A Fastway bus in the Guided bus lane on Southgate Avenue, Crawley

Fastway is a bus public transport service linking parts of Crawley with nearby Gatwick Airport and Horley. Fastway is significant for being the first bus rapid transit system to be constructed outside a major city. Fastway uses specially adapted buses so that they can either be steered by the driver in the conventional way or operate as "self steering" guided buses along a specially constructed track. A Fastway vehicle on Southgate Avenue, Crawley File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A Fastway vehicle on Southgate Avenue, Crawley File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Adelaide O-Bahn The guide wheel of a guided bus in Mannheim, Germany A Fastway bus in the guided bus lane on Southgate Avenue, Crawley Guided buses are buses steered for part or all of their route by external means, usually on a dedicated track. ... First bus in history: a Benz truck modified by Netphener company (1895) TheBus, established by Mayor Frank Fasi, is Honolulus only public transit system. ... Skytrain Bangkok. ... Map sources for Crawley at grid reference TQ2736 Crawley is a town and local government district in West Sussex, England. ... Gatwick Airport (IATA Airport Code: LGW, ICAO Airport Code: EGKK) is Londons second airport and the second largest airport in the UK after Heathrow. ... See also: Horley, Oxfordshire Horley is a town in Surrey, UK, situated between Reigate, Redhill and Gatwick. ... Silver Line in Boston Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a broad term given to a variety of different transportation systems that, through infrastructural and scheduling improvements, attempt to use buses to provide a service that is of a higher quality than an ordinary bus line. ... Adelaide O-Bahn The guide wheel of a guided bus in Mannheim, Germany A Fastway bus in the guided bus lane on Southgate Avenue, Crawley Guided buses are buses steered for part or all of their route by external means, usually on a dedicated track. ...

Overview

Construction work began in May 2002, and was scheduled to be completed by 'early 2005'. In February 2006 work is not yet complete, but buses are running on the section of the scheme from Bewbush, south of Crawley, to Gatwick. The revised estimate for completion date is October 2006. Bewbush is a neighbourhood of Crawley in West Sussex, England. ...

The Fastway project aims to improve bus services in the Crawley, Gatwick and Horley area. The project includes

• the provision of new bus lanes, including guided bus lanes
• the construction of new bus waiting shelters
• electronic real-time passenger information
• a fleet of new low-floor buses

History

Phase 1 (Service 10) of the Fastway service commenced in September 2003 between Bewbush and Gatwick, £50,000 over budget and four months behind schedule. The opening was attended by Tony McNulty MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport and local dignitaries. The service extended from 21 to full 24-hour operation in May 2004. Service 10 now runs every 10 minutes during the day and every 20-30 minutes in the early morning, evening and Sunday. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In July 2005, West Sussex County Council leader Henry Smith said the project was then more than £6 million over budget and nearly 2 years behind schedule. He announced that an inquiry had been launched, led by a task force from a different county council. The inquiry's findings were that the cost overrun was mainly due to an increase in construction costs due to high inflation in the industry and major delays to work that needed to be done by utility companies.

On 27 August 2005 Fastway service 20 was introduced, running between [[Broadfield,y to be alive' after the £150,000 bus crossed a footpath, destroyed a six-foot brick wall, crossed a garden and crashed into the living room of their house. Six ajoining houses were evacuated, and the damaged house will have to be knocked down and rebuilt.

• Crawley Observer - Bus Crashes Into House
• Ocean View Blog report on the accident.

Decision making process

Bus rapid transit was chosen to minimise startup costs, and remove the need for public consultation exercises. "The relative costs of Fastway-type schemes as opposed to tramways are very attractive, and they can be constructed under existing Highways Act powers." - West Sussex County Council Fastway project director Paul Wreyford, September 2004. As stated by the www.idea-knowledge.gov.uk website, Fastway is the first in the world to be built: Silver Line in Boston Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a broad term given to a variety of different transportation systems that, through infrastructural and scheduling improvements, attempt to use buses to provide a service that is of a higher quality than an ordinary bus line. ...

• outside a major city
• by a partnership of local authorities and private companies
• from the start with automatic vehicle location, pre- and in-trip

passenger information and automatic traffic signal priority

There are other established guided bus operations in the UK, notably West Yorkshire, Ipswich and Edinburgh.

Funding

In June 2002, the official Fastway website was updated to show a cost of £27 million in total, with just under £10 million provided by the government[1].

In the 'Local Transport Plan Settlement 2004-05' published by West Sussex County Council on their website, increased government funding for the Fastway project was stated as £16.642m:

In September 2003, the Government agreed to increase its contribution by £3m because of the decision by the Go-Ahead Group to withdraw its financial commitment to the project following the reduction in the anticipated length of its rail franchise. The Government will now be providing funding of £16.642m towards a total scheme cost of £28.864m, the only qualification being that this level of support is subject to satisfactory progress and costs remaining on track. All of the allocation for 2004-05 will be given in the form of grant.

