Runcorn Busway

The Runcorn Busway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Runcorn, England. Opened in 1971, it was the first BRT system in the world.^[1]

Runcorn Busway
An elevated section of the Busway at Runcorn Shopping City in 2008
Overview
Owner	Halton Borough Council
Area served	Runcorn
Transit type	Bus rapid transit
Operation
Began operation	October 1971
Technical
System length	22 km (14 mi)
System map v t e Crewe–Liverpool line to Widnes, onwards to Liverpool and Warrington Ethelfleda Bridge River Mersey Silver Jubilee Bridge Runcorn High Street Bridge Street  A557  Weston Point Exp'y Mason Street Runcorn railway station Eddison Road Rocksavage Way formerly busway, now road Davy Road Chadwick Road Halton Curve  A533  Mersey Gateway Bridge Brindley Road Crewe–Liverpool line Arkwright Road Handford Lane St Chad's School  A558  Halton Lodge The Barge Rolands Walk Castlefields Central The Brow Castlefields Hill Lodge Avenue Phoenix Park Halton Lodge Halton Lea South / North Norton Priory Southwood Avenue Halton Hospital Windmill Hill Palacefields Newburgh Close Brookvale Norton Gooseberry Lane Halton High Norton Village Barnfield Avenue East Station Murdishaw Parkgate Way Murdishaw Avenue Chester–Warrington line  M56  North Cheshire M'way Chester Road ( A56 ) Guinness Travel Inn  A533   A56  &  A533  Whitehouse Industrial Estate

History

First conceived in the Runcorn New Town Masterplan in 1966, it opened for services in October 1971 and all 22 kilometres (14 mi) were operational by 1980.^[1] It was the first BRT system in the world.^[2] Arthur Ling, Runcorn Development Corporation's master planner, said that he had invented the concept while sketching on the back of an envelope.^[3] The masterplan considered a variety of transport systems, including a monorail, but a busway was judged to be more economical. The town was designed around the transport system, with most residents no more than five minutes' walking distance, or 500 yards (460 m), from the busway.^[4]

The busway was designed to cross the town in a figure of 8. It was created exclusively for buses, excluding both pedestrians and private vehicles, and where the route crossed general roads and didn't go over a bridge or underneath, buses were given priority at the traffic lights.^[1] The central station is at Runcorn Shopping City where buses arrive on dedicated raised busways to two enclosed stations.^[5]

Initially, the bus operator on the busway was Crosville.^[1] The National Bus Company commissioned an electrical conversion of a Leyland National in the 1970s by removing the diesel engine and adding a 7 tonne battery trailer. The length of the vehicle meant that it needed special permission to operate on the highway, and this was only granted on the Runcorn Busway where it operated sporadically, with its range of 60 to 80 miles on an 8 hour charge too short for use all day.^[6]

Technical details

The Busway has a design speed of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) and a maximum gradient of 4 per cent (or 6 per cent for distances under 200 m (660 ft)).^[7] Bus stops are at intervals of approximately 400 metres (1,300 ft).^[7]

Gallery

The Busway station for Runcorn East railway station

Elevated section of the Busway at Runcorn Shopping City

A Busway junction with a general traffic road

An Arriva bus in east Runcorn