| Runcorn Busway | |
|---|---|
 An elevated section of the Busway at Runcorn Shopping City in 2008 | |
| Overview | |
| Owner | Halton Borough Council |
| Area served | Runcorn |
| Transit type | Bus rapid transit |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | October 1971 |
| Technical | |
| System length | 22 km (14 mi) |
The Runcorn Busway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Runcorn, England. Opened in 1971, it was the first BRT system in the world. [1]
First conceived in the Runcorn New Town Masterplan in 1966, it opened for services in October 1971 and all 22 kilometres (14 mi) were operational by 1980. [1] It was the first BRT system in the world. [2] Arthur Ling, Runcorn Development Corporation's Master Planner, said that he had invented the concept while sketching on the back of an envelope. [3] The town was designed around the transport system, with most residents no more than five minutes walking distance, or 500 yards (460 m), from the Busway. [4]
The central station is at Runcorn Shopping City where buses arrive on dedicated raised busways to two enclosed stations. [5]
The Busway has a design speed of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) and a maximum gradient of 4 percent (or 6 percent for distances under 200 m). [6] Bus stops are at intervals of approximately 400 metres (1,300 ft). [6]
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Its population in 2021 was 62,100. Runcorn is on the southern bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It lies on the southern shore of the River Mersey 15 miles upstream from the port of Liverpool.
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also referred to as a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability, and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes roadways that are dedicated to buses, and gives priority to buses at intersections where buses may interact with other traffic; alongside design features to reduce delays caused by passengers boarding or leaving buses, or paying fares. BRT aims to combine the capacity and speed of a light rail transit (LRT) or mass rapid transit (MRT) system with the flexibility, lower cost and simplicity of a bus system.
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Runcorn Shopping City is a medium-sized indoor shopping centre in Runcorn, England. Opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972, it is the main shopping area in Runcorn and is visited around 6.5 million times per year. It was the largest enclosed shopping centre in Europe at the time of its construction and remains the largest in Cheshire.
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Arthur George Ling was a British architect and town planner. From 1955 to 1964, he was City Architect and Planning Officer for Coventry. As head of Nottingham University’s Department of Architecture, he was Consultant Architect-Planner for the Runcorn New Town Masterplan (1967). There he invented the Runcorn Busway, the world's first bus rapid transit system.
