On Tue, 9 Dec 2003 14:58:18 -0000, "Jeremy Parker"
wrote:


"Joe Olmi" wrote in message
. com...
IGT is a radically new concept in urban public transportation, and
is
destined to become the primary form of travel in every major city
around the globe.

The full story can be read at www.taxibus.org.uk

Not that new. I first rode in one about 40 years ago. Lots of
cities round the world have them. The name varies with the city, but
the nearest thing to an "official" name is "service taxi". The USA
was probably the first country to get them, before 1910, when they
were called "jitneys".

Usually you can hail them in the street like a taxi, or like a few
bus routes in London.


Certainly something similar was tried in areas of London 20-30 years
ago. What's changed since then is the widespread use of mobile
phones, but in terms of transport the idea is nothing new.

For what it's worth I think the project's promoters do themselves a
disservice by being over-ambitious. There's a case study of somebody
travelling from Muswell Hill to Charing Cross Road. The passenger
wonders what route the taxibus would take. So did I as I read the
case, as it's scheduled for just over 30 minutes in the morning peak
hour: that would be a good time for that journey even with almost no
traffic around.

And there's the rub, or at least part of it. The model is dependent
on attracting most other traffic off the road. That isn't just car
commuters into work, but also delivery drivers, and for that matter
anybody in a car with lots of luggage, or small children, or elderly
passengers, and by the look of it most passengers in existing buses as
well. Which certainly isn't going to happen overnight

Martin

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