The journey begins

The first stage of a new bus rapid transit system is transforming public transport in north Kent – and potentially far more widely if the innovative approach is taken up elsewhere. Fastrack is providing the UK’s first example of a high quality bus-based rapid public transport system specifically designed to meet the needs of a growth area.

Kent Thameside is one of the main growth areas in the Thames Gateway. Focussed on the urban areas of the boroughs of Dartford and Gravesham in north Kent, the area has potential to deliver up to 50,000 new jobs and 30,000 new houses over the next 20 to 30 years as large brownfield sites are regenerated. A key catalyst for regeneration is the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link station at Ebbsfleet, which will bring about a step change in accessibility for the area, providing easy and rapid connections to and from central London, Paris and the continent.

The need for Fastrack is intrinsically linked with this regeneration. Studies showed that the scale of planned development could not happen if a conventional approach to transport was adopted. So a comprehensive vision for Kent Thameside was prepared by local stakeholders based on innovative proposals to integrate land use and transport planning. A bold strategy for sustainable mixed-used development set in a high quality environment and integrated with existing communities was proposed.

As well as assisting local stakeholder planning, the Kent Thameside vision responded to Government regional planning guidance published in 1995 (Thames Gateway Planning Framework Regional Planning Guidance RPG9a). The Thames Gateway became a national focal point for regeneration and growth and Kent Thameside was identified as ‘a growth area of regional significance’. More recently, planned regeneration throughout the Thames Gateway has received a major boost through the Government’s ‘Sustainable Communities: Building For the Future’ action plan, published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in February 2003. New ‘delivery vehicles’ were established within the Gateway, including the Kent Thameside Delivery Board which built upon the long history of partnership working in the area to bring together public and private sector interests to drive forward regeneration projects such as Fastrack.

One of Kent Thameside’s vision core principles is Public Transport Orientated Development (PTOD). PTOD encourages higher density development along public transport corridors and enables people to live close to good public transport links, particularly Fastrack. PTOD therefore reduces the need to travel long distances by providing the ‘day-to-day’ facilities necessary to work, learn, shop and play close by, with Fastrack as the centrepiece of an integrated transport network linking those facilities. All new major development schemes within Kent Thameside are required to incorporate these principles. Another core principle focusses on the timing of infrastructure provision. The aim is to have the transport network ready before development is occupied, further increasing the attractiveness of the system and the likelihood that people will become habitual users.

The public transport system has a major job to do in Kent Thameside where a much higher public transport mode share than is normal outside a UK city has to be achieved. Some 9,000-12,000 new homes and 10,000-15,000 new jobs will benefit from provision of Fastrack. But it is not just about the future, as some 37,000 people already live within 400m of a planned Fastrack route (over 25% of the current Kent Thameside population).

Not a Tram

The long timescale of the proposed new development demanded a system that could grow organically as the area developed. The original Kent Thameside vision included a tram system. However, initial studies soon ruled out this option as too costly and inflexible. The geography of the area, which includes large former chalk quarries, would have made it physically very difficult to put down a track for a tram.

Instead it was concluded that the simplicity and flexibility of bus rapid transit (BRT) would be the most appropriate solution for Kent Thameside. A bus-based system could provide most of the benefits of a tram system and also have the necessary flexibility to keep pace with regeneration and respond to increased demand quickly but also adapt to any changed circumstances. The advantages of BRT are clear and there is currently growing interest across the UK in this transport mode.

Priority and flexibility are key

An important aspect of BRT is the priority it enjoys over other traffic. For Fastrack a network of some 40km is envisaged for the final development pattern of Kent Thameside. The objective is to provide sufficient priority from end to end so that journey times can be guaranteed. Dedicated busways are provided wherever possible, most notably through the new development sites where there is, in effect, a ‘clean sheet’ to work with.