Route

The Phase 1 service (route 10) runs from Bewbush via Breezehurst Drive and Pelham Drive to Broadfield; then via Coachmans Drive, Broadfield Stadium and Southgate Avenue to Crawley town centre (Bus Station and Broadway); then via High Street and London Road to Manor Royal industrial estate; then via Gatwick Road and City Place business park to Gatwick Airport North Terminal.

Service 20 runs from Broadfield via Creasys Drive, Coachmans Drive, Broadfield Stadium, Southgate Avenue to Crawley town centre; then via Haslett Avenue East and Squareabout to Three Bridges station; then via Hazelwick Avenue, Gatwick Road and as route 10 above to Gatwick Airport North Terminal; then via Perimeter Road North, Povey Cross Road, Brighton Road, Massetts Road and Victoria Road to Horley town centre and station; then via Balcombe Road, Smallfield Road to Wheatfield Way (Langshott).

Construction Works

Works on the phase one route included:

• A new bus-only short cut at Broadfield Stadium, protected by raising bollards to block other traffic
• New bus lanes along sections of Southgate Avenue
• Conversion of three town-centre roundabouts and two on Southgate Avenue to traffic lights, plus the addition of new traffic lights on Southgate Avenue
• Blocking off connecting roads from Southgate Avenue
• New bus lane on High Street to avoid the one-way system
• New bus lanes at the London Road/Crawley Road roundabout
• Traffic lights on dual carriageway to provide access from City Place business park to Gatwick Airport.

Other works finished by May 2005 include:

• Guideway down the centre of London Road
• Dedicated bus lane through the heart of the Tushmore roundabout
• Re-routing traffic lanes on Tushmore roundabout
• Dedicated bus lanes within the existing carriageway in Manor Royal
• Improvements to the footways and cycleways in Manor Royal
• Upgrading the existing road surfaces in Manor Royal
• Improvements to the Manor Royal / London Road junction and the Fleming Way / Faraday Road junction.

Construction underway in May 2005 include:)

• Widening of the carriageway on Haslett Avenue East to provide dedicated bus lanes
• Replacing roadway with bus guideway on Haslett Avenue East on the eastbound approach to Three Bridges Road.
• A new traffic light controlled junction on the western arm of the Squareabout.

Construction errors

A number of humorous construction errors were highlighted by local papers early during the construction process. These include:

• Misspellings on large roadsigns
• Misspellings on road painting
• Back-to-front characters in road painting

Critics of the project pointed to safety concerns raised by the low quality of construction work.

Routes Problems

Fastway suffers with few conjestion problems at Broadfield Shopping Center where at times a lot bus's at same time due course conjestion problem at that round about.

Promoters

The Fastway project is promoted and funded by a Public-Private Partnership. The consortium includes West Sussex County Council, Surrey County Council, Crawley Borough Council, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, BAA Gatwick, British Airways, Metrobus and the Go-Ahead Group. There is also support from the UK Department for Transport. Public-private partnership (PPP) is a system in which a government service or private business venture is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies. ... West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey. ... Surrey is a county in southern England, part of the South East England region and one of the Home Counties. ... Map sources for Crawley at grid reference TQ2736 Crawley is a town and local government district in West Sussex, England. ... Reigate and Banstead is a local government district with borough status in east Surrey. ... BAA plc (LSE: BAA) is the owner and operator of seven major United Kingdom airports and operator of several airports worldwide, making the company one of the largest transport companies in the world. ... For the 1930s airline of similar name see British Airways Ltd British Airways (LSE: BAY, NYSE: BAB) is the largest airline of the United Kingdom. ... Metrobus (a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group) operates local bus services in south and south-east London, and parts of Surrey, Kent, West Sussex and East Sussex. ... Brighton & Hove Bus Metrobus Scania OmniDekka 447 (YV03 RBF) Southern Class 171 Turbostar Thameslink Class 319 dual voltage unit The Go-Ahead Group is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the liberalisation of the UKs train and bus industries. ...

The projected cost started at £27 million and was later revised to £32 million, then £35 million, with between £7.5 and £10 million from West Sussex County Council. The final cost of the scheme is still unknown, but has risen from the original estimates and was described as £6 million over budget

Metrobus, the bus operator, has stated that passenger figures are up 10%, with 35% of all journeys being to and from Gatwick. One million passengers were carried in the first seven months of operation. It has also indicated that delays have been reduced by the new bus lanes and bus gate.

