A coachway interchange (also transitway station, busway station) is a stopping place for express coach services near the trunk road/motorway road network. It relies on available local transport modes to complete individual journeys. Coachway interchanges help to achieve low overall journey times by avoiding operation through congested urban centres.[1][2]
Alan Storkey, a transport economist, proposed a motorway based coach system based on Coachway interchanges to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee in May 2006[5] and was promoted by George Monbiot in 2006.[6]
In January 2010, the South East England regional transport board criticised the plans published by the development authority for the 2012 Summer Olympics for not providing plans of a credible long term coach network saying 'The ODA has been working on an extensive network of coach services... [but] the lack of reference to this work [in the plan] is both intriguing and at the same time concerning.'[8]
Milton Keynes Coachway (near M1 Junction 14), in operation since 1989, is the UK's second busiest coach station.[9][10] Its parking facility doubles as the local Park and Ride.
Victoria Coach Station in central London is the UK's busiest and had been in operation since 1932.
Bus rapid transit (A general article about bus rapid transport - similar issues for coach rapid transport)
References
↑"Milton Keynes East - Coachway". Milton Keynes Partnership. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
↑"Issue 293". Oxford and Chiltern Bus Page. Retrieved 29 January 2010. A coachway is defined as a coach station built adjacent to a motorway interchange to allow regional coach services to serve the local area while allowing the integration of local feeder services serving the adjoining urban and rural areas. This will enable residents of the area to have access to existing regional coach services and also to potential new services. It is our aspiration that the coachway facility will enable local residents to access a regional coach network, with services to Oxford and London, to the Thames Valley and potentially north of High Wycombe. Access to key facilities such as airports is also expected to be improved
