Ipswich Rapid Transit
Encyclopedia
Ipswich
Rapid Transit is a bus system in Suffolk
, England. Operated by First Eastern Counties, part of the First Group, it has a short 0.5-kilometre stretch of guided busway. Like its counterparts in Leeds
and Bradford
the busway was something of an experimental venture. The route was launched in 1994.
When not on the guideway buses run on roads alongside normal traffic. On the guideway buses are kept on track by small guide wheels, angled at 90 degrees to the normal road wheels, which run along the kerb edges of the guideway. The route that runs on the guideway is Superoute 66, run with Volvo B7TL
double deck buses. Before that, Scania single-deck buses (which were later transferred to First Glasgow
when the new double-decks entered service]]) and standard-floor Dennis Dart
s (which are withdrawn) were used: only three main types of bus have been used on the service since its inception in 1994.
As well as using the segregated busway in Kesgrave, the service also uses large sections of bus-lane running alongside normal traffic and traffic lights give priority to bus traffic. Bus stops served by the service have raised kerbs, high-quality bus shelters and larger stops have real-time information screens. Ticketing is carried out on-board by the driver and the prepay smartcard system used on Ipswich Buses services has not yet been implemented on First Eastern Counties services. Another criticism is that often First will use other vehicles for this service (including 20-year old Leyland Olympians) which cannot run on the guided busway, resulting in the service taking a longer detour using regular roads and missing out the busy Kesgrave Tesco stop on the busway.
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
Rapid Transit is a bus system in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England. Operated by First Eastern Counties, part of the First Group, it has a short 0.5-kilometre stretch of guided busway. Like its counterparts in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
the busway was something of an experimental venture. The route was launched in 1994.
When not on the guideway buses run on roads alongside normal traffic. On the guideway buses are kept on track by small guide wheels, angled at 90 degrees to the normal road wheels, which run along the kerb edges of the guideway. The route that runs on the guideway is Superoute 66, run with Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian...
double deck buses. Before that, Scania single-deck buses (which were later transferred to First Glasgow
First Glasgow
First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in, Scotland. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
when the new double-decks entered service]]) and standard-floor Dennis Dart
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
s (which are withdrawn) were used: only three main types of bus have been used on the service since its inception in 1994.
As well as using the segregated busway in Kesgrave, the service also uses large sections of bus-lane running alongside normal traffic and traffic lights give priority to bus traffic. Bus stops served by the service have raised kerbs, high-quality bus shelters and larger stops have real-time information screens. Ticketing is carried out on-board by the driver and the prepay smartcard system used on Ipswich Buses services has not yet been implemented on First Eastern Counties services. Another criticism is that often First will use other vehicles for this service (including 20-year old Leyland Olympians) which cannot run on the guided busway, resulting in the service taking a longer detour using regular roads and missing out the busy Kesgrave Tesco stop on the busway.