BUS LANE

A 'bus (only) lane' is a lane on a road restricted to buses, and generally used to speed up public transport otherwise held up by traffic congestions. Often taxicabs, high occupancy vehicles or bicycles may use the bus lane as well. Bus lanes are a central part of bus rapid transit measures.

Contents

Function

History

Criticism

See also

References

Function

The aim of a bus only lane is to give priority to buses and save journey time in places where roads are congested with other traffic. A bus lane is not necessarily very long, as it may only be used to 'detour' a single congestion point such as an intersection. However, some cities have built large stretches of bus lanes which in some places amount to a separate local road system, often called a busway system.
Bus lanes are normally created when the road in question is both likely to be congested as well as heavily traveled by bus. Entire roads can be designated as bus lanes (Oxford Street in London), allowing only buses, taxis and delivery vehicles,^[1] or a contra-flow bus lane can allow buses to travel in the opposite direction to other vehicles,^[2] Sometimes, bus lanes receive different set of traffic signals as well. Some bus lanes operate on certain times of the day only, usually during rush-hour, allowing all vehicles at other times.

History

The world's first bus-only lanes were established in 1962 in the German city of Hamburg. Other large German cities soon followed, and the implementation of bus lanes was officially sanctioned in the German highway code in 1971. Many experts from other countries (among one of the first, Japan) studied the German example and then went forth to implement similar solutions in their own countries.
The El Monte Busway between El Monte and Downtown Los Angeles was the first busway in the USA, constructed in 1974.^[3]

Criticism

The installation of bus lanes requires additional space to either be constructed (increasing the impact of the road on the surrounding area, and possibly requiring private land)^[4] or taken from existing lanes (thus reducing the capacity of the road for private vehicles). The latter is especially controversial with many road users when this is actually an ancillary reason (i.e. when local authorities want to explicitly combine improved public transport options with reducing or at least not improving convenience for motorists)^[5]
They can also become inefficient if weak traffic enforcement encourages illegal parking on them (for example in shopping areas). The bus then has to merge back into traffic, which may be totally stopped, causing substantial schedule delays. They are also often used by vehicles not authorised, which reduces their capacity for the intended purpose. ^[6]

See also

★ Bus priority

★ Guided bus

References

1. Sign 77 (from the British Highway Code)
2. Sign 81 (from the British Highway Code)
3. Los Angeles (from the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Commission website)
4. ''Transport plan will force homes and businesses to move'' - ''New Zealand Herald'', Monday 12 March 2007
5. ''Get moving: Bus access, safety mean no end to rush-hour hassle'' - ''New Zealand Herald'', Tuesday 01 May 2007
6. ''1779 cheats spotted in single morning using bus lanes'' - ''New Zealand Herald'', Tuesday 03 October 2006