Bus Rapid Transit System for Canberra

My Northbourne Avenue Proposal

The ACT Liberal party have proposed a Bus Rapid Transit System for Canberra, as an alternative to the Light Rail system already under construction by the ACT Government. While lower cost than the Light Rail option, the opposition's bus alternative would still be more expensive than the option I proposed and would result in higher carbon emissions.

The opposition plan adds an extra lane for busses to Northbourne Avenue.  Adding a lane would require extensive and expensive work, but not as much as laying tram tracks and adding overhead power. Because the number of lanes for cars would not be reduced, there would not be a reduction in carbon emmissions from cars.

Indian Smart Village

Microsoft is helping set up the village of Harisal in the Indian state of Maharashtra, as a "smart village". There is a video  and press item about this, but all I could find from the government was a PR newsletter, which says "The technology will make the
delivery of education and health services better". The Harisal "smart village" has the makings for a repeat of the failed "Gungahlin Broadband Project".

In 1993 the ACT Government formed a "Strategic Alliance" with Telecom Australia, which included the "Gungahlin Broadband Project". The University of Canberra were also involved (Balnaves, 2002). The project was abandoned in 1996 and, as the then ACT Government admitted, it was never clear what the project was to accomplish. This came to mind recently, as I am researching e-learning in India. The major impediment is skepticism by Indian academics and government, about the value of on-line learning. Another problem is limited access to the Internet, but the "smart village" approach is not the solution.

Reference

Balnaves, M. (2002). Finding an audience for a new service. In M. Balnaves, J. Sternberg & T. O'Regan (Eds.), Mobilising the audience. (pp. 235-252). Brisbane:The University of Queensland Press.

Canberra Busway with Bays Instead of Light Rail

A report from Bob Nairn for the Liberal Party is reported to estimate the cost of a light rail project for Canberra at $915 million, 50% more than previous estimates.

Infrastructure Australia also did not support light rail in its "National Infrastructure Plan". The alternative I suggest is bus transit lanes on existing streets. The existing bicycle lanes can be moved to parkland and the road space freed up used for bus bays. This will allow express buses to overtake local stopping ones, which would not be possible with a light rail system.

Infrastructure Australia Supports Canberra Busway

In its "National Infrastructure Plan", Infrastructure Australia recommends bus transit lanes between Civic and Gungahlin in Canberra, not support the ACT's government plan for Light Rail. In my view, bus transit lanes are the better option, being cheaper and quicker to build then tram tracks.
 The ACT Government previously investigated a light rail line from Civic to Belconnen, but chose the better option of a bus lane, which is now working well, including a new addition routing the buses through ANU.

Bus lanes on Northbourne Avenue: Low-cost public transport measures such as bus transit lanes along Northbourne Avenue connecting the high-growth area of Gungahlin with the Canberra central business district. This will provide greater access and connectivity to activity centres and support the Australian Capital Territory Government’s plans for redevelopment along Northbourne Avenue.

The project needs to be accompanied by a change in the pricing of parking in Civic and other centres in Canberra. This is also in line with the Australian Capital Territory Government’s existing plans.

NBN Digital Hub Gungahlin

Greetings from the NBN Digital Hub Gungahlin, at the ACT Public Library in Gungahlin (just across the corridor from the CIT Learning Centre Gungahlin). There are series of community rooms equipped with high speed wired and wireless broadband. There are also some large flat screen displays on wheels, with Apple computers attached and wireless keyboard for presentations. There are white-board walls. The furniture includes individual chairs equipped with desks. Also there is some colorful plastic children's furniture. The overall look is of a high-tech primary school classroom. I am taking part in a meeting for GovCamp 2013.

