Bus Priority Systems.

Kerb guidance is an off road technology which involves the creating of private rights of way (for buses) using a special trackway physically removed from the public highway. The first public kerb guided busway (KGB) opened in Essen, Germany in 1980, although Mercedes had previously demonstrated the concept at the 1979 international traffic exhibition (IVA) in Hamburg. In Germany the KGB system is often referred to as "O-Bahn", although the terms "Bahnbus" and "Spurbus" are also used.

The KGB trackway is similar - in theme - to conventional railway tracks except that instead of being designed for flanged steel wheeled trains / trams / streetcars it is designed for rubber tyred road vehicles. Essen's first installation features parallel sets of 'L' shaped prefabricated concrete panels which are 10m (metres) in length and laid 2.60m apart (as measured on inside vertical faces). For curved sections of trackage (guideway) the panels were gently bent as required whilst being laid. They are supported every 1.35m by sleepers to which they are fixed by means of fishplates and clamps. The sleepers are wide enough for both direction's tracks and are mounted on to concrete bore piles which act as the foundation. To make it easier for buses to enter the trackage the entry points are fitted with steel box girders which funnel in from 3.50m down to 2.60m.

Kerb guidance uses ordinary buses (motorbus, trolleybus, etc,.) fitted with two horizontal guide-wheels (one per side, mounted immediately in front of the front road wheels) which steer the vehicle via guide-arms attached to the steering knuckle. The buses' road-wheels use the bottom leg of the precast panels, and the guide-wheels run along the 18cm (approx 6") high upstand edge.

Sometimes additional touch-wheels are fitted next to the vehicles' rear wheels, (plus, on articulated buses, centre wheels) - these are not in continuous contact with the guideway but are needed for curves. Whilst on the track the driver retains full control of the vehicle except that (s)he no longer needs to use the steering wheel!

Away from the track the bus uses the normal road, just like any other rubber tyred road vehicle.

The reasoning for mechanically guiding buses is that the resulting dedicated busway uses less space (land width) so can be much narrower than a driver steered busway. To allow for driver-steered buses to "wander" sideways slightly and still pass safely when travelling at even a moderate speed an ordinary two lane road needs to be at least 7,5 - 8 metres in width. However for guided buses the lanes only need to be a little wider than the buses, so for standard width buses of 2.5m (or 2.55m) the total width required for a two-way busway will be only 6m. The resulting saved space can make a significant difference when trying to shoehorn a dedicated bus lane in to a narrow strip of land.

Why was the Kerb Guided Busway created?

Essen's O-Bahn system was part of an experiment in bus transport started in the late 1970's whereby the (West) German Government Federal Ministry of Research and Technology funded a developmental project to perfect two recent German designed innovations in bus transport - the 'self-steering' kerb guided bus and the twin system 'duo-bus'* - by means of a phased programme of testing and evaluation over two (later became three) quiet suburban private rights of way which, if successful, could eventually be linked up via the city centre to provide a 'dual-mode-bus' demonstration system.

The rational behind the experiment was that over recent decades Essen, like many other West German cities, had followed a policy of upgrading metre gauge street tramways into standard gauge light railways and in congested city centres relocating both modes into underground tunnel systems. Its buses however remained on the surface, and as might be expected at times of peak traffic flow the delays often caused considerable disruption to services. Having built expensive infrastructure for the steel wheeled transports it was felt desirable to try to maximise the benefits of that expenditure by extending the buses through the tunnels too.

(*For more information on duo-buses see the electric buses page; scroll down about halfway.)

The route to Kray was not part of the original plans but was added because the trams were blamed for traffic congestion in Kray and as Federal Government money was available (ie: someone else would foot the bill!) it was thought to be cheaper to replace them than relocate the tracks onto private rights-of-way away from the road traffic. The main guided section is located in the median strip of the A430 Ruhrschnellweg Krayer Strecke urban motorway.

It was decided that for health reasons within Kray's narrow streets the duo-buses would operate in zero emission trolleybus mode. This was fortunate because the one aspect of the bustitution of this section of tram route 103 that had alarmed the planners was the inevitability of more motor vehicle exhaust fumes, especially in Kray's narrow streets, some of which are usually thronged with shoppers. It is worth pointing out that on the duo-buses the waste gas outlet is at the back bottom left corner, just about the same height as a child sitting in a pushchair. As an aside, the same issue applies to many British diesel buses too - although the exact locations at the bottom back of the bus vary.

