Fast bus network not light rail the answer to Adelaide’s traffic woes, study finds

A fast bus system using lanes in the middle of major roads would be cheaper and more effective than extending light rail, a study has found.

A rapid public bus system that services passengers using dedicated lanes and platforms in the middle of major roads would be a cheaper and more effective alternative to extending light rail in Adelaide, a study has found.

Flinders University researcher Michael McGreevy has suggested that Adelaide adopt a “Bus Rapid Transit” system – modelled on one in the Brazilian city of Curitiba – to build on the existing bus fleet, which carries three-quarters of the city’s public transport passengers.

Under Curitiba’s BRT network, buses use 60km of priority lanes separated from commuter traffic. Passengers wait for buses in covered platforms in the middle of streets.

Dr McGreevy compared running BRT, heavy rail and trams on Adelaide’s east-west corridor, from Rosslyn Park to Henley Beach through the city via The Parade and Henley Beach Rd. He also analysed the potential to operate feeder routes along perpendicular roads, such as Portrush Rd, and to Adelaide Airport.

Bus Rapid Transit systems areoperation in some parts of the world.

His research argues that Adelaide’s inner and middle suburbs are better suited for a “cost-effective” Curitiba-style bus system, which would be more reliable and convenient for passengers.

He said the cost of an “arterial-based BRT” ranged from $1m to $10m per kilometre, “one-seventh” the cost of the cheapest light rail being built in Australia.

“An additional advantage they have over rail, particularly in low-density areas, is the ability of vehicles to leave and return to right-of-way lanes at multiple points along a route,” he said.

“In the case study area, the low cost of BRT and their ­vehicles’ ability to leave right-of-way corridors mean they are able to connect more ­people with more places and produced a networked subsystem which minimises the need for interchanges.”

He said by using existing infrastructure, the transition could happen “comparatively quickly” within a “matter of years”. The new network would build on the success of Adelaide’s O-Bahn, which is the busiest public transport corridor in Adelaide.

“ … BRT can be expanded metropolitan-wide, using existing road infrastructure and vehicles,” Dr McGreevy said.

He said that a new bus ­network could be connected to rail and tram routes at multiple points, “creating a metropolitan-wide, networked, public transport system at a fraction of the cost of rail-based alternatives”.

“In the case of Adelaide, BRT produces a system able to maximise connection, coverage, convenience, speed and reliability in an area with low residential densities, a strong CBD, concentrated employment and walkable streets.”