Elsewhere, where full segregation cannot be physically accommodated or justified, Fastrack runs on priority lanes constructed alongside existing roads. In especially difficult situations short lengths of on-street running with priority at signalled junctions may be acceptable. Overall, half of all Fastrack routes are planned to operate on exclusive dedicated busways, with a further 25% operating on priority lanes. However, opportunities to further enhance the level of fully segregated busways continue to be explored, demonstrating the flexibility and suitability of the BRT mode.

Overall planning

Fastrack has always been envisaged as a system that will inevitably grow organically over a relatively long period. To bring about the necessary delivery focus and long term strategic planning an innovative Fastrack Delivery Executive (FDE) has been established. The FDE brings together the local Councils and key developers to utilise their powers and influence to promote, develop and secure timely delivery of all elements of the Fastrack project. A Strategic Business Case (SBC) prepared by the FDE provides a 30-year ‘blueprint’ for Fastrack delivery.

The SBC envisages a two-stage approach that reflects the early role of the public sector in kick-starting delivery but the desire to transfer risk to the private sector once the pace of regeneration accelerates. Stage one combines a publicly-procured local authority Fastrack Route B with a second, wholly developer-funded Fastrack Route A. Having then demonstrated patronage levels and achieved critical mass, Stage 2 envisages a franchise being awarded to a private sector operator for operation and maintenance of the entire Fastrack network that by then will be nearing completion. A franchise award would require Kent County Council (KCC) to take up statutory quality contract or other appropriate regulatory powers to, in effect, re-introduce regulation of local bus operations, a step that currently no authority in the UK has yet taken. Understandably much more work is required before such a major step is taken.

Phase 1

However KCC has already accomplished its ‘kick-starting’ role by successfully launching Phase 1 of Fastrack. Promoted by KCC and Kent Thameside, and with funding from the Department for Transport, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Kent County Council itself, the first phase represents a major public sector investment in the overall Fastrack project. A £15m KCC Local Transport Plan Major Scheme designed by transport consultant Jacobs and constructed by Fitzpatrick Contractors Ltd has provided a showcase for the future Fastrack network.

Work began in September 2004 on busways and priority measures throughout the 15km first route between Dartford and Gravesend town centres via Bluewater and Greenhithe. Within this overall route, 5.5km of almost continuous high quality busways and priority measures has been provided between Dartford and Bluewater. Designed and constructed on time and within budget, this section is thought to be amongst the longest length of bus priority measures outside of a major city in the UK. The route was carefully designed to maintain the number of traffic lanes open to general traffic wherever possible. The aim was to give Fastrack the priority it needs without taking existing road capacity, and this was achieved over most of the route apart from a short length in Dartford town centre.

IT systems

To meet its overall objectives the ability to offer a reliable, attractive and informed Fastrack journey experience is critically important. Application of ITS has a major role toplay in this.

Kent already had a countywide bus location and priority system that utilises GPS tracking of suitably equipped vehicles, provided by KCC in partnership with ACIS. This permits real-time passenger information to be displayed on buses and at bus stops and for buses to call priority at traffic signal junctions.

Fastrack is further exploiting the existing Kent Bus System infrastructure by providing state-of-the-art ‘smart’ street furniture linked via a local broadband wireless network. This high bandwidth wireless network allows for uninterrupted communication of realtime travel information without the need for cabling or costs related to fixed line telephony systems. Real-time travel information and interactive journey planning services are delivered to ‘Smart Panels’ integrated into 16 shelters and two ‘Smart Columns’ located along the first phase of Fastrack. The latest Adshel Landmark Bow bus shelters appropriately balance an attractive aesthetic design with the need for robustness and minimal maintenance, and have been specifically designed to accommodate ‘Smart panel’ modules supplied by Cityspace. As well as showing continual real-time updates on Fastrack and other buses due, the TV-style LCD flat screens provide up-to-the-minute BBC News headlines. Touch screen terminals provide passengers with free access to interactive travel and a wide range of other useful information services.

