Adelaide’s O-Bahn system was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by sharing tram tunnels in the German city of Essen. Adelaide’s track is 12 kilometres long and includes three interchanges at Klemzig, Paradise and Tea Tree Plaza. An additional section including a 673-metre tunnel opened in 2017 at the city end to reduce the number of congested intersections buses must traverse. Buses can travel at a maximum speed of 100 kmh, but are now restricted to 85 kmh.
About O-Bahn Busway in brief
Adelaide’s O-Bahn system was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by sharing tram tunnels in the German city of Essen. Adelaide’s track is 12 kilometres long and includes three interchanges at Klemzig, Paradise and Tea Tree Plaza. An additional section including a 673-metre tunnel opened in 2017 at the city end to reduce the number of congested intersections buses must traverse to enter the Adelaide city centre. Buses can travel at a maximum speed of 100 kmh, but are now restricted to 85 kmh. As of 2015, the busway carries approximately 31,000 people per weekday. The average service speed including stops is about 60 kmh. On entering interchanges the O- Bahn ends and the speed limit is 40 kmH. In the interchange area, the speedlimit is 20 km h. The O-bahn is officially considered a road, due to a court ruling in the early years of the system’s operation. This ruling permits the South Australia Police to install speed cameras and fine speeding drivers. An average of four cars enter per year and must be removed by crane. The first articulated Mercedes-Benz O-Benz 51s enter service on the OBahn in 1986. These were modified for use by Mitsubishi Motors’ Clovelly Park plant before being bodied by Pressed Metal Corporation. The new buses were called KUB280s and were used by South Australia until 2007 when they were replaced by modified MAN SG280s.
With the introduction of the new buses in 2007, South Australia’s bus rapid transit system was expanded to cover the north-eastern suburbs of the city. The current service area covers the northern suburbs of Adelaide, north-east of the Adelaide CBD and north-west of the suburb of Modbury. The bus lanes continue north to the Torrens River and into the East Parklands, where it enters a 60 metre tunnel at a speed limited to 40 kmh, due to the tight initial corner, ensuring that the rear tyres do not’scrub’ against the track. The development of the O-Bhan busway led to the development of the Torrens Linear Park from a run-down urban drain into an attractive public open space. It has also triggered urban development around the north eastern terminus at Modbury, with a number of new homes being built in the area since the busways were built. The O Bahn is elevated from the ground because of the poor quality of alluvial soils along the River Torren’s, which frequently move due to their high level of plasticity. At the city receiving the bus lanes, it enters an 850-metres tunnel, completed in December 2017, which curves from east to north, emerging onto bus lanes in the middle of Hackney Road just north of the intersection with Botanic Road and North Terrace.
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This page is based on the article O-Bahn Busway published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
