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Belfast Rapid Transit

The Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) ^[1]is designed to provide a fast and reliable service and a high quality passenger experience connecting East Belfast, West Belfast and Titanic Quarter via Belfast city centre in Northern Ireland. The modal choice of vehicle to provide this service is a high quality, bus-based rapid transit system that focuses on quality, comfort, accessibility and environmental benefits. There are 3 proposed routes:

EWAY
WWAY
CITI

Total 15.2 miles or 24.5 Km ^[2] in length and consists of both dedicated bus lanes and mixed traffic lanes. Road Construction of the Belfast Rapid Transit system is currently in progress with the view of being implemented in 2017 at a cost of approximately £100m of public funds.^[3]

History

Belfast road transport has evolved from the horse and cart with the introduction of trams in 1905 then superseded by trolley buses in 1938 both operated by the Belfast Corporation Tramways. In 1973 Citybus took charge of bus operations from the Belfast Corporation Transport Department and today public transport in N.Ireland operates under the name Translink. Translink is a brand name for 3 companies Citybus (Metro), Ulsterbus and Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ^[4] all of which are controlled by the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo) which is a public corporation established under the Transport Act (NI) 1967.

Background

The Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) system fits well with the future challenges of N.Ireland which is to create a sustainable Economy, Society and Environment as published in the Regional Development Strategy (RDS) 2035. ^[5]From this the Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) and the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan ([http://www.drdni.gov.uk/index BMTP)] were created. Backed by the Stormont executive ^[6] the BRT project is overseen by the Department for Regional Development (DRD)^[7] to address the current and long term transport issues in the Greater Belfast area. The project is highlighted as vital to future transport planning within the Regional Development Strategy and the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan. In the BRT Business case Sept 2012 a key finding is quoted as stating that, “the overall project objectives meet the need to promote economic growth, regeneration, equity, integration and modal shift to a sustainable form of transport.”

Routes

WWAY^[8] route along Divis Street, Falls Road, Andersonstown Road, Stewartstown Road and terminating at a park and ride site near Dairy Farm and/or McKinstry Road Roundabout. EWAY^[9] route from the city centre along Albertbridge Road and Upper Newtownards Road and terminating at a park and ride site in Dundonald.
CITI^[10] route from Queen Elizabeth Bridge along Queen’s Quay and Queen’s Road to Titanic Quarter and returning to the city centre via Queen’s Road, Queen’s Quay, Station Street, Bridge End and Queen’s Bridge. All three routes will connect with a circulatory route and common interchange halts in the core of the city centre and consists of Oxford Street, May Street, Howard Street, Fisherwick Place, College Square East, Wellington Place, Chichester Street, Victoria Street, Custom House Square and Donegal Quay. The operating objectives of the BRT is to increase the patronage of public transport whilst reducing journey times and the number of private vehicles on these routes. The social and economic benefits of BRT are designed to give even the poorest people of society the opportunity to access public services, amenities and places of interest whilst local businesses also benefit from the increase frequency of the service and patronage which contributes to the local economy.

Service

The EWAY & WWAY will operate along the current 4 & 10 Metro corridors^[11] respectively whilst the CITI will operate largely in comparison with the current 26B route. Services are expected to operate on a 10 minute interval reducing to 5-8 minutes at peak times.

BRT Vehicles

The rapid transit bus or manufacturer has not been chosen yet but it is envisaged to be of a light tram design with 3 doors for quick accessible boarding and alighting and approximately 18 metres in length. The interior will be built to a high quality offering a mixture of seating and standing, free WI-FI, real- time visual and audible information and CCTV to ensure safety. BRT vehicles will be fuel efficient diesel hybrid engines emitting low level pollution and noise complying with environmental concerns.

Runways

Runway is the preferred terminology for the lanes that will facilitate vehicles on these BRT routes which incorporates bus lanes and mixed traffic lanes. The road width on each route must have a minimum width of 12 metres with each runway a minimum 3 metres wide. BRT vehicles will share these runways with Ulsterbus & Metro buses along with Black Taxi’s and cyclists. It is expected that the operational time on these runways will be the same as bus lanes in operation currently in and around the Belfast City Centre which is 7am – 7pm^[12].

Halts & interchanges

Halts^[13] along each route will be 400 metres apart compared to present bus stops which are 150-250 metres apart. Halts will be 18 metres as standard but may be extended to 30 metres to allow simultaneous docking of BRT, Metro and Ulsterbus vehicles. Each halt will have Kessel kerbs^[14] that will allow BRT vehicles to dock correctly and align with the footpath to ensure quick and safe boarding and lighting. BRT vehicles on the EWAY route will operate to and terminate at Dundonald interchange ^[15] on Dunlady road which operates as a park & ride and can facilitate up to 520 vehicles. WWAY vehicles however will operate to and terminate at Mc Kinistry Roundabout on the Stewartstown Road. This however may be a temporary measure as there has been a proposal to construct a terminal point at the Dairyfarm shopping centre^[16] in the plans to regenerate the surrounding area in the town land named Colin.^[17] A map of the route can be downloaded at this link.

Fares & Ticketing

Payment to travel on BRT vehicles will be prior to boarding through ticketing systems as well as ticketing machines at halts this will allow waiting times to be minimal. Halts will consist of 1 ticket machine and 3 ticket validation machines allowing minimal interaction with the driver and speed of journey.

Conclusion

The decision to introduce a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) from a practical and financial perspective compared to a Light Rail Tram System (LRTS) makes sense however there have been questions raised as to its success.

References

Links

[1] ttp://www.drdni.gov.uk/belfast_rapid_transit_-_highlights_from_the_outline_business_case.pdf

[2] ttp://www.wesleyjohnston.com/roads/belfastrapidtransit.html

[3] ttp://www.drdni.gov.uk/index/rapid-transit.htm

[4] ttp://www.translink.co.uk/Services/ni-railways/

[5] ttp://www.drdni.gov.uk/rds_2035.pdf

[6] ttp://www.northernireland.gov.uk/

[7] ttp://www.drdni.gov.uk/

[8] ttp://www.northernireland.gov.uk/121011-drd-rapid-transit-network

[9] ttp://www.northernireland.gov.uk/121011-drd-rapid-transit-network

[10] ttp://www.northernireland.gov.uk/121011-drd-rapid-transit-network

[11] ttp://www.translink.co.uk/Services/Metro-Service-Page/Metro-Corridor-Zone-Guide/

[12] ttp://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/belfast-rapid-transit-system-faster-buses-in-belfast-and-a-train-to-the-airport-30286938.html

[13] ttp://www.drdni.gov.uk/index/rapid-transit/rapid-transit-features.htm

[14] ttp://www.brettpaving.co.uk/commercial/specialist-kerbs/kassel-bus-boarding-kerb/

[15] ttp://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Belfast-Rapid-Transit---EWAY-to-Dundonald

[16] ttp://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news-doe-030210-poots-approves-_25million-2

[17] ttp://www.dsdni.gov.uk/colin-consultation-report-2013.pdf

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