Runcorn, Cheshire, Runcorn Busway, operated by
Arriva North West, an unguided network built as part of the
new town extension of Runcorn[3] The busway is 14 miles (22 km) long, with an elevated section into a shopping area at the intersection[4]
1971 - Phase 1 complete[5] It was the world's first BRT system in 1971.[6]
Thames Gateway,
Fastrack, unguided with sections of segregated running, opened in phases in concert with planned local development. Operated by
Arriva Southern Counties using standard buses,
Centrelink was an infrastructure project including an exclusive busway on the south bank of the
River Tyne, for bendy bus services from
Gateshead to the
Metrocentre, operated by
Go North East.[9] In 2020, bendy bus services are long gone and the Centrelink project turned out to be a bus lane along the river with no priorities.
The
Luton to Dunstable Busway runs between Luton Airport and Houghton Regis via Dunstable following the Dunstable branch line, which closed in 1989, running parallel to the A505 (Dunstable Road) and A5065 (Hatters Way). It runs for 6.1 miles, of which 4.8 is guided track with a maximum speed of 50 mph. The £91 million scheme opened on 25 September 2013.
St Ives Park & Ride -
Milton Road, Cambridge: construction begun January 2007; was due to open in February 2009[11] but heavily delayed.[12] The service finally opened to traffic on Sunday 7 August 2011.
Leigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit, from
Leigh and
Atherton to
Manchester via
Tyldesley and
Ellenbrook. The 29-stop scheme extends a total of 22 km; and makes partial use of
a former railway line to form a 4 miles (7 km) guided busway together with pedestrian, cycle lane and bridleway between Leigh, Tyldesley, and Ellenbrook relieving heavy congestion. It then joins the
East Lancashire Road running in a dedicated a bus lane. A Park and Ride site has been constructed where the road reaches the
M60 motorway and buses continue through Salford and into
Manchester city centre along 9 miles (15 km) of segregated bus lanes; continuing through the centre along
Oxford Road to the
University of Manchester and
Manchester Royal Infirmary. The route is 80% segregated from highway along its length. Costs were £68m for the guided busway and £122m for the total project. Road junction works began in late-2011 and the full busway opened on 3 April 2016.[15] It forms part of the wider Manchester Quality Bus Corridor (Manchester QBC) and Cross City Bus network.
SheffieldBus Rapid Transit North running a 9 km route between
Sheffield Interchange and
Rotherham Interchange, that opened in September 2016. The route designated 'X1 Steel Link' runs every 10 minutes at peak. Total cost was £29.8m, most of which was for the construction of an 800m road link under the
Tinsley Viaduct at Meadowhall. Otherwise the service runs over a similar specification route to those provided for stopping buses.[16]
Bristol:
Bristol City Council, in conjunction with the West of England Partnership, approved three
MetroBus routes which consists of
Ashton Vale to
Bristol Temple Meads station (AVTM) and two routes from the
North Fringe towards Bristol City Centre and
Hengrove Park respectively; and opened in May 2018.[17] Only the Ashton Vale to Temple Meads route runs along a guided busway track; on the other two routes the BRT services share buslanes with stopping buses - except for a newbuild junction onto the
M32 motorway, which is reserved for Metrobus services only.
FTR bendy bus route unguided, operated by
First Leeds from 2007-2012, after the end of FTR services the buses were rebranded Hyperlink and redeployed alongside Yorks on the 72 route between Leeds and Bradford before being replaced by conventional double deckers in 2016.
Belfast: Since 2008 Belfast has been formally exploring the idea of a rapid-transit system. This quickly settled down to be a high-quality bus-based system, with modern vehicles with a tram-like feel with off-vehicle ticketing and fast journey times that hinge on the use of a dedicated traffic lane that is not used by general traffic. The ultimate ambition was for routes running from the city centre to the north, east, south and west with an additional line to Titanic Quarter. This system opened in 2018 as a BRT system running on normal roads.
Birmingham. Tracline 65 was an upgraded route with the first guided busway in the UK. There was a 600-metre section of guideway in
Erdington. It opened in 1984 and closed in 1987.[18]
Edinburgh,
Edinburgh Fastlink operated by
Lothian Buses. Originally called WEBS, the West Edinburgh Bus Scheme, a group of bus priority improvements that included a 1 mile (1.5 km) section of guided busway.