On the Fastway website, it states that Metrobus anticipates that by 2008 Fastway will increase daily bus use by 29%.

Opposition

The Fastway project has sharply divided opinion in the local area. Concern has focused on a number of areas:

• Design of the new bus lanes, notably with regards to safety
• Low coverage area - most of Crawley is not covered
• Low use of guided bus sections
• Impact during construction
• Schedule - Phase 1 completed four months late, Phase 2 already overrun
• Loss of green areas, cycle lanes, road space and pedestrian routes to bus lanes
• Failure of the project to meet any of the positive predictions made by the promoters.

For example, Eddie Reay, Liberal Democrat Candidate for Pound Hill, said in April 2005:

"It should be noted that Pound Hill has no decent public transport service to either the Airport or the Industrial Estate. These are the main centres of employment in the town and it is scandalous that Pound Hill is not being properly served."

"With a fraction of the promotion being given to Fastway we could have a regular and frequent service. This would certainly take a lot of the pressure off the Balcombe Road and the junctions with the roads into the Pound Hill residential areas. The Balcombe Road is a road that Tory run West Sussex County Council has done little to improve over the years and a better public transport service along it should be a priority."[2]

Other guided busways

• Ipswich (Kesgrave)
• Leeds (Scott Hall Road)
• Leeds (A64 York Road and A63 Selby Road) - The East Leeds Quality Bus Initiative ‘Elite’
• Bradford (A641 Manchester Road Quality Bus Initiative)
• Edinburgh (West Edinburgh Busways (WEBS) "Fastlink" - Stenhouse to Broomhouse)
• Essen (Germany)
• Adelaide O-Bahn Adelaide (Australia)

Ipswich is a Borough which is the county town of Suffolk in East Anglia, England, and a local government district on the estuary of the River Orwell. ... Leeds is the urban core of the metropolitan borough and city the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. ... Leeds is the urban core of the metropolitan borough and city the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. ... The A64 is a dual carriageway in the United Kingdom, which carries much of the commuter traffic between Leeds and York, continuing on to Scarborough. ... The A63 is a major road in Yorkshire, England. ... Bradford is the major settlement in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, in the county of West Yorkshire in the north of England. ... Edinburgh (pronounced ), Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic, is the second-largest city in Scotland and its capital city. ... [Essen], german for Meal [essen], german for eat Essen is the name of the following places: Essen, Germany, one of the major cities of the Ruhr area Essen, Belgium Essen, Netherlands, a village in the province of Groningen German: to eat, eating, food This is a disambiguation page — a navigational... The Adelaide O-Bahn, at Parsons Road, Dernancourt. ...

Sources

• Official site from November 2002 on Archive.org [3], retrieved 5th August 2005.
• Edmund Nuttall Ltd (fastway contractor), September 2004 news [4], retrieved 5th August 2005.
• Local Transport Plan Settlement 2004-05 (PDF) [5], retrieved 5th August 2005.
• Fastway is £6 million over budget [6], retrieved 5th August 2005.
• Fastway will use £19 million public money and £14 million private money, and will used untested technology.[7], retrieved 5th August 2005.
• House of Commons Answers 16th July 2001, "All 3 Phases to be completed by 2005" [8], retrieved 5th August 2005.
• Project overspends £6.2 million, IC Surry Online [9], retrieved 5th August 2005.
• Fastway protest 'snowballs' [10], retrieved 5th August 2005.

External links

• Fastway - Official Site
• Metrobus Fastway timetables (Service 10)
• Metrobus Fastway timetables (Service 20)
• Crawley Observer - SCHOOLGIRL HIT BY NEW FASTWAY BUS
• Crawley Observer - Fastway bus overshoots corner, hits BMW
• FASTWAY SCHEME IS £6M OVER BUDGET 27 July 2005
• Fastway bosses 'kept in dark over £5.7m overspending' - icSurreyOnline
• Partial list of roadworks in Crawley
• TransportBriefing.co.uk report on Crawley Fastway Covers just the actual journey, no details on the system.
• Go-Ahead group page on Fastway
• Construction details from a fastway contractor
• Fastway - White Elephant Horley blogger.
• Fastway bus driver on Google Groups - 'Full of praise for the buses', but 'they had to be restarted at every stop'.
• Photograph of construction work
• Transport infrastructures
• Maidenbower Virtual Village - Popular local forum, where a poll indicates 77% of voters would not use Fastway on principle. Fastway owners Metrobus post on this forum. Popular forum threads include: Fastway losing millions, Moaning about Fastway again, More Transport Gripes - Fastway and Route 100.
• Petition to bring back double decker buses on the Bewbush - Town Centre - Broadfield route served by Fastway
• Very detailed and illustrated article about Kerb Guided Buses