I think this is an excellent, low-cost suggestion which could substantially reduce travel times for bus services from the South and South West, especially at peak times.rubberman wrote:Like the image I posted of a bus happily running on a tram track, buses and trams can happily share the same space.
So, if the track from South Tce to Brighton Rd were laid in concrete, buses from the city could slot in between the trams...like they do elsewhere in the world.
In that case, express buses could run down the Glenelg line to and from the city, branching off at Goodwood, South, Marion, Morphett, and Brighton Roads. In addition, buses could share the CBD tracks, thus improving bus speeds there, as well as freeing road space for cars in King William St and North Terrace. What's not to like? Everyone wins.
Now, in twenty years or so, when the Flexitys and Citadis need replacement, it's then a simple issue of economics, and passenger satisfaction surveys to see if passengers would prefer trams or an O-Bahn style Glenelg line.
As a tram fan, I might prefer a tram. However, some people just want to get somewhere, and maybe they don't have a preference between O-Bahn and tram. But let's just ask them, rather than theorise.
In order to make this arrangement practical, there would need to be a reduction in the number of tram stops, probably confined to the intersections of the major N-S arterial roads of Goodwood, South, Marion, Morphett and Brighton Rd (a tram stop spacing of approx 1.6km). This would speed up Glenelg tram services.
The express bus services utilising the tram alignment could then bypass each tram stop via a passing lane on the left hand side of each tram stop (perhaps for safety reasons the express buses slow down to 40kmh as they bypass each stop).
A similar tram/bus track sharing arrangement could also be adopted on the Outer Harbor line if that is converted to tram line. Buses from Addison Rd, Eastern Parade/Glenroy St and Hanson Rd could utilise the tramline from near where Arndale shopping centre is, into the CBD.