Great Western Coffee Shop

Hi all from East Anglia, the new home of the guided bus. Increasingly,  the only home of the guided bus, given the news that the Edinburgh scheme has been quietly shut.

Apparently, it was shut in late November, but very quietly, and will be replaced by the Edinburgh tramway.

There is now pretty much irrefutable evidence that guided buses are considerably more expensive to construct than a basic rail alternative. And this one closing does suggest that once operational, they are not the universal panacea that we are being forced to accept.

If you are fighting a proposed scheme, please point the protagonists towards Cambridge to see what a turkey looks like when it is stretched to about 13 miles. We have done some basic updating of the CAST.IRON web site (www.cast.iron.org.uk) and we urge you to spend some time looking at our public inquiry evidence, as much of that has been proven to be quite accurate, despite the local council's very expensive legal team rubbishing it all the way through.

It's nice to see this happening, but it is a bitter pill, given that ^116m of tax payers money (and counting) has been poured into this scheme.

Mark

what total idiot ever though up a guided bus way, what an arsehole invention! i'm with you mate, fight them all the way!

Well, it does seem to have rather limited credibility as a concept, certainly: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guided_bus


 ::)

You mean like Pacers on rails?  ;D

When will local councils learn that buses replacing trains DOESN'T work! People want a train or a tram.

Hmm, are you sure that's the right hyperlink for the Cast Iron website, Mark mate? I'm struggling to see the relevance of where it leads you to guided buses...

Ooops, you're right, it is www.castiron.org.uk, sorry about that. A lot more attractive maybe, but not the right site!

As regards the person who invented guided buses, he is a Cambridge based transport consultant named Arthur Henderson. It may amuse you to know that Arthur has stated publicly that the Cambridge scheme is totally unsuited to his invention - and he is actually a supporter of our organisation!

Mark

There is one in Edinburgh which is to be axed to make..... yes, you guessed it - a tram line.

I seem to remember some sort of early form of guided busway in Brum, mid 80s.  Buses had a side contact wheel which ran against a vertical rail.  Anyone recall this or know more?

It just seems pointless, busses are for roads, it's what makes them useful as they are cheaper coz they use existing infrastructure i.e. roads so what the hell is the point in spending billions on a concrete busway?? what crap! it would have been cheaper to just build a railway line that would benefit more people! I read some of the news stories on the cast iron website and it just seems that it's a black hole for money that will see very little...if any return or benefits to anyone except the contractors building it!

Is this it, by any chance, G.Uard?

See http://citytransport.info/Tracline65.htm

That's the badger!  I had forgotten all about it until I read this thread. 

Thanks G.uard very interesting link. That one slipped under the radar. Looking at the pictures was this route by chance on an old tram route? There were a number of tram routes out of Birmingham which ran on central reservations. You can usually tell if your're on one as you will have a large grass covered tree lined central reservation separating the two streams of traffic.

Interesting comment "they learnt a lot of lessons" I wonder what they were?

I particularly like the photo headed "Note the dripping oil deposits from where buses halt..."

Can't help but wonder what comment the author would describe for the "deposits" left behind at stations where trains stop :-\

I don't have any connections with Brum, apart from working out of the airport in my travel days.  I just recalled seeing a strangely equipped bus in the city centre and wondering.

I believe that a guided busway of some ilk was mooted for the new township in the Green Park area of South Reading.  Object, to link the huge business park with residential areas, Green Park Station and Central Reading.  However, I believe that a preference has now been expressed for light rail or a tramway.