Shenzhen Daily: SHENZHEN plans to build five Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes by 2011 to ease public transport pressure.
The BRT is a bus service that runs in exclusive lanes with transit priority at traffic lights. It will connect subways and conventional bus transport within the city.
The five BRT lines will cover a total of 124.8 km, including routes from Laojie (Dongmen Old Street) in Luohu District to Xili in Nanshan District, from Shangbunan in Futian District to Qinghu in Bao’an District, from Chegongmiao in Futian to Pinghu in Longgang District, from Shenzhen Railway Station in Luohu to Dameisha in Yantian District, and from Shekou in Nanshan to Hangkongcheng in Bao’an.
Construction will begin with the 31-km route from Laojie to Xili, which will run through Chaguang Road, Longzhu Thoroughfare, Shenyun Road, Qiaoxiang Road, Xiangmeibei Road, Lianhua Road, Sungang Road and Renmingongyuan Road.
The route will have three terminals — Laojie, Xili and Xiangmihu — and 28 stops. To guarantee punctuality, BRT buses will be given priority at 12 traffic lights along the route and can also request an extended green or shorter red traffic light.
The BRT routes will run on specially created lanes in the middle of the road. The buses are expected to travel at an average speed of 25 to 30 kilometers per hour, about twice the current speed of downtown buses.
BRT buses could shorten the travel time from Longhua in Bao’an and Buji in Longgang to downtown by 15-25 minutes and from Pinghu in Longgang District to downtown by 50 minutes.
The BRT is expected to ease traffic pressure and reduce the number of private cars in the city. Each bus, 18 meters long with multiple doors, will be able to carry between 180 and 200 passengers.
Except for ambulances and fire trucks, no other vehicles will be allowed to use BRT lanes. (Li Jing)