Brtuk Newsletter Spring 2010
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BRTuk_Spring_2010:Layout 4 5/3/10 14:26 Page 1 Spring 2010 news www.brtuk.org in association with Colin Brader Two East London Transit routes aim to foster regeneration of the Thames scoops award Gateway region and improve transport links plus options for employment Transport for London launches £26m East London Transit BRT scheme Bus rapid transit in the UK moved forward in February with the opening of the £26m East London Transit scheme that aims to assist with wider regeneration initiatives in the Thames Gateway region. Through the courtesy of Congratulations to Colin Brader, Transport for London, a new managing director of ITP, who member of BRTuk, attendees at was the joint recipient of the the BRTuk AGM and open Transport Planning Societies committee meetings on 2009 Transport Planner of the February had a preview of the Year Award. Brader and Dr routes in one of the new buses. Mobereola, managing director Speaking at the launch of of Lagos Area Metropolitan East London Transit, which Transport authority, won the comprises two routes linking David Brown, TfL’s managing director - surface transport, and Kulveer Ranger, award for the development and Ilford Hill and Thames View London mayor Boris Johnson’s transport advisor, launch the new scheme delivery of Bus Rapid Transit in Estate, Kulveer Ranger, London of improving the public realm The ELT scheme has also led Lagos, Nigeria. mayor Boris Johnson’s and the overall look and feel of to streetscape improvements Working from a base of poor transport advisor, said the the capital.” along its route, with better quality, unregulated and unsafe scheme would deliver new The ELT scheme, which is street lighting, upgraded bus existing transport provision, journey opportunities for local operated by Go Ahead stops and shelters and this remarkable project was residents. subsidiary Blue Triangle on improved public spaces. developed from conception to “It provides a direct bus link behalf of London Buses, utilises BRTuk is very grateful to TfL, operation in 15 months making to Dagenham Dock, which was 16 new double deck vehicles and especially Nigel Hardy and it Africa’s first BRT scheme. It not previously served by local with special ELT branding and Matthew Albiges, for their consists of a single 22Km route buses, and will play a key role an improved internal hospitality in accommodating ending on Lagos Island carrying in the development of the specification that includes extra the meetings on February 3 almost 200,000 people per day, area,” he continued. “Valuable legroom. Significant levels of and for their excellent immediately putting it amongst improvements have been made bus priority are offered by the explanations during the visit. the top five most heavily used to local roads and public spaces scheme, with over 30% to be Thanks also to Blue Triangle for BRT routes in the world. as part of this project that also completely segregated from provision of the bus and the Brader gave a presentation at contributes to the mayor’s aim general traffic by 2013. driver's cheerful contributions. the 2010 Transport Planning Society AGM that contrasted the different approaches to BRT Volvo Bus Rapid Transit Centre of Excellence is named throughout the world. Key Following the disappointing successful consortium is led by Meanwhile, BRTuk will messages emanating from this news that neither of the consor - the Catholic University of Chile promote its own bursary presentation were the need to tia including UK universities had and that the University of scheme and support exploratory make clear the effects of been successful in their short - Sydney is amongst its members. discussions currently taking diluting key BRT principles on listed bids to the Volvo Research We look forward to the place between several the schemes ability to perform, and Education Foundation for formal announcement of the universities on the possibility of working with politicians and the grants to establish a Volvo Centre’s research programme establishing a UK-based role of marketing to ensure a Centre of Excellence in BRT, and hope it will take account of research programme on quality high level of ‘public owner ship’. BRTuk has learnt that the UK developments. bus transit. BRTuk_Spring_2010:Layout 4 5/3/10 14:26 Page 2 news www.brtuk.org Bus rapid transit: the art of the possible? December saw BRTuk host its annual conference, this time in Cardiff. It was a chance to review the progress of bus-based rapid transit in the United Kingdom. Andrew Garnett reports or some years now the annual economic environment with the film The conference of BRTuk has seen Matrix. “You take the blue pill and the story plenty of examples of bus-based ends,” he said. “You wake in your bed and rapid transit around the world, but believe whatever you want to