Rapid (40 m.p.h.) transit buses planned for Runcorn New Town
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ARAPID-TRANSIT system based on the use of singledecker buses operating on their own track is planned for the new town of Runcorn, Cheshire, which will have a population of 90,000.
The buses will operate on a basic figure-of-eight system, with spurs to three industrial areas, and will run through the centres of the 8,000 population communities it is proposed to establish.
It is claimed by Crosville Motor Services Ltd., who will operate the service, that only 60 buses will be required, compared with 88 buses if a conventional street system were used. Furthermore, the special track will have a design speed of 40 m.p.h., while street buses could only operate at an average speed of 12 m.p.h.
Buses have been chosen as the mode of rapid transit because they will also be able to operate on normal roads in part of the western section of the town, and will be able to enter service while the special tracks are being built. And bus links are planned over multi-purpose roads to serve older parts of the town which are beyond a convenient walking distance.
The type of bus envisaged for the rapid transit system is a single-deck, low-floor bus with accommodation for 80 to 90 passengers. It will be a 39 ft. 3 in.-long bus with offside rear-mounted engine, presumably an extended version of the Bristol VR model. It will have a front entrance and rear exit and longitudinal seating with seats on the offside only between the wheel arches.
An overall height of 8 ft. 9 in. is proposed, and by using single-deckers, considerable savings in costs of bridge construction will be made.