Rail replacement bus service
A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service either on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or heavy rail, intercity passenger service. The rail service may be replaced if the line is closed due to rail maintenance, a breakdown of a train, a rail accident, strike action, or if the rail service is not economically viable. Terms for a rail replacement bus service include bustitution (a portmanteau of the words "bus" and "substitution")[1] and bus bridge.[2]
Contents
Examples
Australia
In Australia a permanent or temporary rail-replacement service change is often referred to as bustitution.[3][4][5]
Canada
Rail replacement with buses by Via Rail in Canada is referred to as bustitution.[1]
New Zealand
In Auckland train services are sometimes replaced by a bus, termed a Rail Bus.[6] Historically, New Zealand Railways Road Services replaced many train routes with buses.[citation needed]
United Kingdom
During British Railways Board railway rationalisation in the 1960s known as the Beeching Axe, bus substitution was an official policy for replacing train services on closed lines. This policy was largely unsuccessful, however, as the bus services were usually far slower than the train services they replaced, causing many passengers to give up on public transport altogether.[7]
United States
Rail-replacement bus services occurred on a large scale following the dismantling of the street railway systems of many cities in North America in the mid-20th century.[8][9]
Temporary substitution of buses for trains may be done with Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoach service.[10]
The effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York, the New York City Subway required replacement bus service when subway lines were closed for repairs, which happens also because of regularly scheduled maintenance: the subway runs 24/7/365, so interruptions in subway service require replacement bus service, even during off-peak hours.
Political response
Substitution of rail services by buses can be unpopular and subject to criticism, so the term bustitution is often used pejoratively.[11][12]
Similar concept
A similar concept in some ways is motorization, but that term[clarification needed] more broadly refers to the rise of the automobile as well as bus transportation.
See also
- Abandonment
- Beeching Axe
- Bus rapid transit
- Effects of the automobile on societies
- FTR (bus) a British Bus rapid transit proposal
- Great American streetcar scandal
- O-Bahn
- Oh, Doctor Beeching! a 1990s television situation comedy series set in the 1960s
- Railcar
- Rail trail
- SELRAP - Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership a British rail transit advocacy group trying to undo bustitution
- "Slow Train" a song about railway station closures in Britain the 1960s
- Thruway Motorcoach
- Transport economics
- Via Rail: Fourth round of cuts a 2003 Canadian political conflict of interest controversy
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 'Limited MTA service backj Thursday' on New York Daily News website, viewed 2013-07-09
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ An example from an Australian discussion board appears at: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Another example from Australia appears at: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 'How to use a railbus' on Auckland Transport website, viewed 2013-07-07
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ An example from Milwaukee, Wisconsin may be seen in a picture caption at: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ An example appears in a 2009 editorial. See: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of bustitution at Wiktionary