All traffic signals on the Fastrack route are equipped to give priority to approaching Fastrack vehicles. The urban traffic control system detects the approach of buses and changes traffic lights in their favour at junctions. A further planned development is to link to an electronic timetable database, which will allow even more proactive management and journey time reliability by giving, for example, greater priority to vehicles identified as running late.

Vehicles

Vehicles operating on Phase 1 also exploit ITS. In an innovative approach, Kent County Council procured fourteen new vehicles with £2.5m from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Sustainable Communities plan. Supplied by Volvo and Wrightbus, the vehicles represent the highest available quality in bus technology. They are a conventional 12m length with a range of high quality features including air-conditioning, satellite location, an advanced real time passenger information system and a distinctive livery. Powered by conventional diesel engines, emissions are significantly better than current limits and continuously regenerating particulate traps (CRT’s) in the exhaust system reduce particulate emissions by up to 90%. The first vehicle was unveiled at last November’s Thames Gateway Forum.

There are no current plans to use guided or articulated vehicles in the early phases of Fastrack. However the flexibility of the BRT system means that larger capacity or new vehicle technology can easily be introduced at a later stage when required. It is anticipated that patronage generated by the key 300ha Eastern Quarry site, where 7,250 new homes, 1.6m sq ft of offices and 1.2m sq ft of retail space is planned, will require larger capacity articulated vehicles.

Arriva & service operation

Sorting out operating arrangements for Phase 1 was a particular challenge for KCC. Powers to construct and operate tram and transit schemes in the UK are usually sought through an order under the Transport and Works Act (TWA).

A TWA order was ruled out for Fastrack due to the incremental growth over a long period and the fact that no guidance system was being used, a prerequisite for use of TWA powers. Conventional bus operating arrangements had therefore to be used for Fastrack. Since deregulation in 1985 local authorities have had few powers to influence bus operations which generally only operate where there is commercial profit. Local Transport Authorities do, however, have powers by which they can subsidise ‘gaps’ in a commercially-provided network. It was clear that the high frequency and quality required for Fastrack would not be delivered commercially without a subsidy. KCC was also mindful that introduction of a new Fastrack service could have substantial adverse impact on the existing bus network resulting ultimately in a need for even more local authority support and subsidy. In an innovative approach KCC overcame these challenges by using powers to negotiate an operating contract with Arriva, the dominant operator of commercial services in the area, with provision of the fleet of new vehicles forming the service subsidy.

The arrangement is working well so far, with Arriva being equally committed to delivering a high quality service. Hand picked and specially trained drivers in bespoke uniforms and focussed on customer service have already marked Fastrack out locally as much more than just ‘another bus service’. And the efforts are being rewarded, with patronage over the first five weeks already on target to exceed the predicted 1.1million trips predicted for year one.

Beyond Phase 1

Later phases of Fastrack will be delivered by the developers of major new developments in the area. The next phase is already under construction as an integral part of The Bridge, a joint development by Prologis, Dartford Borough Council and George Wimpey that will transform a 105ha brownfield site to the north of Dartford, adjacent to junction 1A of the M25 and the Dartford River Crossing. A vibrant new community is planned including some 1,500 new homes, a science park and 46,000m2 of office space, with Fastrack at the heart of the proposals. Development had previously been constrained by the capacity of junction 1A, but by investing in Fastrack as an alternative transport mode the developers have been able to substantially increase the amount of permissible development on the site. Over £20m is being invested in Fastrack. This includes a new £7m bridge over the M25 provided as part of a dedicated route, and innovative provision of real-time information displays located within every home as well as health centres and schools. Provision of Fastrack as part of The Bridge development clearly demonstrates that the strategy of public sector kick-starting leading to private-sector delivery has been effective.

Conclusion

With a successful launch under their belt, a recent announcement of further substantial government funding and the next phase already under construction the Fastrack team is extremely upbeat about Fastrack. Fastrack shows every sign of fulfilling its objective of delivering a credible alternative to unnecessary use of the car for local journeys. Not to mention providing a potential model for the rest of the UK.