Perils of a Proprietary Transit System

Bombardier Inc. loves proprietary transit systems, because of the “gotcha” factor. Once a transportation authority purchases a proprietary transit system, they are stuck with one manufacturer and if problems arise, too bad. This is what happened in Caen, where in 2002, the city’s transportation authority purchased the proprietary Guide Light Transit guided bus system or […]

Flagship BRT Fizzles in the USA

Bus Rapid Transit or BRT is the transit flavour ‘du jour’ of BC politicians. Any mention of transit in the region ultimately leads to BRT, as if it was the grand panacea to solve our transit woes. The trouble is, our politicos have never read a book about public transit,Ai??let aloneAi??perused the chapter on buses. […]

Adios Seattle’s Trolley Buses?

It seems transit authorities are taking a hard look at Seattle’s trolley bus system, with an eye to abandon the service. The problem in Seattle, as in Vancouver, the trolley busesAi??Ai??are only seen as a electric bus, not a different transit mode suited for a specific job. Trolley buses should be used on heavily used […]

Let’s ride on the Clermont-Ferrand TransLohr GLT -Courtesy of U-Tube

This is an interesting U-Tube of the TransLohr GLT or guided bus. The centre rail is for guidance only as the tram like bus is propelled by standard rubber tires. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTJgh50vuuw]

Tram on Tires – Guided Light Transit (GLT), the ultimate BRT

Guided Light Transit or GLT is a hybrid bus/tram system, where rubber tired vehicles are guided by a single rail and the TransLohr GLT falls into this category. It has been long realized that for a bus to obtain higher performances to compete against LRT, it must be guided. The Achilles heel of BRT in […]

Mobilien: Paris Version of Bus Rapid Transit. But could LRT do a better job?

The followingAi??Ai?? U-Tube presentation of Paris’s Mobilien BRT is interesting and shows what buses can do in congested cities,Ai??Ai??such asAi??Ai??Paris.Ai??Ai??The observation can be made:Ai??Ai?? “that for a few dollars or Euros more, would not the modern tram bring more benefits to both the city and transit customers on these routes?” The articulated diesel buses used […]