City centre to be a bus-free zone
Nov 18 2010 By Ed Chadwick
A £15 million plan to drive buses off city centre roads and replace them with super-fast shuttles has been drawn up by transport chiefs.
Buses will be removed from Corporation Street and Colmore Row and instead terminate at four newly created interchanges on the fringes of the shopping and office districts.
Each of the new terminals will be linked by a circular service which will be given priority over other traffic.
Transport chiefs have unveiled the plans as the solution to grid-locked roads and to pave the way for a new network of tram-style “super buses” which are set to revolutionise the way shoppers and workers travel around the city.
Regional transport body Centro said changes to the way buses use the city centre will mean faster journey times and will help to cut traffic levels and create a European-style “walkable city centre”.
“This is direct investment in making life better for passengers,” said Centro’s head of commissioning Rafael Cuesta.
“People will be able to enjoy their journey and enjoy the city centre more when they get there. By focusing on changes to the bus network we are creating a walkable city.
“Operators will be able to run a much more efficient service because the buses won’t be getting caught up in city centre traffic.”
Four modern interchanges are set to be created within the next two years at Moor Street, Snow Hill, Paradise Circus and New Street at a cost of £15 million.
Each of the hubs will act as the end point for city centre-bound journeys and a circular route will whisk commuters to other interchanges or key destinations including the markets.
Initially the circular route will be served with conventional buses, but by 2015 new tram-style “rapid transit vehicles” will hit the streets of Birmingham, as revealed in last week’s Birmingham Post.
As well as serving the circular route, the “super buses” – as they have been dubbed – will operate on a line linking Five Ways to the city centre via Broad Street and eventually Walsall.
