bus lane

The first bus lane is often erroneously attributed to Chicago, where in 1939 Sheridan Road was installed with reversible lanes north of Foster Avenue.[http://www.apta.com/research/stats/history/mileston.cfm Milestones in U.S. Public Transportation History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807210727/http://www.apta.com/research/stats/history/mileston.cfm |date=7 August 2007 }} (from the APTA website. Retrieved 6 December 2007.)[http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/ntd.htm History of the NTD and Transit in the US] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012095259/http://ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/ntd.htm|date=12 October 2007}} (from the NTD website. Retrieved 6 December 2007.) The setup consisted of three-lanes towards the peak direction (south in the morning; north in the evening), and one contraflow lane. None of the lanes exclusively carried buses, but were designed to facilitate bus operations. In 1948, the East Side Trolley Tunnel in Providence, Rhode Island was converted to bus-only use and became the first dedicated busway in the United States, continuing to operate to this day. In 1956 Nashville became the first city to implement on-street bus lanes. Later that year, Chicago implemented a bus lane in the center of Washington Street, a five lane one-way street downtown.{{cite web |last1=Agrawal |first1=Asha Weinstein |last2=Goldman |first2=Todd |last3=Hannaford |first3=Nancy |title=Shared-Use Bus Priority Lanes on City Streets: Case Studies in Design and Management |url=https://nacto.org/docs/usdg/shared_use_bus_priority_lanes_on_city_streets_agrawal.pdf |publisher=Mineta Transportation Institute |access-date=3 November 2021 |date=April 2012}}{{cite report |last1=Levinson |first1=Herbert S. |last2=Hoey |first2=William F. |last3=Sanders |first3=David B. |last4=Wyn |first4=F. Houston |date=1973 |title=Bus Use of Highways: State of the Art |url=https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_143.pdf |publisher=Highway Research Board |work=National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 143 |access-date = 4 November 2021}}

The first bus lanes in Europe were established in 1963 in the German city of Hamburg, when the tram system was closed and the former dedicated tram tracks were converted for bus travel. Other large German cities soon followed, and the implementation of bus lanes was officially sanctioned in the German highway code in 1970. Many experts from other countries (Japan among the first) studied the German example and implemented similar solutions. On 15 January 1964 the first bus lane in France was designated along the quai du Louvre in Paris and the first contraflow lane was established on the old pont de l’Alma on 15 June 1966.[http://www.amtuir.org/06_htu_bus_100_ans/oa_1961_1970/oa_1961_1970.htm Les zones bleues et les couloirs pour autobus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114111730/http://www.amtuir.org/06_htu_bus_100_ans/oa_1961_1970/oa_1961_1970.htm|date=14 November 2007}} (from the AMTUIR website, Musée des Transports Urbains. Retrieved 6 December 2007.{{in lang|fr}})

On 26 February 1968 the first bus lane in London was put into service on Vauxhall Bridge.{{citation|last=Matthews|first=Peter|title=London's Bridges|publisher=Shire|location=Oxford|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7478-0679-0|oclc=213309491}} The first contraflow bus lane in the UK was introduced in King's Road, Reading as a temporary measure when the road was made one-way (eastwards to Cemetery Junction) on 16 June 1968. The initial reason was to save the expense of rerouting the trolleybus, which was due to be scrapped on 3 November of that year. However the experiment proved so successful that it was made permanent for use by motor buses.{{cite web|url=http://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/15th-august-1969/39/when-mrs-barbara-castle-in-her-role-of-minister-of|title=WHEN Mrs. Barbara Castle, in her role of Minister of - 15th August 1969 - The Commercial Motor Archive|website=archive.commercialmotor.com}} In October 1971 Runcorn opened the world's first bus rapid transitway. Upon opening, the {{convert|7|mi|km|adj=on}} busway featured specialized stations, signal priority, grade separation, and was expanded to {{convert|14|mi|km}} by 1980.{{cite web |url=http://www.rudi.net/books/3346 |title=Runcorn New Town - 7.3 Transport |website=rudi.net |access-date=24 July 2020 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018012240/http://www.rudi.net/books/3346 |archivedate=18 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp90v1_cs/Runcorn.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913224704/http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp90v1_cs/Runcorn.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-09-13 |title=Runcorn buses enthusiast site detailing the busway |publisher=Members.lycos.co.uk |accessdate=2016-09-08}}

