Skip navigation
View Cart

Network

Cover of Prioritising On-Road Public Transport
Prioritising On-Road Public Transport
  • Publication no: AP-R550-17
  • ISBN: 978-1-925671-08-7
  • Published: 11 September 2017

On-road public transport provides the ability for people to move between their homes, employment, recreation and services efficiently with less road space being required per passenger than private car use. In response to this, practitioners in many Australian and New Zealand cities are putting in place road space and signalling techniques and technologies which can improve the travel time, travel time reliability, frequency and comfort for on-road public transport users.

This report provides a best practice evaluation of priority measures for the provision of road-based facilities for buses and light rail systems (including streetcars and trams) for application in Australia and New Zealand. It highlights case studies across jurisdictions which show a range of impacts from prioritising on-road public transport.

  • Summary
  • 1. Introduction
    • 1.1. Background
    • 1.2. Project Purpose and Structure
    • 1.3. Project Outcome
    • 1.4. Definitions
      • 1.4.1. On-road Public Transport
      • 1.4.2. Buses
      • 1.4.3. Light Rail Transit (LRT), Trams and Streetcars
      • 1.4.4. Measuring Improvements
  • 2. Best Practice Guidelines
    • 2.1. Australian Standard AS1742.12:2017
    • 2.2. Authorities with Guidelines for On-road Public Transport
    • 2.3. Guidelines for bus priority measures
      • 2.3.1. VicRoads Bus Priority Guidelines, 2003
      • 2.3.2. VicRoads, Supplement to AS 1742. 12:2000 Manual of uniform Traffic Control Devices, Part 12: Transit, Tram and Truck Lanes, 2015
      • 2.3.3. WA Public Transport Authority, Bus Planning and Design Guidelines for Efficient Movement of People, 2016
      • 2.3.4. Roads and Maritime Service, Bus Priority Training Module from Introduction to Traffic Engineering and Management, 2015 (Unpublished)
      • 2.3.5. Transport for NSW, Sydney’s Bus Future, 2013
      • 2.3.6. Transport for NSW, Draft Bus Stop Location Guidelines, 2014
      • 2.3.7. Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Public Transport Infrastructure Manual, 2016
      • 2.3.8. National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), Transit Street Design Guide, 2017
      • 2.3.9. Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Bus Priority Treatment Guidelines, 2011
      • 2.3.10. Transportation Research Board, Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual
      • 2.3.11. Translink- Canada, Bus Infrastructure Design Guidelines, Chapter 5: Transit Priority Measures, 2013
      • 2.3.12. Transport for London, Streetscape Guidance, 2016
    • 2.4. Guidelines for LRT Priority Measures
      • 2.4.1. VicRoads, Supplement to AS 1742. 12:2000 Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Part 12: Transit, Tram and Truck Lanes, 2015
      • 2.4.2. Department of Infrastructure, 2001, Tram Improvement Toolkit, Metropolitan Tram Plan, (unpublished)
      • 2.4.3. National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), Transit Street Design Guide, 2017
    • 2.5. Austroads Guidance
    • 2.6. Australian Transport Assessment and Planning Framework (ATAP)
  • 3. Priority Treatment Types
    • 3.1. Road Space Allocation Measures for Bus
    • 3.2. Road Space Allocation Measures for LRT
      • 3.2.1. Discussion of Fairways, Tram Lanes and Tramways
      • 3.2.2. Treatment Types
    • 3.3. Signal Priority Measures for Bus and LRT
      • 3.3.1. Passive Signal Priority
      • 3.3.2. Active Signal Priority
      • 3.3.3. Treatment Types
    • 3.4. Stop Priority Measures Bus and LRT
  • 4. Best Practice Case Studies
    • 4.1. Common Practice in Select Jurisdictions
      • 4.1.1. Dedicated Busways
      • 4.1.2. Corridor-Wide Priority approaches
      • 4.1.3. Transit Lanes
    • 4.2. Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
      • 4.2.1. How Performance is Evaluated
      • 4.2.2. Evaluation Criteria in this Project
    • 4.3. Contemporary Best Practice in Australia and New Zealand: Case Studies
      • 4.3.1. Auckland: Manukau Road T3 Lane Corridor
      • 4.3.2. Adelaide: Currie, Grenfell Streets and East Terrace Bus Lanes
      • 4.3.3. Perth: Beaufort Street Peak Bus Lanes
      • 4.3.4. Sydney, Liverpool to Parramatta: T-Way
      • 4.3.5. Melbourne: Victoria Parade Bus Lane Project
      • 4.3.6. Melbourne: Smith Street, Collingwood Priority Tram Lane Trial Enhancement
      • 4.3.7. Gold Coast: G: Link LRT Stage 1
  • 5. Conclusion
    • 5.1. Consistency Between Macro-trends and Practitioner Views
    • 5.2. Sporadic Distribution of Guidelines for On-road Public Transport Priority
    • 5.3. Case Studies Revealed Benefits for On-road Public Transport and Occasional Disadvantages for General Traffic
  • References
  • Appendix A Austroads Working Group
  • Appendix B Jurisdictional Interviews, Interviewees
Related publications
Webinar: Prioritising On-Road Public Transport
WEB-R550-17
View all related publications
Latest Network News
28 Apr 2023
Reference architecture to improve road agencies’ multimodal incident management systems

Austroads has published reference architecture material for road agencies to identify, plan and improve their multimodal incident management (MMIM) capabilities.
23 Mar 2023
New report identifies future trends to guide planning and operation of smart motorways

Austroads has published a research report to help road managers understand and prepare for future trends in the management and operation of smart motorways.
View all news