The access ramps are fairly steep and when the busway first opened wintry weather saw them become blocked by snow which had compacted under the wheels of the passing buses and this caused the service to be suspended until it could be broken up and removed by hand. As a result it became necessary to equip them with electric heating.

As part of a policy of testing everything 'on the surface' before installing in tunnels the section of guided busway on Wittenbergstrasse included trials of three different types of joint guided busway and tramway trackage, a kerb guided bus point ("switch" in American) plus two types of overhead wire supports to simulate where guided trolleybuses would share the tram tunnels.

For these trials the trolleybus overhead was energised at 600v dc, using the same rectifier substations as the trams. However it was decided that since the duo-buses were really intended to operate at 750v dc (and the trams use 600v dc) so for tunnel operations it would be best that the two transports would use separate rectifier substations.

The first two photographs (below) show the two different overhead wire systems that were developed - the first picture shows the version used in 'curved roof' tunnels and how it included a simulation of such a tunnel roof; the second picture shows the arrangement designed for surface sections of track sharing.

Below that is an image showing the points. These three sets of images have been sourced from an official brochure on the 'Dual-mode-bus' project.

Nowadays all overhead wires have been removed from this location, as have tram services too.

For tunnel operation the buses also had to be able to interact with the signalling system and after a few hiccups - which always failed 'safe' but were still nuisances - the technology became reliable.

Apart from signalling another important safety issue concerned what might happen if the tram catenary broke and fell on to a bus. It was reasoned that if one wire fell on to the bus, the chances are that the other end of the breakage could still fall somewhere where it would trigger the circuit breakers to cut off the power. But what if both ends fell onto the bus? Again it was reasoned that by virtue of the buses' rubber tyres there would be no circuit to earth and even though this would mean that the circuit breakers would not be triggered the people in the bus would remain safe - as long as they remained in the bus! If, however, someone outside the bus touched it (or a passenger tried to alight at a stop) then it could be that the full line voltage would use them as a route to earth, resulting in the almost certain probability of a serious electric shock - or worse.

So as an extra safety measure all the duo-buses were fitted with metal skates which automatically lower on to a tram rail when the vehicle's speed is less than 3 km/h. Under normal circumstances a safety interlock will prevent the passenger doors from opening until after the earthing device has been lowered (the driver is advised of correct operation) however in case of malfunction the driver has an override control. The driver also has the ability to manually raise the earthing device (in case the vehicle's pneumatics fail) as otherwise it would render the vehicle immobile - an undesirable situation which would result in a blocked tunnel.

Click the projector icon or this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKZGKA2Bk4c to watch a six minute video of a guided duobuses in Essen. This includes parts of the Kray and the phase 1 (pre 1991) tunnel section and uses footage sourced over several visits in both summer and winter.

The extension to the underground system which opened in September 1991 included two underground stations which featured central island platforms that required the passengers to use the duo-buses' off-side doors.

In connection with their enhanced status bus routes 145 & 147 were re-branded as 'City-Express' routes, becoming CE45 / CE47. However they have now reverted back to plain 145 / 147. This also applies to route 146 (CE46) which linked several surface sections of the guided busway but did not use the tunnels.

Underground services have now completely ceased, this being because after just a few years the experimental wooden trackage became life-expired and with the ending of the developmental programme the funds were no longer available to replace it. However most of the rest of the O-Bahn is still in use.

In September 2001 the special duo-buses were withdrawn from service, having spent most of their lives operating as motor buses they were now deemed to be 'life expired' §. They were replaced with low floor motorbuses. Meanwhile the introduction of new low-floor trams which partially fouled the guided busway trackage led to the partial removal of the bus trackage from the underground tunnel system. By 2004 much of the now redundant trolleybus overhead wiring had been removed too.

§ Although deemed to be 'life expired' as defined by German standards at least some of the fleet was sold to Russia (Khimki, Vidnoye and Podolsk, which are in the Moscow region) where they operate as standard diesel buses. Photographs of these can be found here - http://stts.mosfont.ru/articles.php?gid=13. As the photographs clearly show, the buses retain their 'city express' livery. With thanks to Artem Svetlov, Moscow, for the information and making the pictures available for other people to see. (external website which opens in a new window).

Essen's Bus Replacement Dilemma.

