A DEDICATED bus service around the south of the city, capable of carrying up to six million passengers a year, would be built under plans unveiled by transport chiefs today.
The £54 million Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system would follow a route between Queen Margaret University in the east of the city to the ERI and on to Edinburgh Park and Gogarburn.
New bus lanes would be created alongside some of the city's busiest r
oads, including the City Bypass, and stops would be built next to tram, railway and park-and-ride sites.
Up to 12 buses an hour would operate the route, which Sestran – the regional transport body behind the plans – hopes will give commuters who currently drive around the city bypass a viable public transport alternative.
The project is likely to be done in a phased approach, with the first section hoped to be in place by 2012 if government and local authority funding can be secured.
Further studies will determine if it is best to have a dedicated and separately branded "rapid bus service" on the route, or if it would just link up with existing services.
It is understood extensions to Newbridge, Musselburgh and Fife would also be considered at a later point.
The plans were today welcomed by transport groups and politicians.
Alex Macaulay, partnership director of Sestran, said: "There is still a lot of work to be done but we have a good feeling about this.
"There is a huge pattern of car usage around the city bypass just now because a lot of these people have no public transport alternative unless they go into the city and out again.
"If we make the service fast, reliable and comfortable then we can win these people over.
"The good thing is we can start with the major pinch points and gradually build the network from there."
The core section of the recommended "orbital" service comprises a semi-circle from St Margaret's University in Musselburgh in the east to Gogarburn in the west.
This would include a segregated busway along the south side of the City Bypass between the Straiton and proposed Lothianburn park and ride site, as well as the use of the bypass' hard shoulder between Lothianburn and Torphin Bridge.
Neil Greig, head of policy in Scotland for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "On the face of it this seems like a very good idea, particularly if you are linking together all the known hotspots that people want to travel and also linking into the tram and park-and-rides.
"Giving buses their own dedicated lanes will mean you are getting realistic journey times and that means genuine choice for motorists."
The full article contains 460 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