Capital Metro Light Rail Project for Canberra

The ACT Labor Party has proposed a light rail network through Canberra, under the title "Capital Metro Light Rail Project". This would start with a line from Civic (the City Centre) to the Gungahlin Town Centre (the northern satellite town). This is estimated to cost $614m,  but only $30m is to be initially committed to design work. In my view, a bus rapid transit system would be cheaper, could be started sooner and has more chance of actually being built.
The use of the term "Metro" in the Canberra proposal and the lack of a commitment of funds to build the project is reminiscent of the previous NSW Government's failed plan for a Sydney Metro. But a useful transport initiative which the former NSW Government did implement, and could be emulated in Canberra, are Metro Buses.
The ACT Government released details of a "City to Gungahlin Transit Corridor Study" some months ago, with options for Light Rail Transit and Bus Rapid Transit. Two ways to run the route down Northborne Avenue (Canberra's main street) were considered: in the curb lane and down the grassed central reserve.


The new proposal is to use the central reserve for trams. This will require extensive work to install rails, overhead power (although no overhead wires are shown in the artist's renderings) and possibly fences alongside the track.  The  proposal will increase carbon emissions, as the trams will run on coal fired power and freeing up roadway will increase pollution from cars.

In my view a better option would be a bus transit lane on the existing roadway and a new bicycle path in the centre of the median. This would be quicker and cheaper to build. It could operate with existing buses while new hybrid renewable units were acquired. The busway would reduce pollution by displacing cars from the roadway. There more chance of such a system being built, as it could be done in stages, delivering tangible benefits at each stage.

Lower Cost Rapid Transit System for Canberra

The ACT Government released details of a "City to Gungahlin Transit Corridor Study" for public transport between Canberra's city center and its northern satellite town. The two options considered were Light Rail Transit and Bus Rapid Transit. Both options would use the same route down Northborne Avenue (Canberra's main street). The proposals have been criticized for high cost estimates, much higher than other Australian transit system. I suggest this cost could be reduced with a simpler design.

All of the options envisaged by the ACT Government involve adding more lanes of traffic on Northborne Avenue. This will require the remove of the trees in the existing median strip to install the extra lanes for buses, or tram tracks.

I suggest an alternative approach, where the existing bicycle lane and traffic lane closest to the curb is replaced with the bus or tram transit lane. The bicycle lane can be then moved to the median strip.

The lowest cost options would be a buss-way. This would require the road lanes to be repainted, signs to be changed and traffic light reprogrammed, but no major roadworks.

A new bicycle lane would be built in the middle of the median strip. This would have the advantage of not requiring any trees to be removed, as a bus or tram-way would. The cost of lighting the bicycle path could be reduced by using a LED illuminated lane dividing strip down the middle of the path, with the electrical conductors built in. This would eliminate the need for lighting poles and underground power. The power for the bicycle lane lighting could be provided at each road intersection, from the existing circuit for the traffic lights.

Such a system could be possible to be installed in Northborne Avenue in months, rather than years and at half the cost of the ACT Government's proposed design.

The addition of the bus lane will more than make up for the capacity lost due to the removal of one car lane. This will also have the advantage of reducing the carbon emissions caused by the route, whereas the ACT Government's current plans would increase carbon emissions.

Bus Rapid Transit for Canberra

The ACT Government has released details of a "City to Gungahlin Transit Corridor Study" with two options for public transport between Canberra's city center and its northern satellite town. There is a project update, a concept report and view a fact sheet. There is an online survey and a Feedback Form. Also consultations will be held in the Civic Canberra Centre (ground floor near Supa Barn), 11am to 2pm 4 and 5 May 2012 and The Market Place Shopping Centre, Gungahlin (near Woolworths), 11am to 2pm 11 and 12 May 2012.

The two options being considered are Light Rail Transit and Bus Rapid Transit. LRT and BRT are fancy terms for trams and buses running in their own dedicated lanes, not mixed with other traffic. Both options would use the same route down Northborne Avenue (Canberra's main street). My preference would be for BRT, due to the lower cost and greater flexibility over LRT. As the BRT vehicles are buses, they can run on ordinary roads, as well as on the bus-way. Also as the bus-way is just a road reserved for buses it can be used by ordinary buses, as well as special high capacity ones. In contrast the trams used for a LRT can only run where tracks have been installed. Brisbane has an extensive BRT system, with the South-East, Inner Northern, Northern, Eastern and Boggo Road Busways. Adelaide has the O-Bahn Busway.

