NTRAC Final Study - Nebraska Department of Roads - State of ...

CHAPTER 4 – TECHNOLOGY OPITONS
limiting the number of stops the bus will make along the route. Intercity bus services connect
cities. Regional express buses are generally characterized by use of motor coach equipment
connecting major residential communities with central business districts in distant cities.
Bus rapid transit (BRT) generally operates on exclusive or reserved rights-of-way (busways)
that permit higher speeds and avoidance of delays from general traffic flows. May include
reverse lane operation on limited access roadways, and/or prioritization of at-grade bus
movements through signalized intersections.
A busway is a roadway for the exclusive use of transit
buses. The typical configuration is two lanes (one for
each direction), with pull-out lanes at stations so express
buses can pass locals, and ramps as required to/from
other highways and streets.
"Guided busways" relieve drivers of steering
responsibility while they are operating on the facility, but
require specially-equipped buses. Examples are located
in Essen, Germany and Adelaide, Australia.
The "pure" busway is relatively rare. Currently, installations exist only in Ottawa, Canada and
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The I-10 El Monte Busway in Los Angeles initially had improvement
of bus service as its primary purpose. However, buses now share the facility with vanpools and
carpools. Outside North America, busways serve the "new towns" of Runcorn and Milton
Keynes in England. In South America busways have been built or proposed in Quito, Ecuador;
and Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
In Brazil, the city of Curitiba has developed
an extensive system of expedited bus routes
running on surface bus lanes designated on a
number of city streets. Mostly curb lanes,
they are furnished with a unique design of
"tube" bus stop that facilitates off-vehicle fare
collection and passenger boarding and
alighting to/from high floor buses.
Capacity can be increased by using
articulated, and even (in Curitiba) doublearticulated
buses. However, a limitation of
buses compared to all other options, is that
they cannot be coupled into trains. Buses
must be run more frequently than fixed
guideway systems to achieve high PHPD capacity.
Key points regarding the BRT option are:
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NEBRASKA TRANSIT CORRIDORS STUDY
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