Stenhouse - Broomhouse, opened in December 2004, designed to be used for Line 2 of the
Edinburgh Tram Network.[19] In January 2009 it closed to enable conversion to tramway. The two bus services using the guideway were re-routed.[20]
Future systems
Under construction
ColchesterRapid Transit: In January 2023,
Essex County Council announced a rapid transit system for Colchester, set to be operational in 2025 or 2026. The planned route will connect from the
A12Park and ride (including the
Colchester Community Stadium and Northern Gateway development nearby), to the
University of Essex and new garden community due to be built near
Wivenhoe. The system will also see the construction of a corridor along Northern Approach, which has been in planning since 2006. The corridor construction, which started in August 2023, has notably caused damage to properties next to the route. [21]
DoverFastrack: A new BRT route in
Dover similar to the
Fastrack scheme in Gravesend, being built to connect new housing developments in
Whitfield to
Dover. It will be Kent’s first zero-emission bus service. It is planned to open in Autumn 2023.
West MidlandsSprint. A limited stop service with dedicated bus lanes, with a total of 7 routes to be operational by 2026.[22]
Glasgow,
Clyde Fastlink, along the north bank of the
River Clyde, with segregated running for the majority of its length outside the city centre.[24] It has been approved by Scottish ministers and is expected to be ready for the
2014 Commonwealth Games.[25]
Glasgow City Centre -
Glasgow Harbour with the majority of the route segregated.[26]
Leeds, following refusal of funding the proposed
Leeds Supertram, a replacement system was proposed by the government,[28] which included a three-line 12 miles (20 km) trolleybus network.[29] 38% would run on guideways or on bus lanes.[30] The scheme received a negative assessment from the inspector at a public inquiry, and approval was refused in May 2016.
Bath, Somerset, the Department of Transport approved funding with 1 mile (1.4 km) of busway,[31] but this has been abandoned.[32]
Millennium Transit, a segregated busway intended to link the
Millennium Dome with
Charlton and
Greenwich railway stations, part of which was to include a 1 mile (1.3 km) section of electronic guidance.[citation needed] Intended to be operational when the Dome opened, the electronic guidance technology was abandoned following concerns that neither the system nor the driver was in a position to avoid sudden obstacles.[33] The busway was later replaced by a dual carriageway due to safety concerns.[34]
Stoke-on-TrentStreetcar, primarily to link the railway station to the city centre, but would have also linked the rest of the city's six towns and neighbouring
Newcastle-under-Lyme and
Kidsgrove. Major destinations included both universities, the hospital and both major football stadia.
Runcorn, Cheshire, Runcorn Busway, operated by
Arriva North West, an unguided network built as part of the
new town extension of Runcorn[3] The busway is 14 miles (22 km) long, with an elevated section into a shopping area at the intersection[4]
1971 - Phase 1 complete[5] It was the world's first BRT system in 1971.[6]
Thames Gateway,
Fastrack, unguided with sections of segregated running, opened in phases in concert with planned local development. Operated by
Arriva Southern Counties using standard buses,
Centrelink was an infrastructure project including an exclusive busway on the south bank of the
River Tyne, for bendy bus services from
Gateshead to the
Metrocentre, operated by
Go North East.[9] In 2020, bendy bus services are long gone and the Centrelink project turned out to be a bus lane along the river with no priorities.
The
Luton to Dunstable Busway runs between Luton Airport and Houghton Regis via Dunstable following the Dunstable branch line, which closed in 1989, running parallel to the A505 (Dunstable Road) and A5065 (Hatters Way). It runs for 6.1 miles, of which 4.8 is guided track with a maximum speed of 50 mph. The £91 million scheme opened on 25 September 2013.
St Ives Park & Ride -
Milton Road, Cambridge: construction begun January 2007; was due to open in February 2009[11] but heavily delayed.[12] The service finally opened to traffic on Sunday 7 August 2011.
Leigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit, from
Leigh and
Atherton to
Manchester via
Tyldesley and
Ellenbrook. The 29-stop scheme extends a total of 22 km; and makes partial use of
a former railway line to form a 4 miles (7 km) guided busway together with pedestrian, cycle lane and bridleway between Leigh, Tyldesley, and Ellenbrook relieving heavy congestion. It then joins the
East Lancashire Road running in a dedicated a bus lane. A Park and Ride site has been constructed where the road reaches the
M60 motorway and buses continue through Salford and into
Manchester city centre along 9 miles (15 km) of segregated bus lanes; continuing through the centre along
Oxford Road to the
University of Manchester and
Manchester Royal Infirmary. The route is 80% segregated from highway along its length. Costs were £68m for the guided busway and £122m for the total project. Road junction works began in late-2011 and the full busway opened on 3 April 2016.[15] It forms part of the wider Manchester Quality Bus Corridor (Manchester QBC) and Cross City Bus network.
