steering mechanism of the bus, keeping it centralised on the track. Away from the guideway, the bus is steered in the normal way. The start of the guideway is funnelled from a wide track to guideway width. This system permits high-speed operation on a narrow guideway and precise positioning at boarding platforms, facilitating access for the elderly and disabled. As guide wheels can be inexpensively attached to, and removed from, almost any standard model of bus, kerb guided busway systems are not tied to particular specialised vehicles or equipment suppliers. Characteristically, operators contracted to run services on kerb-guided busways will purchase or lease the vehicles, as second-hand vehicles (with guide wheels removed) have a ready resale market.
The kerb-guided system maintains a narrow track while still enabling buses to pass one another at speed. Consequently, kerb-guided track can be fitted into former double-track rail alignments without the requirement for additional land-take that might have been necessary were a disused railway to be converted into a public highway. Examples include theCambridgeshire Guided Busway andLeigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit; in both schemes, it has proved possible to provide space for a wide multi-user path for leisure use alongside the kerb-guided double track, all within the boundaries of the disused railway route. Both the Cambridgeshire and Leigh-Salford-Manchester schemes have reported greatly increased levels of patronage (both on the buses themselves and the adjacent paths), high levels of modal transfer of travellers from private car use, and high levels of passenger satisfaction.[26][27]
Systems with conventional/modified buses:
| Country | City | System name | Started | Closure | Routes | Number of stations | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | Adelaide | O-Bahn Busway | 9 March 1986 | - | 3 | 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) | (BRT systems) | |
 France | Douai | Évéole(fr) | 8 February 2010 | 1 | 37 | 34 kilometres (21 mi) | Guided buswayAPTS Phileas [fr] (BRT systems) | |
| Nîmes | BRT Tango+(fr) | 29 September 2012 | 1 | 9 | 7.2 kilometres (4.5 mi) | (BRT systems) | ||
| Rouen | TEOR | 12 February 2001 | 4 | 64 | 39 kilometres (24 mi) | (BRT systems) | ||
 Germany | Essen | Spurbus(de) | 1980 | 2 | - | 24.2 kilometres (15.0 mi) | (BRT systems) | |
| Mannheim | O-Bahn | May 1992 | September 2005 | - | - | - | Guided busway system | |
 Italy | Bologna | Trolleybuses in Bologna | 4 Jan 1991 | 5 | - | - | Guided busway system in Bologna[28] | |
 Japan | Nagoya | Yutorito Line | 23 March 2001 | 4 | 9 | 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) | (BRT systems) | |
 Netherlands | Eindhoven | Phileas | 2003 | 3 | 32 | 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) | (BRT systems) | |
 South Korea | Sejong City | Bimodal tram(ko) | March 2016 | - | - | 20.1 kilometres (12.5 mi) | (BRT systems) | |
 Spain | Castellón de la Plana | Trolleybuses in Castellón de la Plana | 25 June 2008 | 1 | 19 | 7.765 km (4.825 mi) | (BRT systems) | |
 United Kingdom | Birmingham | Tracline 65 | 1984 | 1987 | - | - | - | Guided busway system |
| Bradford | Manchester Road Quality Bus Initiative Bradford end | October 2001 | - | - | - | (BRT systems) | ||
| Bristol | MetroBus | 29 May 2018 | 5 | - | 50 kilometres (31 mi) | (BRT systems) | ||
| Cambridgeshire | Cambridgeshire Guided Busway (Huntingdon toTrumpington)[29] | 7 August 2011 | 3 | 8 | 25 kilometres (16 mi) | (BRT systems) | ||
| Crawley | Fastway BRT | October 2006 | 3 | 150 | 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) | (BRT systems) | ||
| Edinburgh | Edinburgh Fastlink | December 2004 | January 2009 | 2 | - | 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) | Guided busway system | |
| Gosport | South East Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit (Eclipse Busway) | 22 April 2012 | 2 | 7 | 3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi) | (BRT systems) | ||
| Ipswich | Ipswich Rapid Transit (Superroute 66) | 1995 | - | - | - | (BRT systems) | ||
| Greater Manchester | Leigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit (Vantage-Leigh-Kerb Guided Busway) | 3 April 2016 | 2 | 14 | 7.2 kilometres (4.5 mi) | (BRT systems) | ||
| Leeds | Leeds Superbus | July 1998 | - | - | - | (BRT systems) | ||
| Luton | Luton to Dunstable Busway | 24 September 2013 | - | - | 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi) | (BRT systems) | ||
 United States | Eugene | Emerald Express | 14 January 2007 | 2 | 37 | 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) | (BRT systems) | |
| Las Vegas | ACE BRT (Max) | 30 June 2004 | - | 22 | 11.2 kilometres (7.0 mi) | (BRT systems) guided buswayIrisbus Civis [fr] |
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