Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Das O-Bahn ist super-fantastisch
Soundtrack: "Up All Night" by Razorlight
Good evening this evening.
I'm not really that sure about the gender of "O-Bahn," but there we are. This is because I can't remember the gender of "bahn" full stop. Oh dear.
"Steph!" I hear you cry. "What in wank's name is the O-Bahn?" I'll leave it to the Adelaide Metro booklet to explain:
The Adelaide O-Bahn guided busway opened in 1986 to meet the transit needs of teh growing population in the City's northeastern suburbs who needed to travel between their homes and the Central Business District (CBD).
The beauty of the system lies in its flexibility. O-Bahn buses travel on a separate concrete track with great speed, safety and comfort. The buses also travel on roads. The ability to transfer from a normal road to the O-Bahn track means passengers don't need to transfer to a different vehicle, as they do with bus and rail systems. This makes O-Bahn travelling times even shorter.
Each bus is fitted with special "guide wheels" by the front wheels, allowing the bus to transfer from road to the track in one smooth, easy movement. The guide wheels are directly connected to the vehicle's steering mechanism and once these guide wheels are locked in place, the track is effectively steering the bus.
The bus travels at speeds of up to 100kph along the track without having to compete with other traffic. As a result, the bus is able to travel the 12km from the CBD to the northeastern suburbs in only 20 minutes.
The system offers a high frequency of service, with buses able to safely travel on the corridor at 20 second intervals. The versatility of the system means the passenger catchment area is significantly larger than that of rail.
The track ends at a shopping mall, so it was one of those occasions where the travelling was so much more fun than the destination.
Good evening this evening.
I'm not really that sure about the gender of "O-Bahn," but there we are. This is because I can't remember the gender of "bahn" full stop. Oh dear.
"Steph!" I hear you cry. "What in wank's name is the O-Bahn?" I'll leave it to the Adelaide Metro booklet to explain:
The Adelaide O-Bahn guided busway opened in 1986 to meet the transit needs of teh growing population in the City's northeastern suburbs who needed to travel between their homes and the Central Business District (CBD).
The beauty of the system lies in its flexibility. O-Bahn buses travel on a separate concrete track with great speed, safety and comfort. The buses also travel on roads. The ability to transfer from a normal road to the O-Bahn track means passengers don't need to transfer to a different vehicle, as they do with bus and rail systems. This makes O-Bahn travelling times even shorter.
Each bus is fitted with special "guide wheels" by the front wheels, allowing the bus to transfer from road to the track in one smooth, easy movement. The guide wheels are directly connected to the vehicle's steering mechanism and once these guide wheels are locked in place, the track is effectively steering the bus.
The bus travels at speeds of up to 100kph along the track without having to compete with other traffic. As a result, the bus is able to travel the 12km from the CBD to the northeastern suburbs in only 20 minutes.
The system offers a high frequency of service, with buses able to safely travel on the corridor at 20 second intervals. The versatility of the system means the passenger catchment area is significantly larger than that of rail.
The track ends at a shopping mall, so it was one of those occasions where the travelling was so much more fun than the destination.