One unforeseen issue which crept up unnoticed concerns bus widths. Essen's kerb guided busways were built with a track gauge of 2.6m - being designed to accept buses which are 2.5m in width, plus an extra 10cm for the guide-wheels. However, nowadays buses are built to a slighter more generous width of 2.55m. (5cm is approximately 2 inches and 10 cm approximately 4 inches).

Because of their extra width when EVAG (the Essen operator) invited bus manufacturers to tender for the delivery of new buses, none were able to offer suitable replacement vehicles. Therefore, replacement of the buses (which had been planned for 2004) had to be postponed while negotiations took place with manufacturers to source suitable vehicles.

The key issue here was to find a 2.55m bus which would fit in to trackage built for 2.5m wide buses. With the busway kerbs being 2.6m apart it was reported that the hoped-for solution would be that the extra width required for the guide-wheels could be halved to 5cm.

An option which they did not want to follow would be to re-gauge the busway trackage, especially as whilst some of the system could be rebuilt / widened with relative ease, there are some space-constricted locations (especially on the route to Kray, which is located in the median of a motorway) where sideways expansion would be very challenging.

A solution to this does seem to have been found, as in September 2007 trials were conducted with an articulated Mercedes / Citaro 'Facelift' bus, and more recently it has been reported that Essen has ordered some of these - in both 'articulated' and 'rigid' formats.

As an aside, had they followed their original proposals and electrified most of the system they would (probably) not yet have been facing this dilemma. The buses they want to replace are the 1993 batch of low floor articulateds which having been used rigorously for 21 hours a day, 7 days a week for the first seven years of their lives were beginning to show their age and had become in need of replacement. 10-12 years is not unusual for the commercially viable life of a motorbus. As a contrast trolleybuses usually last for 20 - 30 years, with many examples then being sold / cascaded (donated) to "poorer" cities that cannot afford brand new vehicles, where they keep going for even longer...

What benefits does kerb guidance provide?

Kerb guidance offers a transport operator a system that - without compromising the limited available roadspace - can help its buses avoid traffic congestion and therefore provide a more reliable service to their passengers. The possibility of tunnel operation shared with light rail services makes for added cost effectiveness because where vast amounts of money have been spent on putting rail systems underground it would now be possible to further increase the benefits of that expenditure by allowing the buses to join them. In the event, as yet no other city sees such shared tunnel operation, indeed the very existence of subterranean bus services is still very unusual - perhaps the oldest example being the short tunnel and station at Harvard in the Greater Boston area, USA. Also in Boston, the "Silver Line" Bus Rapid Transit route includes some sections of bus subway. Apart from Boston there are only a handful of examples; perhaps the most significant of which is in Seattle, USA (see below). Two of the others are in Japan. These form part of the Tateyama - Kurobe Alpine Routes and feature 26 trolleybuses using single - track tunnels where services often run in 'flights' with several vehicles travelling together in groups with one of the lines being controlled (signalled) using railway style tokens and the other on the basis of buses starting when the signal is clear and the number of vehicles being counted as they depart. However, as these services are tourist-orientated and not part of a 'serious' urban transport solution their status is somewhat different.

The Seattle bus subway is wholly located within the city's 'free travel' zone, which means that so no fare is required at any station during hours when the policy is in effect. Opening in September 1990 and 1⅓rd mile (2.1km) in length it features 5 stations which open on Mondays - Saturdays only. Services were originally provided by a fleet of Italian Breda duo-buses, with some routes providing a direct link to the city's airport.

At the time of construction rail tracks were also installed for a future light rail service. Unfortunately despite this commendable forward thinking it was subsequently decided that part of the light rail line will follow a different alignment than the existing tunnels, so on 24th September 2005 the bus subway was closed for a two year period of rebuilding. Most of the duo-buses were actually withdrawn in advance of the closure, and (amazingly) replaced with diesel powered buses. In April 2005 local users were reporting on some Internet discussion groups that the tunnels were often somewhat smelly from (what thinking people know to be) the carcinogenic diesel engine exhaust fumes. Whilst it is true that the buses are hybrid diesel-electrics and when underground operate in a special low power 'hush' mode they still need to use the fossil fuel traction package whilst underground. Apparently the choice of fossil fuel buses is influenced by the transport operators' belief that it is not possible (or not safe) to mix overhead wire powered light rail and electric trolleybuses / duo-buses in an underground tunnel system - even though Essen proved otherwise!

