A £25M package of public transport improvements, centred on bus rapid transit is being proposed for Plymouth.
The high-frequency service would use a disused railway line for part of the route from the city centre to new housing developments and a 1,000-space park-and-ride site east of the city.
A bus lane and new signalised junctions on the A379 and bridge works – to strengthen and widen the congested Laira Bridge – also form part of the package recommended by consultant Faber Maunsell. More than 5,500 new homes are planned for Sherford, Plymstock Quarry and other sites in the area by 2016.
Travel demand would not justify light rapid transit, the Plymouth Eastern Corridor Study concluded. But segregation and significant bus-priority measures could create a step change in public transport, reducing journey times from 23 to less than 15 minutes – faster than car travel.
Roads through the Sherford development should allow high running speeds, perhaps through ‘virtual segregation’. Significant developer contributions would be required. The consultant also recommend linking the busway and parallel A379 at key points. Head of strategy for planning and development, ~Jonathan Bell~ said the preferred strategy would enable the authority ‘to plan the growth of Plymouth in a way that’s going to deliver a high-quality transport system’.