By 1972 there were over {{convert|140|km}} of with-flow bus lanes in 100 cities within OECD member countries, and the network grew substantially in the following decades.[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3927/is_199912/ai_n8873097/pg_2 Assessing travel time impacts of measures to enhance bus operations] - Jepson, D.; Ferreira, L., Road & Transport Research, December 1999. Retrieved 6 December 2007.)

The El Monte Busway between El Monte and Downtown Los Angeles was the first dedicated busway in the US, constructed in 1974.[http://www.mtc.ca.gov/library/blueprint/bp_rapidbus.htm Los Angeles] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611191716/http://www.mtc.ca.gov/library/blueprint/bp_rapidbus.htm |date=11 June 2007 }} (from the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Commission website. Retrieved 6 December 2007.)

Bus lanes may be located in different locations on a street, such as on the sides of a street near the curb, or down the center. They may be long, continuous networks, or short segments used to allow buses to bypass bottlenecks or reduce route complexity, such as in a contraflow bus lane.{{cite web|url=http://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/transit-lanes-transitways/transit-lanes/|title=Transit Lanes - National Association of City Transportation Officials|date=18 April 2016}}

Bus lanes may be demarcated in several ways. Descriptive text such as "BUS LANE" may be marked prominently on the road surface, particularly at the beginning and end. Some cities use a diamond-shaped pavement marking to indicate an exclusive bus lane. The road surface may have a distinctive color, usually red, which has been shown to reduce prohibited vehicles from entering bus lanes.{{Cite news|url=http://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/transit-lanes-transitways/lane-elements/pavement-markings-color/|title=Pavement Markings & Color - National Association of City Transportation Officials|newspaper=National Association of City Transportation Officials|language=en-US|access-date=20 December 2016}} Road signs may communicate when a bus lane is in effect.{{Cite web |last=Krichevsky |first=Sophie |date=2022-07-21 |title=In Downtown Flushing, busway hours reduced |url=https://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/in-downtown-flushing-busway-hours-reduced/article_653513b1-968d-5605-a2cb-43e01214704f.html |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=Queens Chronicle |language=en}}

Bus lanes may also be physically separated from other traffic using bollards, curbs, or other raised elements.{{cite web|url=http://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/transit-lanes-transitways/lane-elements/separation-elements/|title=Separation Elements - National Association of City Transportation Officials|date=19 April 2016}}

In some cities, such as The Hague in the Netherlands, buses are allowed to use reserved tram tracks, usually laid in the middle of the road and marked with the text "Lijnbus".

File:Bus Gate.jpg, England]]

In the United Kingdom bus gates are common in towns and cities. A bus gate consists of a short section of road that only buses, cycles and sometimes other vehicles (typically taxis) can pass through. They lack most of the signage of bus lanes and have the words "BUS GATE" on the carriageway instead of "BUS LANE".{{Cite web |title=The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/362/schedule/9/part/6 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}

They arose from a feature of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD). These bundle together the "BUS LANE" road marking with the sign at its start and the solid white line which separates the bus lane from other traffic going in the same direction.{{Cite web |title=The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1975 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1975/1536/contents/made |website=legislation.gov.uk}} If a highway authority didn't want to create a bus lane (which was also meant to have a lead-in taper 30m long and a sign 30m before that), it couldn't use any of its signage.