The ACT Government give a good overview of the options. One choice to be made is if vehicles should run along the outside lanes of Northborne avenue, or though the median strip in the center. The median strip in the center of Northborne avenue was made very wide so trams could be added later, so I suggest it be used for the busway. This will require the removal of an extensive grassed area and many mature trees, but this area is of no use to the community, as access is cut off by three lanes of traffic on either side. New trees can be planted along side the busway and the footpaths increased in size providing a better look and more useful space for pedestrians and cyclists.

The more difficult choice to be made is between trams and buses. As the ACT Government points out, trams are more popular, but buses are cheaper and can be designed to be as comfortable as trams. Also trams are more efficient in use of energy, but buses can be made almost as fuel efficient with the use of hybrid engines (diesel/electric) and renewable fuel (such as compressed methane). In addition, if trams are run from coal fired electricity, they will be just as polluting (perhaps more so) than a bus. Running trams from green electricity would be more expensive than using renewable fuel in a bus. In particular, solar power for trams would be prohibitively expensive.

My suggestion is to run a BRT with mild-hybrid buses. Mild hybrids have electric motors powered from small, low cost battery, to supplement the internal combustion engine. This is efficient and gives smooth, rapid acceleration, comparable to a tram. There is no need for the vehicles to run on battery power alone, as they will be on dedicated roads most of the time, not in stop-start traffic. BRT vehicles could be Australian made, by the existing vehicle industry, whereas LRT vehicles would need to be imported. The engines can be powered from the same diesel or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as the rest of the Canberra bus fleet. When bio-diesel or synthetic methane become available (made from crop and domestic waste) this can be used, with no changes to the vehicles needed.

The ACT Government states that "Passenger capacity per BRT vehicle is half that of LRT vehicles". However, this is not correct. BRT buses can be made with two trailers. Such a double articulated "bendy bus" is as long as three standard buses, is a similar size and has a similar passenger capacity to an articulated LRT vehicle. Buses require extra space for an internal combustion engine and fuel, but this can be accommodated beneath the floor and on the roof, without compromising passenger space. LRT allows for multiple units to be coupled and run by one driver, but it is unlikely Canberra will require this capacity in the foreseeable future (and it could be matched by advances in BRT).

One area where the ACT Government plans are deficient is in ticketing and passenger information systems. One of the major ways to encourage use of transit systems is with integrated ticketing and good real-time information for passengers. The ACT Government appears to be underestimating the importance an difficulty of ICT systems for transport. Several Australian governments have failed to implement ICT for transport on time and on budget, resulting in billions of dollars extra cost, years of delay and resulting inadequate transport systems. There may be value in a strategy which concentrates on the ICT systems for Canberra transport and leaving the vehicles and roadways as a secondary issue.

Evolutionary BRT

Much of the benefit of the BRT can be achieved before new vehicles and extensive roadwork are implemented. I suggest the ACT Government commence work now on an advanced ICT system and some simple changes to the existing road system with the existing bus fleet. This could see improvements to the system from the beginning of 2013, with the full BRT progressively introduced in later years.

This would take advantage of one of the features of BRT: that it can be progressively introduced. Unlike LRT, which requires all new vehicles, newly trained drivers and a completed track, BRT can use a mix of old and new vehicles with the current drivers on mixed sections old and new roadway.

Online Consultation for Australian National Broadband Network

The new Australian Government is implementing a $42b "National Broadband Network" (NBN) to provide a fibre optic connection to most homes. This is more than a little controversial, with Australia's new minority government dependant on independent parliamentarians who want broadband in regional areas. So the government needs to be seen to be doing a credible job on broadband or they will not be the government.

One of the areas chosen for the new system is "Gungahlin", a satellite town in the north of Canberra. The Gungahlin Community Council is holding a meeting to discuss the NBN. One of the Senators representing the area, Senator Kate Lundy, is a long time supporter of using the Internet for community consultation and there will be live online participation in the event.

Gungahlin was the site of a Telstra broadband trial with the ACT Government. The project started in mid 1993 and was abandoned in late 1996.