Abstract:
The 12-km (7.5-mi.) O-Bahn in Adelaide, Australia, is the largest full-scale operational guided busway in the world. Initial planning for a high-quality transit facility to serve the developing northeastern suburbs of Adelaide, a city of 1.1 million people, led to the decision in 1979 to construct a light rail transit (LRT) line. However, a change of government resulted in a politically led decision to construct instead a guided busway using the O-Bahn technology. The Northeast O-Bahn was opened in two stages, in 1986 and 1989. Features of the O-Bahn are described and its cost and performance assess in this research. It is concluded that (1) the cost of carrying passengers on the Northeast O-Bahn is less than the cost that would have been incurred with LRT, (2) the O-Bahn resulted in a substantial rise in patronage and has sustained this patronage while ridership on the remaining bus, tram, and train system has declined; and (3) the guided busway, in many instances, is likely to be a more cost-effective and flexible investment than rail.
Supplemental Notes:
This paper is available on the CD-ROM, Light Rail: Investment for the Future, 8th Joint Conference on Light Rail Transit.
