Would a guided busway work

[danny]

Ok so im sitting in traffic on the 64 going up the bristol road and it came to me. Withe the central resevation that used to carry the trams still prominant, would it be economical, fesible or effective to build a guideway for the routes that serve it, i know it was tried in the 80 along the 65. Does the leeds, croydon and cambridge systems work, and would it work here if ever considered, the floor is open lol

[monkeyjoe]

Always wondered, why did they get rid of the guided Trace 65 project?

[danny]

From what ive read the 65 went up for tender on a sunday and was won by midland red who were unwilling to aquire compliant buses, one factor anyway

[John]

Maybe on a busy road like the Bristol Road, a guided busway might work better because it has high frequency bus services using it, and because the Bristol Road is a very busy road, so the buses can bypass the traffic especially at rush hour. Whereas the 65 was not a high frequency route, and Short Heath Road is not as busy, and it was only a short section.

I don't know how First or Green Bus would make of the idea and if they would use it or not, as they also use the Bristol Road in that area.

[nx4737]

Wouldn't it be far easier and cheaper to just convert the Central Reservation to bus lanes?

Can't help but see another Cambridge situation appear...

[horsencart]

One of the pronlems why the guided bus did not work on the 65 was the weather when it snowed  a number of buses got stuck on the incline

[Discodave]

Wouldn't it be far easier and cheaper to just convert the Central Reservation to bus lanes?

Can't help but see another Cambridge situation appear...

and remember the cost of fitting guidewheels or specific buses just for the guideway

[dayvid]

Bristol Road would word and possibly coventry road, have a look what they have done in Bradford along the Manchester road and in Leeds.

[tank90]

Main problem was the taking out of the trams..............

[Justin Tyme]

One major problem is that the Bristol Road and other Birmingham central reservations were built with narrow (3ft 6in) gauge trams in mind.  I don't know if buses might just possibly be able to fit in the central reservation, but even if they could, trees would have to be removed.  This was the case for Tracline 65 and caused big protests in Short Heath.  I can imagine even greater protests along the tree-lined Bristol Road which would probably stymie any such project.

There would also be a safety issue - would passengers have enough room to cross safely to and wait on the central reservation?