BRTuk2015_Handbook_NC_v9.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2015 16:14 Page 1 Published by: Supported by: Handbook A review of the key developments 2015/16 BRTuk2015_Handbook_NC_v9.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2015 16:14 Page 2 BRTuk2015_Handbook_NC_v9.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2015 16:14 Page 3 Introduction 3 2015: a year when BRT took several large strides forward, but also made one major move backwards When it comes to BRT, it would appear that the year 2015 But it hasn’t been all good news, of course, with 2015 has, to use a football cliché, been something of a game of having witnessed its fair share of scheme delays. But no two halves. There are, of course, lots of bright spots – real change there, for has it not always been thus? The healthily growing ridership numbers is many established really big (bad) news, of course, has been the surprisingly schemes and, if anything, a more than usually large premature of the ftr ‘bendy bus’ BRT service in Swansea, number of proposed schemes finally getting off the just a handful of years after it was opened in a blaze of drawing board and onto the street. Just witness the publicity. “If we can’t make the ftr concept work in number of large-scale and high-profile projects outlined Swansea, then we can’t make it work anywhere,” First in the pages of this handbook – in the West of England, in managers claimed not much more than five years ago. Manchester, in Glasgow. Indeed, at a cursory glance there And yet now the bendy bus has departed from the streets soon won’t be many major urban conurbations in the UK of Swansea. So what lessons can we learn from the that don’t either have a functioning BRT scheme or are Swansea experiment? Maybe this year’s BRT uk seriously trying to promote one. conference will start to answer that question. Editorial Offices Landor LINKS Contents Apollo House 359 Kennington Lane London SE11 5QY BRT – the next ten years p5 Dave Haskins, NGT Project Director, BRTuk Membership Office West Yorkshire Combined Authority c/o Keith Gellaitry CMS Cameron McKenna LLP A double celebration for me – 10 years of BRTuk and 20 years p7 Saltire Court of operating BRT 20 Castle Terrace Edinburgh EH1 2EN Dr Bob Tebb, Chair BRTuk, 2005-2015 Fastlink - Setting the Standard for BRT in the West of Scotland BRTuk Secretary p10 Tom Hacker Gordon Dickson, SPT WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff 67 Chancery Lane London WCA 1AF p15 Major scheme development West of England, West Midlands, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire Advertising Daniel Simpson E: [email protected] p16 Bus Rapid Transit in the UK: T: 020 7091 7861 Progress and Plans Design & Production Production Department p19 The barriers are coming down: BRT and LRT need to morph E: [email protected] their modal identities Peter Stonham, chairman, Landor LINKS Print & Distribution Hastings Printing Company Ltd FWT’s ten lessons for the effective delivery of public Drury Lane p23 St Leonards-on-Sea transport information East Sussex TN38 9BJ Peter Warman, Public Transport Consultant to FWT © Landor LINKS Ltd p26 Nairobi looks to BRT & BRTuk Ltd 2015 Alan Bailes, TTC p28 Manchester thinks big when it comes to BRT Anthony Murden, TfGM BRTuk2015_Handbook_NC_v9.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2015 16:14 Page 4 BRTuk2015_Handbook_NC_v9.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2015 16:14 Page 5 5 BRT – the next ten years I Dave Haskins, NGT Project Director, West Yorkshire Combined Authority pure infrastructure provision, and based on a growth of BRT system length of approaching a factor of 20, BRT can quite easily be demonstrated as an unqualified success. According to the database, 48 cities are currently expanding their systems, while 141 more are constructing or planning new BRT projects. The future does appear to be bright. Meanwhile in the UK, the BRT database list 13 corridors with a cumulative length of 173km – roughly 3% of the global total. I posed myself the question “Is the UK pulling its weight on BRT?” Clyde Fastlink Next, in terms of formulating my Background thoughts around the future of BRT in promoted by WYCA and Leeds City the UK, I browsed on the internet using As the incoming BRT UK Chair, I Council and which entails a ‘whole- the search term “Bus Rapid Transit have been asked to share my system’ approach to public transport Future”. Looking at the pages of articles thoughts around what I see to be the planning. For me, this BRT system is that came up, the highest ranking future of Bus Rapid Transit in the much more than the “R” for rapid. The results revealed the following locations UK. I will start however, by going “R” also signifies reliability, which it is where BRT is in the news. – Vancouver, back