Tram-style shuttles to replace bus services on city centre streets

Nov 19 2010 by Edward Chadwick, Birmingham Mail

BUS services could vanish from the busiest city centre streets and replaced with super-fast shuttles.

Instead of every service passing along traffic-choked roads including Corporation Street and Colmore Row, buses will terminate at four new interchanges on the fringes of the shopping and office districts.

Each of the new terminals will be linked by a circular service which will be given priority over other traffic.

Transport chiefs have unveiled the £15 million proposals as the solution to grid-locked roads and to pave the way for a new network of tram-style “super buses” which are set to revolutionise the way shoppers and workers travel around the city.

Bosses at regional transport body Centro said that changes to the way buses use the city centre will mean faster journey times for passengers and will help to cut traffic levels and create a European-style “walkable city centre”.

“Operators will be able to run a much more efficient service because the buses won’t be getting caught up in city centre traffic,” said Centro’s head of commissioning Rafael Cuesta.

Four modern interchanges are set to be created within the next two years at Moor Street, Snow Hill, Paradise Circus and New Street at a cost of £15 million.

Each of the hubs will act as the end point for city centre-bound journeys and a circular route will whisk commuters to other interchanges or key destinations including the markets.