Now known as the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel it re-opened exactly 2 years later (on 24th September 2007). At present it remains a bus-only tunnel, however shared use with the light rail is expected to begin when the light rail system opens in 2009. The works included lowering the tunnel floor (road surface) for the light rail and this has led to concerns that the bus mirrors (which are now at head height) may strike people waiting on the platform. In an effort to prevent this the mirrors have been equipped with flashing lights. Another change since the tunnel reopened is that the speed of the buses has been lowered from 15mph to 10mph.

However, none of these Japanese and American bus subways see buses using kerb guidance. It might be assumed that for safety's sake "some" sort of system would be needed - if only to reduce the chance of a bus accidentally hitting the tunnel wall - especially where they use narrow London Underground 'tube-like' tunnels??? But this seems not to be the situation.

Apart from Essen (and Britain) - Where else globally?

Apart from Essen the only other German city to have used the kerb guided O-Bahn system was Mannheim, where buses shared a pre-existing surface light rail private right of way. Installed in April 1992 this 800 metre installation helped city-bound vehicles to bypass traffic congestion leading up to a busy traffic signal controlled junction in a location where there was no space for an extra traffic lane. (Out-bound vehicles use[d] the public highway). As the view of two buses at a traffic signal controlled 'level crossing' along the route demonstrates, even though they were buses the tracked vehicles used to receive precedence over other vehicles that wanted to cross the line.

The trackage used here consisted of longitudinal wooden beams and steel guidewalls as developed in Essen for where trams and buses share formation. Compared to wooden track in Essen the ride quality of a Mannheim kerb guided bus was considerably better, however Mannheim's track had more and sharper curves which together with the four guide-wheels (one next to each of the front and rear road wheels) gave an impression of almost 'bouncing' between the buses' four corners! In the event the distance was so short (and the already slow moving bus had to slow down even further for the level crossing) so ride quality was not really too important.

Guided busway services were withdrawn in September 2005 when the majority of buses fitted with guide wheels were decommissioned for age reasons, and it was decided not to adapt their replacements.

Near to Essen is the city of Oberhausen and when in the mid 1990's they built a new combined tramway / busway they did not see the need for the buses to use any guidance systems. This moderate speed (90km/h - approx 55mph) public transport right of way has been praised as being an excellent example of how several low frequency bus routes serving different parts of a town can be brought together to provide modern, fast(ish) public transport on a common section of the route.

A tram on the Oberhausen tramway / unguided busway - as seen from the front of a bus.
(Taken with a panoramic / stretch camera, which explains the image format).

Elsewhere globally the Japanese also have some kerb guided busways.

The only fully operational installation is a single 6.5 km (4 mile) line in Nagoya, Aichi which opened on 23rd March 2001. This is served by five bus routes which are operated by three different bus companies. Away from the guided section the buses use the normal roadway. As with the many Japanese monorails or automated guideway transits the line is legally considered as a sort of railway.

The line is officially called Guideway Bus Shidami Line, although it is also has a nickname of Yutorito Line, this being is a combination of Yutori ("relaxed") and street (Sutorito). The name is also unofficially spelt Yutreet Line. It is owned by Nagoya Guideway Bus, whose name is also often used as an alternative name for the line.

The other Japanese systems are more experimental in nature.

One of these is very similar to the O-Bahn, except that the kerbs are wider apart so both sides of the bus cannot make contact at the same time (apparently the vehicles are fitted with a stabiliser to improve straight travel stability) and the guide wheels can be retracted when the vehicle is operating on the normal road. This system has also been tested with bi-directional single track running, using automated signalling systems to only allow one vehicle on a section of track at a time. (Similar signalling systems are commonplace on single-track railways).

Another feature of this system is that the vehicle's have two guide-wheels by each rear road-wheel (one each in front / behind). The sole purpose of these extra 'touch wheels' is for protection in case of sideways sliding, on snow, ice or in windy weather.

The other experimental system is in many ways a 'next stage' advance. While in guided mode it features fully automated driverless operation - so in addition to the block signalling (used for safety) the computers will literally 'drive' the buses - stopping at stations, opening / closing the doors, selecting the route (the system allows for junctions and route bifurcations) etc,. It uses electric buses which are fitted with storage batteries for use on the normal road; in guided mode power is collected by means of a terminal which extends sideways from the rear of the vehicle and contacts a power rail located alongside the track just above a guide rail. (Guided mode also sees recharging of the vehicles' on-board batteries). This power collection system makes an interesting alternative to 'overhead wire' systems (ie: trolleybuses) except that it would not be safe to use in the street environment.