in time a little. aiming to achieve through the New York, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Since my early days in transport segregation of almost 2/3 of the route Nashville, Ontario, Birmingham consultancy (going back some time), I from general traffic. This project has (Alabama), Washington DC, Little Rock, was involved in a number of bus priority faced (and continues to face) some Jacksonville, India, Denver, Kuala studies in London and Liverpool significant challenges on its trajectory Lumpur, San Francisco. through which it was clear to me that through to implementation. These Overall, this sounded to me to be enormous benefits to passengers could challenges are, I am sure, largely similar quite an impressive list, however when be derived. Then, at some point in the to those which have been faced by many browsing through the first 10 pages of mid 90’s I stumbled upon the concept of other cities– Cambridge, Sheffield, results, I did not come across a single BRT through my involvement in the Luton, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, UK scheme which was deemed Cambridge Guided Busway (some early London and others. newsworthy. Why is this, and what can work on behalf of local developers) and It is in this commonality of BRT we do collectively to rectify it? the Leeds Supertram scheme (where I delivery challenges where BRT UK can Issues to overcome was brought in to appraise an play a key role and where we can work alternative bus-based option to the tram collectively to exchange knowledge and One of the key constraints to project). Invariably also, there were a good-practice, and to support new developing high capacity bus-based number of projects I was handed where (enlightened) promoting authorities. solutions in our towns and cities BRT/bus priority was required to be Over the last 10 years, I have been relates to the on-going battle for considered as a ‘poor man’s cousin’ for involved in BRT UK activities, working street space in Central Areas. Our various proposed Light Rail schemes. on a cross-authority basis to promote towns and cities are often historic in BRT had however grabbed my attention BRT as a mode and to share knowledge. their planning, and suffer from at this point, as a genuine mass-transit I see that it is crucial that we, as an decisions made decades ago where solution which could be introduced at organisation, act as advocates for BRT. road space was reallocated away significantly lower cost than light rail, To try to get a feel for how successful from public transport towards car and one which could potentially also be and widespread BRT has been, I visited use (unlike many places in Europe, introduced on non-rail served corridors. the excellent website www.BRTdata.org where public transport priority was Moving jobs to work for West which maintains a database which retained). Often, local opinion and Yorkshire PTE (now the West Yorkshire tracks the development and progress of politics can take precedence over Combined Authority) gave me the BRT projects globally. Based on their seemingly rational arguments to re- opportunity to get more involved these most recent data, there are 402 mapped allocate limited road space back in types of projects in a Promoter capacity. BRT corridors, totalling around favour of people movement. It is not For the last 10 years I have led the NGT 5,230km worldwide. Twenty years ago just the car lobby that can dominate (Trolleybus) project in Leeds, which is a in 1995, the global figure was around here. Increasingly the demands of £250m scheme that is being jointly 300km of BRT routes. So in terms of cycle groups can also put paid to key BRTuk2015_Handbook_NC_v9.qxp_Layout 1 26/11/2015 16:14 Page 6 Handbook aspects of BRT thinking. This can will pan out for BRT schemes should made decisions has resulted in a superb relate to the demand for segregated become clearer over the next few years. network which includes BRT, tram, lanes of specific widths, as well as Opportunities in the UK Metro, Heavy Rail, tram-train and bus. junction capacity reductions to Moving onto technology and air accommodate cyclists. It is of course Over time the economy of UK has quality issues - for the last few years I possible (and desirable) to increasingly become London-driven. have attended a number of European accommodate both, however this There are very few other developed transport conferences where key can then lead to increased land-take, nations which have capitals with a presentations have centred around which in turn can result in increased population eight times greater than policy levers which are leading cities to opposition and costs. that of the second city (London 8.5m plan for future public transport This leads on to a further issue which vs Birmingham 1m).