Some highway authorities wanted to create short sections of bus-only route. Instead of the bundle of signage for bus lanes, they used a "No Entry" sign with the plate "Except buses". Across it they put a gate or a rising barrier similar to those used at toll plazas{{Cite web |last=Geni |title=Itchen Bridge Toll Booths |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Itchen_bridge_toll_booths.JPG |website=Wikimedia}} and car parks.{{Cite web |last=Greater London Council |date=1978 |title=The Harrow (Prescribed Routes) (No. 2) Traffic Order 1978 |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/original_tmo_for_width_and_bus_r_2/response/2892247/attach/3/8876695%201978%20306%20GLC%20R.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |website=What Do They Know}} Until 2015 there was a rising barrier at the bus gate from Byward Street to Great Tower Street in the City of London.{{Cite web |title=Bus Gate into Great Tower Street |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/505416 |website=Geograph}} Where a bus-only route was the full width of the road, physical cues would be used such as narrowing at the entry point, along with psychological ones such as coloured road surface.{{Cite book |title=Keeping Buses Moving |date=December 1991 |publisher=HMSO |isbn=0115510753 |location=London |pages=17–19}}

Rising barriers were superseded by rising bollards from 1995.{{Cite web |last=Department for Transport |date=March 1997 |title=Rising Bollards |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20090505152230/http://www.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/165240/244921/244924/TAL_4-97 |website=The National Archives}}{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Automatic bus gate at Wood Lane, Tinsley |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1416781 |website=Geograph}} Now all physical barriers have been removed, to be replaced by CCTV enforcement.{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Bus gates in Bristol's heart |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7712098 |website=Geograph}} Many motorists are fined for going through bus gates.{{Cite news |last=Simson |first=Pete |date=22 March 2024 |title='Atrocious' bus gate fines top £500k since January |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7203gxpe8vo |work=BBC News}} Their history means that highway authorities (who receive the fines) are under no legal obligation to provide advance signage. The Highway Code (2025 edition) does not show the "BUS GATE" road marking and the blue roundel signs are shown in their pre-2016 format with the then-mandatory (and now prohibited) "Only" plate.{{Cite web |title=The Highway Code |url=https://highwaycode.org.uk/ |website=The Highway Code}}

As bus gates didn't use the bundle of signs for bus lanes, the entire section of road had to be physically separated from other sections of road alongside. Bus gates are often "short cuts" at junctions, roundabouts or through one-way systems.{{cite web |title=Bus lanes, gates and tram gates |url=https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/keepsheffieldmoving |website=www.sheffield.gov.uk |access-date=4 March 2021}}

Bus lanes may have separate sets of dedicated traffic signals, to allow transit signal priority at intersections.{{Cite news|url=http://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/intersections/signals-operations/|title=Signals & Operations - National Association of City Transportation Officials|newspaper=National Association of City Transportation Officials|language=en-US|access-date=20 December 2016}}

Peak-only bus lanes are enforced only at certain times of the day, usually during rush hour, reverting to a general purpose or parking lane at other times. Peak-only bus lanes may be in effect only in the main direction of travel, such as towards a downtown during morning rush hour traffic, with the buses using general purpose lanes in the other direction.{{Cite news|url=http://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/transit-lanes-transitways/transit-lanes/peak-bus-lane/|title=Peak-Only Bus Lane - National Association of City Transportation Officials|newspaper=National Association of City Transportation Officials|language=en-US|access-date=20 December 2016}}

Entire streets can be designated as bus lanes (such as Oxford Street in London, Princes Street in Edinburgh, or Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn), allowing buses, taxis and delivery vehicles only, or a contra-flow bus lane can allow buses to travel in the opposite direction to other vehicles.{{cite web|url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/Signsandmarkings/index.htm|title=Signs Giving Orders|work=Highway Code|access-date=10 January 2008}}