SheffieldBus Rapid Transit North running a 9 km route between
Sheffield Interchange and
Rotherham Interchange, that opened in September 2016. The route designated 'X1 Steel Link' runs every 10 minutes at peak. Total cost was £29.8m, most of which was for the construction of an 800m road link under the
Tinsley Viaduct at Meadowhall. Otherwise the service runs over a similar specification route to those provided for stopping buses.[16]
Bristol:
Bristol City Council, in conjunction with the West of England Partnership, approved three
MetroBus routes which consists of
Ashton Vale to
Bristol Temple Meads station (AVTM) and two routes from the
North Fringe towards Bristol City Centre and
Hengrove Park respectively; and opened in May 2018.[17] Only the Ashton Vale to Temple Meads route runs along a guided busway track; on the other two routes the BRT services share buslanes with stopping buses - except for a newbuild junction onto the
M32 motorway, which is reserved for Metrobus services only.
FTR bendy bus route unguided, operated by
First Leeds from 2007-2012, after the end of FTR services the buses were rebranded Hyperlink and redeployed alongside Yorks on the 72 route between Leeds and Bradford before being replaced by conventional double deckers in 2016.
Belfast: Since 2008 Belfast has been formally exploring the idea of a rapid-transit system. This quickly settled down to be a high-quality bus-based system, with modern vehicles with a tram-like feel with off-vehicle ticketing and fast journey times that hinge on the use of a dedicated traffic lane that is not used by general traffic. The ultimate ambition was for routes running from the city centre to the north, east, south and west with an additional line to Titanic Quarter. This system opened in 2018 as a BRT system running on normal roads.
Birmingham. Tracline 65 was an upgraded route with the first guided busway in the UK. There was a 600-metre section of guideway in
Erdington. It opened in 1984 and closed in 1987.[18]
Edinburgh,
Edinburgh Fastlink operated by
Lothian Buses. Originally called WEBS, the West Edinburgh Bus Scheme, a group of bus priority improvements that included a 1 mile (1.5 km) section of guided busway.
Stenhouse - Broomhouse, opened in December 2004, designed to be used for Line 2 of the
Edinburgh Tram Network.[19] In January 2009 it closed to enable conversion to tramway. The two bus services using the guideway were re-routed.[20]
Future systems
Under construction
ColchesterRapid Transit: In January 2023,
Essex County Council announced a rapid transit system for Colchester, set to be operational in 2025 or 2026. The planned route will connect from the
A12Park and ride (including the
Colchester Community Stadium and Northern Gateway development nearby), to the
University of Essex and new garden community due to be built near
Wivenhoe. The system will also see the construction of a corridor along Northern Approach, which has been in planning since 2006. The corridor construction, which started in August 2023, has notably caused damage to properties next to the route. [21]
DoverFastrack: A new BRT route in
Dover similar to the
Fastrack scheme in Gravesend, being built to connect new housing developments in
Whitfield to
Dover. It will be Kent’s first zero-emission bus service. It is planned to open in Autumn 2023.
West MidlandsSprint. A limited stop service with dedicated bus lanes, with a total of 7 routes to be operational by 2026.[22]
Glasgow,
Clyde Fastlink, along the north bank of the
River Clyde, with segregated running for the majority of its length outside the city centre.[24] It has been approved by Scottish ministers and is expected to be ready for the
2014 Commonwealth Games.[25]
Glasgow City Centre -
Glasgow Harbour with the majority of the route segregated.[26]
Leeds, following refusal of funding the proposed
Leeds Supertram, a replacement system was proposed by the government,[28] which included a three-line 12 miles (20 km) trolleybus network.[29] 38% would run on guideways or on bus lanes.[30] The scheme received a negative assessment from the inspector at a public inquiry, and approval was refused in May 2016.
Bath, Somerset, the Department of Transport approved funding with 1 mile (1.4 km) of busway,[31] but this has been abandoned.[32]
Millennium Transit, a segregated busway intended to link the
Millennium Dome with
Charlton and
Greenwich railway stations, part of which was to include a 1 mile (1.3 km) section of electronic guidance.[citation needed] Intended to be operational when the Dome opened, the electronic guidance technology was abandoned following concerns that neither the system nor the driver was in a position to avoid sudden obstacles.[33] The busway was later replaced by a dual carriageway due to safety concerns.[34]
Stoke-on-TrentStreetcar, primarily to link the railway station to the city centre, but would have also linked the rest of the city's six towns and neighbouring
Newcastle-under-Lyme and
Kidsgrove. Major destinations included both universities, the hospital and both major football stadia.