@J0Boa There's a kinda U shaped arm with two horizontally placed wheels (think roller coaster) that protrude slightly from in front of and behind the front wheels. As the track turns, these guide wheels contact the raised edges of the track and turn the bus. It's faster than dealing with traffic, takes up less space concrete is more hard wearing than pavement. It's a truly amazing system, and one I wish they would adopt here.
They are regular buses. They pick up in the central areas of Adelaide and go in to the guideway for the run north. There are small rollers at the front of the bus to guide it. You can Google O Bahn for details
Reading through the comments this is a safe busway even though there was 2 serious accidents in the first year of operation when it opened, all buses are now fitted with a stopped bus alarm that the driver activates if breakdown or tire blowout or bus speed is below 40kph, all buses will slow down to 40kmh on alarm, the tires are fitted with a run flat device that allows the bus to be driven at low speed to exit the track at the first station the driver reaches.
The bus runs in a guideway, there are wheels/rollers at the side of the bus that keep it between the guides. You should see them in Paris.....it's called the Metro except that it's trains. Underground mostly but they do have some surface running..
You have to try it. You can get the O Bahn Bus from Adelaide Airport Terminal and goes through the City to Tea Tree Plaza Interchange. It'd be totally wonderful experience. And it is a very smooth ride !!!
It depends on which suburb you're in. For me it's a simple step of catching the T500 bus at the Salisbury Interchange into Adelaide. From Adelaide, you'd catch the same bus (or several others) to the Paradise Interchange.
I think the O-Bahn concept is great! Very fast, comfortable and safe. What a shame that it was not developed more before all the land was taken for housing etc.
it has guided wheels on each side of the bus that roll on the raised edges of the track that also are joined to the steering. if the tyres were rubbing the walls steering it, the bus wouldnt even make the 1st corner it would roll straight over on to its roof
@donh6 It's a pretty simple sysytem. Just fixed rollers attached to the side of the bus and not much to go wrong. However I guess if things went awry the driver would have to steer it the same as he/she would anywhere else.
just for a start it would have to be a lot wider for passing safety, you can't run off the O Bahn, not even with a blow out so it does have some advantages
@Rocketboy1950 That's KPH not MPH. I seemed to recall they were limited to 50MPH when I travelled it in 2002. I'm told the bus way is to be closed due to heavy maintenance costs. Can someone please confirm this?
@makmegs They are expensive but then people value their time. To get people on to public transport it has to be reasonably fast and efficient and this system is just that.
I purchased a ticket and got on the bus. I then set my video camera up and proceeded to take the video. It was remarkably easy. I fail to understand the issue you seem to be having.
I went on the M44 o-bahn bus today hadn't been on one for about 10 years. They are quite noisy when they are travelling on the track at 100 km/h. But yeah I've seen quite a few reports of people attempting to enter the o-bahn bus tracks in their cars it never ends well since they don't have the guided wheels they either get lodged into the track and need to be towed out or they flip off the track requiring the o-bahn truck crane "Dumbo" to tow it off.
@J0Boa I considered that some time ago but then weighed it up against the normal amount of adjustment that a driver would make plus the additional braking and ducking and weaving that would occur on a public road. You may well be correct but I considered it might be an even money bet either way.
It would be far more expensive. Electrification is expensive and laying tracks in cities likewise. The bus system offers far better flexibility especially if a change of route is required for any reason. Adelaide does have a tram/light rail as well as the O Bahn
We've discussed this type of transportation in a German forum, because of the plans to re-start the tram in Hamburg. We've all come to the conclusion that this O Bahn (and similar types) is simply impractical, which reaffirms that the tram is a much better choice for another rapid transit medium.
Don't forger the guide wheels are connected to the steering arms, therefore it is no different to turning the steering wheel therefore no difference in tyre wear.
I would say it would be fairly cheap overall. I mean, essentially they are just big slabs of concrete, and they require very little maintenance, coupled with the shear convenience of not having to get on and off several different forms of transport...
ride quality seems simmilar to the busway in Cambridge, UK. Would be good to get a shot of passengers - since by observing them moving around one can judge the smoothness of the ride.
Actually the Cambridge busway is almost identical to the O'Bahn. And when that system opens, it will be the longest guided busway in the world, almost double the length of the O'Bahn. Plus the Cambridge Busway uses Double Decker buses. The O'Bahn doesnt. And it will also have other features that some O'Bahn buses dont have light Wi-Fi enabled buses, AC, and leather seats.
The tire wear has been a issue with newer buses as the trailing axels aren't as narrow as they are on the old Mercs and they have to slow down a bit for the bends as the tire wall rubs against the guide wheel walls on the track. The O'Bahn track is cheaper to maintain than say the Belair light rail line and if the track is closed because of a breakdown or some nume skull who some how gets their car on the track the buses can travel on the road to contiue services unlike a rail or tram line.
The concept is brilliant, but from what i've noticed on my second time watching it, the suspension setup is significantly harder making the transition between guide-way's rough and even more uncomfortable than public transport buses already are! Once again, brilliant concept tho :)
The bus driver does not steer when in the guideway. There are small guide wheels on the side of the bus that run inside the concrete guideway. You surprise me, this is a German innovation......"O Bahn".
@californiahummus I would strongly advise that you try Europe or Japan first, Australia has failed to keep up with urban growth and it is becoming a bit of a mess.
Yes I know that but I like train stations tracks go right into the station. But if you see Rocket's boy comment he mentions the reason which I fully understood the reason. Thanks for the comment
@gamwam its faster and safer on its rails seeing as it only needs to take people in and out of the city to various checkpoints (depots) on the way. Emergency services arent really neccessary. I've never seen an accident on the O bahn.
Why doesn't the tracks continue thru the bus staions? I'm assuming so the buses can be diverted from the station to the roads or so it allows other buses ie. express buses continue on their journey?
ive never quite understood this ,.. we hav a few here,.. but would it not be easyier and cheeper just to build a bus only roadway?,.. at least then emergency services could get to the vehicle if three wa sa fire ect
Ah-huh! Longest guided busway in the world -- yet another wierd landmark for us Adeladians to brag about. A couple of years back some tourists drove a van onto the O'Bahn and almost got hit! There's a very clear sign 'Busway buses only'.
Years ago it was a toss-up whether to use this system or light rail.Many preferred light rail however this system has been a success although on some occasions errant car drivers have found there way onto it and become a real health hazard Ha! Ha!
I'm sure that you can Google a wealth of information on the system. How you measure the time saved by people travelling to and from work is debatable. There would be further costs saved in reduced accident rates and etc. Somebody thinks that they are a good investment or they wouldn't exist.
They took the buses off public roads and dramatically lowered the travel times for commuters going to the north of Adelaide. There's nothing funny about saving travel time and doing it safely.
@MrRhino777 No, We are just smart enough to not spend million of dollars for a railroad, Plus this system is 10x quicker in that you dont have to get off your bus.