Outside of Germany and Japan many other cities have looked at the concept of guided buses, but very few have chosen to use it. It is possible that at least one installation will be built in Italy - as part of the Italian government's major new transport infrastructure initiative the trolleybus system linking the coastal towns of Rimini and Riccione has been successful in obtaining funding to create a section of kerb guided trolleybusway. Apparently this installation will include tunnel operation, where guidance will be a positive safety feature. However, exactly 'when' remains unknown.

At one time São Paulo (Brazil) was also reported to be planning a guided busway using a fleet of double-articulated kerb-guided buses calling at high level bus stops where passengers would pay their fares before boarding the vehicle, however whilst the first 2.5km of the fura-fila reserved lane busway had been expected to open back in October 2000 only one double and two single articulated buses were actually built, and conflicting reports put in question whether or not this installation will now actually use kerb-guidance. Incidentally this type of ticketing system and double articulated (not guided) motor buses already operate in what is claimed to be a very successful all-bus transport system in the Brazilian city of Curitiba. (See picture).

In fact despite being nearly 30 years since the first section of Essen's demonstration systems began passenger operation the Germans have clocked up only one overseas sale. This has been to the Australian city of Adelaide, which is the state capital of South Australia. Originally planned as an extension to the Glenelg Tramway, the decision to use kerb guided bus technology comes from change of governing political party after state elections. Interestingly S.A. is noted for its large ethnic German population.

The Adelaide, Australia O-Bahn.

Adelaides' 11.8km (approx. 7 ⅓rd miles) O-Bahn is both the fastest and longest example of kerb-guided busway so far in existence. It is located in a linear park near to the city centre and extends to an outer suburban shopping centre. There are two intermediate stations, one of which also acts as an intermediate access point for buses to join / leave the system.

Services here are of an 'outer suburban' nature with it acting as a high-speed 'corridor' from which the buses 'fan out' to serve low density suburbs. When built the people of Adelaide were promised it would offer "One-Ride For All", ie: all suburban destinations would enjoy direct services between the suburbs and the city centre without having to change vehicle en route. Indeed this was one of the main selling points which resulted in the use of a bus based system instead of an extension to the Glenelg tramway.

However it quickly became apparent that for some quieter routes through services were just not financially viable, so nowadays whilst passengers in some suburban areas do enjoy one-bus services direct to Adelaide city centre (with some buses entering / leaving the guided busway at one of the intermediate stops) there are also some 'local' bus services which feed into the busway 'stations' from where passengers must change for an onward connection to Adelaide city centre.

Because of traffic congestion and resulting variable journey times between the guided busway and the city centre, plus delays caused by the "pay the driver" ticketing system buses frequently run late and therefore for most of the time passengers using the feeder services and the local services no longer benefit from guaranteed timetabled connections.

The busway begins about 4.5km (approx 2¾ miles) from Adelaide city centre. The route between the busway and the city centre is a public highway, and although it was rebuilt / widened concurrent with the construction of the O-Bahn virtually no bus priority was provided. At the busiest of times it can take as long as 20 minutes to travel between the busway and city centre.

Both the entrance and exit are formed of slip roads off the public highway, similar to those found at junctions on motorways, etc. The entry slip road leads from the right hand side of the carriageway, and into an underpass below the public highway's city-bound carriageway. The exit slip joins the roadway from the kerbside.(not shown)

In an attempt to prevent unauthorised access the entry and exit points are protected from private vehicles by 'open pits' which were designed to be too wide for private cars to pass without the wheels on one side falling in - probably causing severe damage to the vehicle.

The Adelaide O-Bahn features two passenger stations / bus stops en-route plus a third at the northern terminus. They all feature 'park & ride' facilities and - unlike all the other guided bus systems - are on unguided sections of busway. This allows buses to overtake / pass each other as required. Included in this is the ability for express services to pass all-stations services.

For most of its length the speed limit is 100km/h (about 62 mph - the Australians have gone metric). The O-Bahn is unsignalled and especially in the rush hour it is quite normal to see buses running in convoy - they are supposed to keep at least 175 metres apart. South Australia is well known for having exceptionally enthusiastic and pedantic policing of its speed limits (with revenue generation being a stated aim) and following a court ruling in the early years of the system's operation decided that the O-Bahn is officially considered a road, the South Australian police have been permitted to install speed cameras and use radar speed traps to fine speeding bus drivers too.

