1. Executive Summary  

   

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London Guided Busway - Executive Summary

Introduction

Our starting point is the belief that guided bus is a valuable mass transit option that is not yet exploited to its full potential in the United Kingdom. The underlying purpose of this investigation is two-fold:

• To demonstrate what could be achieved by kerb guided bus by means of a scheme in North West London that we have developed and that we believe to be capable of implementation; and

• to provide a reference resource that can be used by the general public and by transport and media professionals to increase their understanding of the concept of kerb guided bus.

Our work has taken place in four stages –explanation of the concept; application of the concept to a corridor in North West London; consultation with stakeholders to secure reaction to the proposed scheme; and the development of a web site (www.londonguidedbusway.co.uk) to disseminate the output of the project.

Our objective

The case study has been worked up to a level of detail sufficient to demonstrate that it could be implemented and to enable initial estimates of implementation cost and benefit/cost ratio. The work to date has been funded by one person and that has placed a limit on the level of detail provided. For example, the forecasting of demand and revenue and the assessment of traffic impact on the existing road network require substantial modelling work that is beyond the resources that are available to one person.

It is our hope that the case we intend to present will generate sufficient interest for the proposed scheme to be taken forward to the next stage of development by the public sector.

The proposed scheme

The proposal is for a new busway using kerb guidance just like the busways in Cambridgeshire and connecting Luton and Dunstable to provide a fast and congestion-free route for buses and coaches from the M1 motorway and the North Circular Road near Staples Corner to Central London at Marylebone Station. The aim is to make use of the railway corridors provided by the former Great Central route between Marylebone Station and Finchley Road used by Chiltern Line services and the Midland Main Line between West Hampstead and Brent Cross to construct a two-way kerb guided busway.

The proposed route is intended to provide a fast and direct link for buses and coaches between Central London, the M1 motorway and the A406 North Circular Road at Staples Corner via West Hampstead and Cricklewood.

There would be connections to the local road network at Marylebone to enable buses and coaches to continue their journeys to the West End and the City. One possible addition to the proposed scheme is the creation of a new coach terminal over the railway at or near Marylebone Station.

Rationale for the scheme

The basis for our ideas is the belief that guided bus is a valuable form of high capacity transit that has not yet been exploited to its potential in the United Kingdom. Kerb guidance of buses is a proven form of Bus Rapid Transit. Guided bus technology is simple and applies mechanical guidance that removes the need for the driver to steer the bus. Conventional buses can be operated on specially-built tracks using small horizontal guide

   

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wheels fitted to bus axles to engage with raised kerbs on both sides of the bus. On normal roads, buses are driven normally with drivers controlling acceleration, steering and braking.

Our proposed scheme takes a different approach to the schemes in Cambridge and Luton by using land beside operational railways to accommodate the busway with what we think will be minimal impact on the operation or capacity of rail passenger services.

The inspiration for the proposed Busway scheme came from New York where the Lincoln Toll Tunnel and the ‘Exclusive Bus Lane’ or ‘XBL’ connects New Jersey with Manhattan. The Lincoln Tunnel feeds buses directly into New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd Street and the XBL caters for around 1,700 buses carrying 62,000 passengers during a typical morning peak period.

The rationale for the scheme is that the substantial time savings that could be achieved by buses and coaches would provide a much more attractive service that would, in turn, attract more patronage and revenue whilst also enabling resource savings by operators.

The logic behind the proposals is that a two lane, two way guided busway can be fitted in to an alignment of the same width as two railway tracks.

The ‘go anywhere’ ability of buses fitted with kerb guide wheels to operate on guided busways and in steered mode on roads gives a high degree of route flexibility. This is best illustrated by reference to the guided busway in Adelaide, Australia where buses from different outer suburbs funnel into the guided busway and where, at the inner city end of the busway, buses are able to take different routes to city centre terminal points. The same approach could be applied in this corridor.

Our expectation is that the substantial time savings that could be achieved by buses and coaches would provide a much more attractive service that would, in turn, attract more patronage and revenue whilst also enabling resource savings by operators.

The Proposed Busway Route

The proposed Busway would commence at London Marylebone Station and would end at the A5 Edgware Road close to the proposed new railway station at Brent Cross.

At the southern end of the route there is a possibility of constructing a bus and coach terminal on a raft over the operational railway with a connection to the local highway network at the Rossmore Road bridge immediately to the north of Marylebone Station. Rossmore Road provides access to the A41 Park Road at its eastern end and to the B507 Lisson Grove to the west.