Some locations allow bicyclists or taxis to use bus lanes, however where bus or bicycle volumes are high, mixed traffic operations may result in uncomfortable conditions or delays.{{Cite news|url=http://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/transit-lanes-transitways/transit-lanes/shared-bus-bike-lane/|title=Shared Bus-Bike Lane - National Association of City Transportation Officials|newspaper=National Association of City Transportation Officials|language=en-US|access-date=20 December 2016}} Certain other vehicles may also be permitted in bus lanes, such as taxis, high occupancy vehicles, motorcycles, or bicycles. Police, ambulance services and fire brigades can also use these lanes.[http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tal/trafficmanagement/trafficadvisoryleaflet207 The Use of Bus Lanes by Motorcycles] (from Traffic Advisory Leaflet 2/07, Department for Transport, United Kingdom) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080808120139/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tal/trafficmanagement/trafficadvisoryleaflet207|date=8 August 2008}}

In the Netherlands mixed bus/cycle lanes are uncommon. According to the Sustainable Safety guidelines they would violate the principle of homogeneity and put road users of very different masses and speed behaviour into the same lane, which is generally discouraged.{{cite web|url=https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/sustainable-safety/|title=Sustainable Safety|date=2 January 2012}}

Some locations have allowed access to bus lanes to electric cars and/or hybrid cars. Oslo removed one such exception in 2017 following protests due to congestion in bus lanes. The large number of electric vehicles on Norwegian roads slowed buses, defeating the purpose of bus lanes.{{cite web |date=6 May 2015 |title=Electric cars lose right to drive in Oslo bus lanes |url=http://www.thelocal.no/20150506/norway-strips-electric-cars-of-ke |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918213940/http://www.thelocal.no/20150506/norway-strips-electric-cars-of-ke |archive-date=18 September 2015 |access-date=30 November 2020 |website=The Local}}

File:EDSA Busway Violators (cropped).jpg, Philippines, ticketing unauthorized vehicles using the EDSA Busway.]]

Bus lanes can become ineffective if weak enforcement allows use by unauthorized vehicles{{cite web |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10404011 |title=1779 cheats spotted in single morning using bus lanes |author=McNaughton, Maggie |date=3 October 2006 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=22 September 2011}} or illegal parking. Center-running bus lanes avoid the problem of private vehicles blocking the lane by double parking for loading of passengers or cargo.

Evidence from the operation of urban arterials in Brisbane shows that a properly enforced bus lane, operating as designed without interference, can increase passenger throughput. In 2009 and 2010 traffic surveys showed that in Brisbane on a number of urban arterials with bus and transit lanes, noncompliance rates were approaching 90%. Following enhanced enforcement of the lanes, noncompliance rates dropped and overall efficiency of the bus and transit lanes improved with an up to 12% increase in total passenger throughput in the lane. Average bus journey times dropped, in some cases, by up to 19%.Lyndon, S. Marinelli, P.A. Macintosh, K. and McKenzie, S. High occupancy vehicle lane enforcement: a successful trial in Brisbane by adding a splash of magenta. Proceedings of the 34th Australasian Transport Research Forum, 28–30 September 2011, Adelaide. http://www.atrf11.unisa.edu.au/PaperListing.aspx {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731210000/http://www.atrf11.unisa.edu.au/PaperListing.aspx |date=31 July 2012 }}. Retrieved 9 February 2012.

Some cities, including San Francisco and New York, employ automated camera enforcement, using either stationary cameras adjacent to the bus lane, or cameras on the front of buses to automatically issue citations to vehicles obstructing the bus lane.{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfmta.com/services/permits-citations/camera-enforcement|title=Red Light Camera and Other Automated Enforcement|date=2 May 2013|work=SFMTA|access-date=20 December 2016}}{{Cite news|url=http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/service/1286/bus-lane-camera-violations|title=Bus Lane Camera Violations|work=NYC 311|access-date=20 December 2016}}

Bus lanes give priority to buses, cutting down on journey times where roads are congested with other traffic and increasing the reliability of buses. The introduction of bus lanes can significantly assist in the reduction of air pollution.{{cite web |last1=Beevers |first1=Sean |last2=Carslaw |first2=David |last3=Westmoreland |first3=Emily |last4=Mittal |first4=Hrishi |date=April 2009 |title=Air pollution and emissions trends in London |url=https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/cat05/1004010934_MeasurementvsEmissionsTrends.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701160940/https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/cat05/1004010934_MeasurementvsEmissionsTrends.pdf |archive-date=1 July 2015 |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs }}

