T ZEN concept project… more than a bus
Bus remains the favourite mode of transport in dense urban areas, according to EMTA Barometer [1].
These past ten years however, have seen tramways back into cities. They gained increasing popularity thanks to their elegant design, silent power energy and smooth sliding into the densest areas of our busiest cities at times on a green grass carpet. Tramways though need important and costly infrastructure work, they disrupt the local traffic for months if not years during construction, and call for a significant number of passengers which can be met only on specific routes and not everywhere even in a dense urban area.
The innovative concept-bus T ZEN project in Ile de France, under the initiative of STIF, challenges the Tramway services and yet adapts itself to smaller conurbations and lower patronage. T ZEN falls under the High Quality Bus Service, it retains the efficiency of space allocation resource, and aims to particularly serve average dense areas-where urban planning is developing-and places to and from which mobility flows are important.
T ZEN is a system-service. It operates exclusively on dedicated lanes and serves stations that respond to a highly effective and modern design, clearly recognisable by the travellers. The economic efficiency of T ZEN is supported by the optimization of quality criteria related to punctuality, high frequency and reliability, travel information display and user friendly design.
T ZEN key features
- dedicated bus lanes, possibly transformed later on into tram tracks if capacity requires,
- stations designed alike tramway stations and in average 500m apart,
- advanced ITS for right of way at intersection and real time information on board and at stations,
- design-for-all features ensure level access to stations,
- higher Euro V environment standards compatible,
- high quality of service criteria,
- 10 pilot lines will be deployed in a first phase,
- construction of a first lane starts in 2009, service to be opened in Spring 2011.
More than a bus, the innovative T ZEN-concept mode will provide reliable mobility speed and enjoyable travel experience. It will bring an economic-efficient response to the peripheral and/or new urban schemes, reinforcing the structure and optimizing the connections of the existing bus network while offering all the adaptability of bus services.
[1] EMTA Barometer is a benchmark of transport networks performances across EMTA members for more www.emta.com section Publication