The route north from Marylebone would make use of the disused western bores of St. John’s Wood Tunnel and Hampstead Tunnel with a crossing of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) between the two tunnels by means of a new bridge span making use of existing bridge abutments.

At the north western end of Hampstead Tunnel the proposed route crosses the double track line used by Chiltern Trains and the car park serving the O2 Centre to gain access to the south side of the Midland Main Line alignment to the east of the West End Lane bridge and West Hampstead Thameslink Station.

West Hampstead is identified in the North London Strategic Transport Plan as an important interchange between radial and orbital public transport services and between different rail and London Underground lines. An interchange station on the proposed busway would add greatly to the potential of this transport hub, but is likely to need land acquisition and needs to be examined in more detail if and when the busway project is taken forward.

   

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The proposal for a new station as part of the project for the regeneration of Cricklewood, Brent Cross and West Hendon at a location to the south of the North Circular Road creates an opportunity for interchange between Thameslink rail services and bus and long distance coach services using the proposed Busway.

The preferred option for the northern end of the Busway is a connection to the A5 in the vicinity of Geron Way, Cricklewood.

A key issue for the feasibility of this project is access to land beside operational railway lines in order to undertake construction works. It is inevitable that a substantial number of railway possessions would be needed to enable the creation of safe working areas, the temporary fencing of the construction site and the construction works themselves. This has had a significant impact on the estimate of implementation cost.

Implementation Costs

A preliminary estimate has been made of implementation costs for options with and without a coach terminal at Marylebone at December 2011 prices:

• With the coach station: £411.5 million.

• Without the coach station: £400.8 million.

The cost per route kilometre is high reflecting the scale of civil engineering works, the number of structures required, and the complexities of construction work alongside and across busy ‘live’ railways.

The implementation cost estimate includes provision for seeking scheme authorisation through the Transport and Works Act 1992 Order-making procedure.

Annual Costs

Evidence from Adelaide, Essen, Leeds and Bradford suggests that major maintenance of the busway is unlikely to be necessary in the early years of operation as bus and coach axle loadings are comparatively light and the wear and tear on the surface and guide wheel side kerbs is minimal.

Estimates have been made of the annual sums needed to meet the costs of maintaining and repairing the busway and its structures; operating and maintaining tunnel ventilation, lighting, communications and CCTV equipment. The preliminary estimate is £2.7 million per annum (at December 2011 prices).

The benefits

The scheme does offer significant benefits:

• It provides new market opportunities for commuter buses and coaches to tap demands that are not met by existing rail passenger services and London Underground services.

• It provides an opportunity to re-cast London Bus Services in the North West sector of the capital to exploit the shorter and predictable journey times provided by the Busway to deliver faster journey times between Outer North West London and Central London.

• It provides scope for longer distance coach park and ride services from communities in the northern Home Counties and South Midlands.

   

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• It offers much improved accessibility through the extensive range of inter-modal interchange opportunities at Brent Cross.

• It offers more predictable and shorter journey times that bus and coach operators can exploit to deliver resource savings.

We have made an initial estimate of implementation cost and undertaken an economic appraisal of the scheme that follows DfT WebTag guidance as far as is possible at this stage of development of the project. Appraisal of the proposed busway scheme was undertaken using a simple and easy to understand spreadsheet model.

With utilisation of between 2,000 and 3,000 one-way bus/coach trips per day, a benefit/cost ratio (BCR) of between 2.5 and 3.6 was obtained indicating reasonably good value for money despite the high cost per route kilometre reflecting the scale of civil engineering works, the number of structures required, and the complexities of construction work alongside and across busy ‘live’ railways.

Consultations

We have already held meetings to discuss our ideas with Transport for London, Westminster City Council, the London Borough of Barnet, the London Borough of Camden, the London Borough of Brent, members of the Brent Cross – Cricklewood regeneration team, Network Rail, the Highways Agency and Stagecoach UK Bus. The opportunity was also given to other bus and coach operators to participate in the consultation process.

We have been able to take into account some of the matters raised at consultation meetings. Other matters remain to be addressed if and when the proposed scheme is taken forward to the next stage.

Account has been taken of the policies and proposals contained in the Mayor of London’s Planning and Transport Strategies and his 2020 Vision. It is considered that the proposed Busway would make a positive contribution to the delivery of the Mayor’s goals and objectives for transport in London.

What next?

We will wait until the autumn to give enough time for people to provide their comments on our proposals. We then plan to compile a report summarising all of the feedback that we receive for circulation to all interested parties. Update information will also be provided on www.londonguidedbusway.co.uk. After that, we will take stock of the findings and decide how to proceed.