Trams vs electric buses with dedicated bus lanes

[DelW]

Intensive bus services chew up and rut the tarmac badly at bus stops. All that braking and acceleration energy causes real damage to the road

Actual tarmac (where the binder is tar, derived from coal, not bitumen, derived from oil) is quite good at resisting rutting, as it isn't softened by drips of diesel fuel or lubricating oil from bus engines. Unfortunately tar became difficult to obtain when production of town gas from coal ceased, so virtually all blacktop now has a bitumen binder on which spilt fuel acts as a solvent, resulting in rutting.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Actual tarmac (where the binder is tar, derived from coal, not bitumen, derived from oil) is quite good at resisting rutting, as it isn't softened by drips of diesel fuel or lubricating oil from bus engines. Unfortunately tar became difficult to obtain when production of town gas from coal ceased, so virtually all blacktop now has a bitumen binder on which spilt fuel acts as a solvent, resulting in rutting.

Perhaps bus companies could be charged the cost of repair if they can't be bothered to ensure their vehicles don't leak everywhere?

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

Other than on the outer reaches where there is little congestion, there is basically no point building tramways which just run down the general traffic lanes of a road.

In Kolkata, reserved lanes for trams were actually "de-reserved" in the 2000s. Now the police blame trams for causing congestion.

How Successive Bengal Governments Killed Kolkata's Trams

The tramway, a sustainable, emission-free, cheap and effective means of mass transportation, last received an investment intended to upgrade its services 41 years ago. Now it is known only for its heritage value.

thewire.in

 

[K.o.R]

But that aside, isn't the Cambridge, Leigh or Gosport busway sort of what you are saying?

Hah, Gosport wishes it was like those busways. It's just a road with some bollards to stop other vehicles.

Not that there'd be much point making it guided as it's dead straight the whole way.

 

[johncrossley]

Hah, Gosport wishes it was like those busways. It's just a road with some bollards to stop other vehicles.

Not that there'd be much point making it guided as it's dead straight the whole way.

There's no reason for guidance unless there is a space constraint. Enforcement used to be an argument but now cameras exist.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There's no reason for guidance unless there is a space constraint. Enforcement used to be an argument but now cameras exist.

Indeed, and if a car does drive down the Gosport busway it doesn't get stuck in a car trap and block the "line", similarly if a bus is broken down you can steer around it.

Really, guidance is a gimmick and bus only roads (with traffic lights at pinch points) are the way to go. Runcorn worked that out years ago!

 

[py_megapixel]

Really, guidance is a gimmick and bus only roads (with traffic lights at pinch points) are the way to go. Runcorn worked that out years ago!

Presumably with detection loops well back from the line so that buses will get a green light if at all possible