Construction of what was originally known as "The Northeast Busway" began in 1982 with the first section opening in March 1986 and the second stage in August 1989. At one time there were plans for more busways, especially a route that would have served suburbs to the south of the city, however these have now been scrapped.

More recently several new bus based rapid transit systems have been built in several other Australian cities and despite the success of the Adelaide O-Bahn all these other bus systems eschew the O-Bahn system and include sections of bus-only road where the bus drivers steer the vehicle, as per normal.

So whilst in Australia the O-Bahn has remained unique and in Germany there has been retrenchment, tram systems (in both countries) continue to be built and expanded.

January 2006 saw the introduction of the first of a new fleet of trams for Adelaide's Glenelg tramway which in October 2007 was also extended by 1.2km (approximately ¾ mile) north from the former Victoria Square terminus which was located just to the south of Adelaide city centre through the city centre to City West via Adelaide railway station.

Adelaide Bus Replacement Dilemma!

In June 2007 it was reported that Adelaides' O-Bahn is faces dramatic service changes because the State Government is struggling to replace its ageing fleet of articulated buses. Apparently the Passenger Transport Act legislation requires that buses should not exceed 25 years of age and there 54 buses which are nearing their use-by date. Trials with modern low-floor articulated buses have shown that their central floor sections are not rigid enough so that when used on the high speed busway they produce unacceptable levels of vibration. For this reason they have been deemed as being unsafe for use on the O-Bahn busway.

A possible solution being suggested is that if need be the articulated buses will be replaced with non-articulated (ie: rigid) buses, however this is not seen as an ideal situation because to maintain passenger capacity it will be necessary to run more of them, which will increase air pollution & operating costs (more buses need more bus drivers) as well as at busy times possibly increase traffic congestion. Rigid buses can seat up to 40 passengers, whilst the articulateds have a seated passenger capacity of 66.

The Next Development?

Most kerb guided bus vehicles have either been 'rigid' or 'single-articulated'; the Germans have also developed 'double articulated' versions but more as conceptual prototypes than as actual service vehicles.

The MAN version was designed to be suitable for both street and guided modes. Apparently at 23 metres in length it was too long to be legal for road use (in Germany) so it had to be given a special dispensation before being allowed to venture on to the public highway. This having been granted the first trials required a police motorcycle escort, although in 1982 it spent a several months as part of the Munich bus fleet, during which time it operated without a police escort. This vehicle featured both front and rear axles steering with the centre axles being powered by a rear mounted diesel engine. It was designed to carry 225 passengers, of which 72 would be seated. First introduced in September 1981, after its 1982 trials it seems to have slipped into quiet oblivion.

The Mercedes-Benz double-articulated vehicle was promoted as their alternative solution to counter the runaway success of light rail as a mode of transport. In response light rail advocates retorted that this vehicle was not even a solution to an unspecified problem! As the photograph shows the 0 305 G2 can be likened to two articulated buses joined back-to-back. One end has bus-type driving controls while the other end has tram-type driving controls. Neither end has a steering wheel, because amazingly - for a bus - this vehicle cannot operate on the normal road sharing road space with other traffic (!) -- something that puts it at a severe disadvantage even when compared to 'ordinary' kerb guided buses.

With this vehicle the outer two axles are steered while the inner two axles are driven. It is electrically powered, collecting its power from the single overhead wire via a pantograph while electrical return is via the guide rails - although there is no reason why it should not be able to use trolley-bus twin overhead wires and trolleypoles. In this way it could share all or part of the guideway with 'ordinary' trolleybuses or duo-buses, subject to it being compatible with the already designed O-Bahn points (switches). Multiple unit operation of 'trains' (sic) of these vehicles is a design feature, however being electric it is easy to envisage multiple-unit operation with ordinary trolley / duo-buses too. For many years multiple-unit operation of two-axle trolleybuses (in normal 'driver-steering' mode) was commonplace in eastern European (especially Soviet Union) cities, although more recently the practise has fallen out of favour with ordinary (single) articulated buses replacing them.

