Adelaide O'Bahn - Modbury to Gilberton, Adelaide - South Australia

Heading southwest on the Adelaide O'Bahn from Tea Tree Plaza (Modbury) to Gilberton; a unique form of public transportation where buses travel on a guided path.
12 km (15 minutes real time) in a 2.5 minute drivelapse/timelapse
Produced by Richard Frimpong
Music from KZbin Audio
Raindrops
Hey Girl

[@StarmanFR]

Funny, I've never seen public transport like this! Thanks for showing us!

[@RoadTubeRichard]

Thanks, it definitely is one of a kind!

[@BusProductions101]

Road Tube I enjoy riding on the O-Bahn. It is funny how the MercedesBenz buses which are now retired could easily get to 100km/h and even over, 130. The newer Scania's on the other hand have great struggle reaching 100km/h, let alone 130 which the Mercs. were trialed at during the mid-'80s. It is funny how most people think, just because they are newer doesn't necessarily mean that they are better.

[@RoadTubeRichard]

BusProductions101 Yeah, I kind of got used to it, especially when I caught an O'Bahn to school and then uni just about every day. Your right about the speeds, as I don't think the buses go near 100km/h on the O'bahn, but I never recall them getting anywhere near 130km/h :P

[@BusProductions101]

Road Tube Yeah, unfortunately they are only permitted to go up to 85km/h now because of safety precautions. The soil is actually moving and so does the track with it. They have only noticed that it has become a serious problem in the last couple of years. This has caused serious worry, and engineers are trying to get it back to normal. This is why the speeds have been set so low. Also the track is very bumpy which has been caused by the original mercs. Apparently they made grooves into the concrete track with their wheels. The buses only did 130 during testing back in the mid 80s before it was actually opened to public. I was told by a colleague that back in the early '90s before technology like tracking devices and cameras were put into the buses, they managed to get their merc above 140 on the steeper section of the track between Modbury and paradise. I find that quite crazy, though it really shows how good the original buses were. :)

[@RoadTubeRichard]

Yeah, those are great points you raise, a few of which I don't know myself! My initial judgement for the slower speed was Adelaide's really expansive soils like Hindmarsh Clay, but haven't looked too much into that aspect of things.

[@GoJoGeoff]

I had no idea this was operating there. Great info - thanks!

[@RoadTubeRichard]

Thanks Geoff. This is definitely how you encourage people to use public transportation! It's faster than driving!

[@SamDoesGamez]

I live about 2 minutes away from The plaza (TTP)

[@dutchroads742]

Very interesting video! I see this is a dedicated buslane. In your video you've posted that there are some similar systems like in Germany. How do you compare this to others systems worldwide?

[@RoadTubeRichard]

Thanks! That's a great question. From my guess, the concept of a guided busway came into form in the late 70's and was implemented in Essen in 1980 (fact check me if I'm wrong). However, I haven't really found too much info on this type of system in Germany other than it initially being developed there. It is probably more established in Adelaide. I think the O'Bahn is certainly Adelaide's most efficient public transport corridor as the O'Bahn will get you to Adelaide CBD faster than driving. By world standards, however, when comparing to the underground and MRT's, Adelaide lags behind, even when including the O'Bahn. Nonetheless, I'm in favour of dedicated bus lanes rather than merging busus with traffic! Hope this answered your question.