believe. You Fthis year’s conference in Cardiff heard of take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland tangible progress being made with the and I show you how deep the rabbit mode in the UK. hole goes!” With the recent official opening of the Ftr Hazel said that at present there was Metro scheme in Swansea and progress almost a perfect storm. “We’ve a growing being made on the delayed Cambridgeshire economic crisis with a lack of funding Guided Busway, there was at last looming ever large in the horizon,” he said. acknowledgement that decision makers are “However, we also have the growing needs finally realising some of the benefits from of cities and of people for connectivity. The bus-based rapid transit alternatives that in global trend is for an increased demand for many cases can work in parallel with transport and that doesn’t look like it’s going rail-based schemes. to slow down any time soon.” But the work doesn’t stop there. The Hazel argued that transport investment is Cardiff conference also saw a talk from important for any economy, pointing to Joanne Beale , an engineer with consultancy research that suggested transport firm WSP. Beale has been named as the first infrastructure was a major driver of city recipient of the BRTuk Bursary Scheme and competitiveness. However, he recognised will investigate the impact of the that new funding streams are going to have Cambridgeshire Guided Busway on the local to be devised to stimulate investment, community as part of her MSc in Transport including work place parking levys, and Sustainable Development at Imperial developer contributions and a French-style College and UCL. Versement Transport. She outlined how she intends to “We need to deliver a range of new and “So where does BRT fit into this? Well we investigate the effect that the opening of the innovative funding streams,” Hazel said. can promote BRT as an affordable and scheme will have on the local transport net - “We need to understand the market, adopt a efficient solution within a packaged works. “Will the opening cause a mode shift transport retail model approach and deliver approach and it seems to me that BRTuk towards bus based travel? Is there a corre - an investment plan for complete mobility. could be there to facilitate that approach.” sponding mode shift away from journeys The funding question was also taken on into Cambridge by private car?” she asked. by Professor Robert Cervero from the “Or does the introduction of CGB merely re - Berkeley Centre for Future Urban Transport lease demand which is currently suppressed ‘We can promote at the University of California. He said that by transport network capacity constraints?” traditionally, bus-based development was There will be obvious benefits from Bus Rapid Transit muted by poor accessibility benefits, a lack Beale’s research of course, including an of permanence and negative externalities investigation into what barriers exist to the as an affordable such as noise and pollution. “The exception application of bus rapid transit to other and efficient to this rule is dedicated busways or schemes in the UK. bus-based rapid transit networks,” he said. Some suggest that the recession will have solution within a Cervero reviewed a number of primarily an impact on transport planning and North American BRT networks that had led investment and Professor George Hazel of packaged to the development gains that are more consultancy MRC McLean Hazel aimed to normally associated with light rail schemes, counter that point of view in his approach’ with land values increasing rapidly after the presentation. He contrasted the current introduction of a high quality BRT scheme. BRTuk_Spring_2010:Layout 4 5/3/10 14:26 Page 3 www.brtuk.org news suggested that bus journey time improvements, backed up by the predictability that bus priority offered, was driving passenger growth and leading to real modal shift. She revealed that in 1997 the car dominated trips in Dublin, accounting for 55% of movements. Today this has fallen to 38%, with the bus now the dominant mode of transport, accounting for 62% of trips. Transport loves its acronyms and Brian Masson from the University of Aberdeen’s paper about European experiences in delivering BRT introduced a new one to delegates - BHLS. The BHLS (or Buses with a High Level of Service) project is a wide-reaching study that aims to review 20 or so quality bus schemes around Europe and create understanding of the concepts and implementation strategies. BHLS brings together many quality bus elements, from sophisticated schemes such as the Zuidtangent in Holland and the Nantes Busway (both subjects of previous study tours by BRTuk), to ‘BRT Lite’ approaches using relatively low key bus priority measures. From this work it is anticipated that over the next two years the BHLS project will publish findings identifying best practice.