As yet no city is reported as having taken a serious interest in the 0 305 G2, perhaps because there is no need for a bus that the driver cannot steer and therefore cannot travel on the ordinary road. In its present form this vehicle would be most suitable as an upgrade to a pre-existing O-Bahn system, but with so few in operation this does not look likely in the near future. Any city using the 0 305 G2 from scratch would have to invest in sufficient private right of way before it could be introduced into service putting it at a severe disadvantage compared to light rail (its primary competitor) - which can share roadspace with other traffic - but putting it on a par with some of the other fixed-track 'people mover' and metro systems.

A view of the 'Martlesham' end with two buses passing, and Tesco supermarket.

Pedestrian crossing located next to the bus stops. Note the gap in the guideway and red/white diagonal hazard striping to stop people from walking into the raised kerb. In the distance is the Tesco supermarket & car park.

Same crossing seen from a different viewpoint, note child cyclists able to ride happily across the busway.

A winter view, showing the crossing (again), the bus stops / shelters and the pedestrian walkway & cycle track which flank the busway (on left) and in this weather were too slippery to use! Heavy snow can also be a hazard for guided buses, as the buses will 'pack' it under their wheels which could lead to 'derailing'.

A view (in summer 1996) looking along the busway from the Ipswich end. Being only 200 metres in length it takes just a few minutes to walk its entire length. To the left of the busway can be seen empty fields and a roadsign showing the 2.4m width restriction (the latter being more easily seen in the larger version of this image).

A similar view in summer 2006, after the busway had been widened for standard width buses. Note the sign showing the 2.6m width restriction.

To deter private cars from entering steel channel galvanised traps are located at each end of both guided bus lanes.

A double decker calls at the landscaped bus stop.

More information on the need for this busway plus a map showing its location relative to other roads in the area can be found on this page http://www.buspriority.org/bus_gates.htm which is a page about bus-only roads designed to either get the buses past traffic queues (by holding back / delaying the other traffic) or where physical impediments are used (such as rising bollards) to prevent other vehicles from travelling along sections of roadway. The Suffolk County Council website also has a page with more information about Superoute 66 and why it includes the bus quideway. (links to external sites open in new windows)

2006 information update.

As previously mentioned the Kesgrave guided busway was designed for buses 2.4m in width. However the success of this service has resulted in the need for larger buses and the busway has now been regauged for standard sized buses. Initially these were single deck Scania L94UB with Wright Axcess Floline bodywork, but by 2005 patronage had increased so much that these were replaced with 20 double deck Volvo B7TL with Alexander ALX400 bodywork.

Appalling service, disgruntled locals.

In September 2006 a visit was made to update this website photographically. Arrival in the Kesgrave area was approximately just before 1pm, and the visit was scheduled to be for about an hour. It was found that buses were timetabled to run at 15 minute intervals Monday - Saturday daytime, 30 minute intervals in the evenings and on Sundays, plus approximately 60 minute intervals at night. This compared slightly less favourably with the situation found on previous visits, when there was an enhanced 10 minute interval service during the afternoon busy period (3-7pm). However the larger buses can carry more passengers so total passenger capacity is still significantly enhanced. (The less frequent service should be more attractive to the bus company, whose operating costs - fewer buses & drivers - will be lower).

On this visit some buses were found to be running exactly to time, which is commendable. However, others did not show up at all! For instance, the 13.12 to Ipswich failed to turn up, whilst the 13.27 arrived several minutes late. From their actions it could be deduced that the large crowd of people waiting at the bus stop were obviously wise to the workings of the bus 'service' because they suddenly started walking / running to the next bus stop (beyond the guideway), with those who are slower on their feet asking the quicker friends to hold the bus at the next stop whilst they caught up! From a hurried conversation with some of the running and out-of-breath would be passengers it was learnt that the next bus was only a single decker, which suggests that a vehicle that does not have guide wheels had been rostered for this service.

Unfortunately this seems to not be an isolated incident. It was decided to wait for the 13.57 before leaving the area, however when this service was due it suddenly disappeared from the dot matrix screens and the 14.12 became the next scheduled service. With more than sufficient photographs (to update this page) having already been sourced plus there being another destination yet to be visited so it was decided that there would be little benefit in waiting to determine the fate of the 14.12. Before leaving however, a brief conversation with the 'very unhappy' crowd of people at the bus stop who had effectively been left in the lurch suggested that this is in no way untypical of the 'service'. Unfortunately most of their comments are unprintable, but as a general theme it can be deduced that if this is how a high profile service operating under a quality partnership system treats its passengers then it is no wonder that so many British people avoid public transport - of any kind.