Bus lanes marked with colored pavement have been shown to reduce intrusions into bus lanes, speeding travel time and increasing bus reliability.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/agendaitems/2015/6-2-15%20Item%2012%20%20Church%20St.%20Rapid%20Pilot%20-%20Final%20Report_1.pdf|title=Church Street Transit Lanes Final Report|last=San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency|date=February 2015|access-date=20 December 2016}}

Some network lengths of bus lanes in major cities, listed by buses per km of bus lane):

The busiest bus lane in the United States is the Lincoln Tunnel XBL (exclusive bus lane) along the Lincoln Tunnel Approach and Helix in Hudson County, New Jersey, which carries approximately 700 buses per hour during morning peak times an average of one bus every 5.1 seconds.{{Cite web |title=About |url=http://www.arctunnel.com/about/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913022242/http://www.arctunnel.com/about/ |archive-date=13 September 2011 |website=arctunnel.com}} In contrast, the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hong Kong carries 14,500 buses per day,{{Cite web |title=P201003030140_0140_62651.doc |url=http://gia.info.gov.hk/general/201003/03/P201003030140_0140_62651.doc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001128/http://gia.info.gov.hk/general/201003/03/P201003030140_0140_62651.doc |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-format=DOC |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=Hong Kong Government |format=DOC}} or an average of about 605 an hour all day (not just peak times), but the bus lane must give way to all the other road users resulting in long queues of buses.{{explain|date=June 2015}}

Some residents and observers criticize bus lane plans and implementations because they take space from other vehicles or require road widening,{{Cite news |last1=Hu |first1=Winnie |last2=Schaverien |first2=Anna |date=2022-02-12 |title=Eric Adams Is Pushing a Plan to Speed Up Buses. Will It Work? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/nyregion/nyc-bus-lanes.html |access-date=2023-07-06 |issn=0362-4331}} which can require the use of eminent domain.{{Cite news |last=Dearnaley |first=Mathew |date=12 March 2007 |title=Transport plan will force homes and businesses to move |work=The New Zealand Herald |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10428321 |url-status=dead |access-date=22 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929125803/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10428321 |archive-date=2007-09-29}}

File:Bus lane in Jingtong Expressway.jpg|In Jingtong Expressway in Beijing

File:Transjakarta Pemuda Pramuka 1.jpg|Rapid transit of Transjakarta in Jakarta, separated from heavy traffic

File:Taipei Roosevelt Road.JPG|Bus lane in the middle of Roosevelt Road in Taipei, Taiwan

File:臺灣大道東海段.jpg|BRT lane laid on Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung, Taiwan

File:NO road sign 508.2.svg|Bus and taxicab lane sign in Norway

File:Busspur und Haltestelle in Mannheim 100 9128.jpg|Bus lane in Mannheim, Germany

File:HK Wan Chai North Walkway Gloucester Road Fortis Bank Tower Beijing 2008 a.jpg|Bus lane on Gloucester Road in Hong Kong, with the words "bus lane" painted in English and "巴士綫" in Chinese

File:Curitiba 04 2006 06 RIT.jpg|Bus lane of the pioneer Rede Integrada de Transporte in Curitiba, Brazil

File:JakartaTransjakartaBusspurInDerJalanSudirman.jpg|Congested bus lane in Jakarta, Indonesia

{{Portal|Buses}}

{{Commons category|Bus lanes}}

• Bus rapid transit (BRT)
• Bus priority signal
• Guided bus
• High-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV lane)
• Public transport bus service
• Quality Bus Corridor
• Reversible lane

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/transit-lanes-transitways/ Transit lane design guidance] from the National Association of City Transportation Officials Transit Street Design Guide.

{{Public transport}}

{{bus rapid transit}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bus Lane}}

Category:Road traffic management

Category:Bus terminology

Category:Transportation planning

Category:Sustainable transport