A Systematic Review of Busways

Abstract

Busways are controlled-access facilities dedicated for bus service separated from general traffic. The concept of busways was first given serious consideration in the 1960s; however, only a few of them have been constructed in North America. This paper examines the potential of busway transit in providing urban environments with cost-effective mobility. The review makes the case that there are some misconceptions concerning the cost and level-of-service characteristics of busways. In the final section, a comparison is made between busways and their most prominent competitor, light rail. The comparison is done in the framework of the four most cited advantages of light rail, and concludes that busways, in most cases, are likely to be a superior mode of transit to light rail.