Future mass transit plans for Edinburgh should follow successful bus-based projects in cities such as Belfast instead of solely relying on trams, the councillors on the city’s Transport and Environment Committee have been told.  

A deputation by the Save Roseburn Path campaign said developments in Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) meant that new vehicles could carry as many passengers as trams.   

Bus rapid transit vehicles run on rubber wheels and can use existing road surfaces – without the need for tracks or guide rails – slashing the construction costs by millions. 

Roseburn Path has been proposed to carry a new tramline and the council, along with local transport operators, generally favour tram development to link Granton to the city centre and beyond. 

Philip Wade, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) officer for the Save Roseburn Path group, urged councillors to consider a bus-based scheme over the suggested tram extension linking Granton to the city centre and onward to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. 

He pointed out that an on-road bus based rapid transit scheme could cost £90m compared with the expected tram scheme’s projected costs of £500m.  

A report to the committee said that, despite the high initial costs, the tram scheme would best meet projected passenger demands for usage as Granton develops as a housing area.  Standard tram cars can carry up to 250 passengers. 

Mr Wade said the new developments in bus rapid transit vehicles by manufacturers such as Volvo could produce vehicles capable of carrying similar passenger numbers. 

And he questioned an assertion by council officials that bus-based schemes required more land than trams, adding that bus vehicles were no wider than trams and did not need tracks or guide rails, making road surfaces safer for other users such as cyclists. 

A report to the committee gave examples of how tram investment boosted regeneration. It said:  “The recent extension of trams to Newhaven is providing major benefit across Leith Waterfront, with over £500 million of private sector investment in new housing.  

“Trams to Newhaven enabled faster growth and much higher densities of housing than would otherwise have been possible with BRT.” 

However, the council report also acknowledged the success of the Belfast BRT scheme: “Belfast Glider has been far more successful with patronage, increasing by 70% over the previous bus service.” 

The Belfast BRT scheme cost £100m, or £4.1m per km in 2018 prices, the committee heard.  

The report added: “Key reasons for the scheme’s success include targeted bus priority improvements, the use of high-quality vehicles and off-board ticketing. With no payment transactions taking place on vehicles, this is where the key journey time savings has come from (rather than through priority infrastructure). In addition, Gilder buses operate with three doors and so, like trams, boarding and alighting times are significantly reduced. This gives Glider an edge over a standard bus.”  

Jamie Robertson, the city’s Strategic Transport and Planning Delivery Manager said that BRT does have a role in strategic transport plans but would work better in connecting outlying towns such as Penicuik to the city.  

In Cambridge the BRT system works well on the periphery of the city but loses its benefit when it gets into the city and performance is no better than conventional bus transport. 

Councillor Sanne Dijkstra- Downie, Lib Dem, highlighted the lack of guarantees that funding would come from Holyrood to meet the costs of new transport infrastructure. She told the meeting that, on that basis: “We believe BRT might just be considered”. 

That was echoed by Conservative Iain Whyte who said: “This is all about finding the best transport options for the city” and he pointed to the comparisons of £4m per kilometre for BRT against £87m per km for trams saying the BRT options should be considered, if not for the Granton link, for where it could be practically used. 

Other options which have been tabled at council and elsewhere in the debate include proposal to introduce light rail connections using the old suburban railway line. 

Public consultation on the Granton plans will be held this Spring with proposals coming back to council later in this year. 

By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter 

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