'It's somewhere between a bus and a tram' - campaign launches for Aberdeen Rapid Transit
It would link key points of interest in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
Last updated 24th Nov 2022
A campaign is launching today (Thursday) to bring new high-quality, fast and sustainable public transport to the North East.
Aberdeen Rapid Transit (ART) has been launched by Nestrans, a member of the North East Bus Alliance that includes Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City Councils.
If it's not a bus or a tram...what exactly is it?
"We feel it's somewhere in the middle. It's somewhere between a bus and a tram", according to the Director of Nestrans, Rab Dickson.
"It costs a fraction of the price of a full tram system, can be delivered in a much shorter time scale, but offers most of the benefits of a full tram system.
"It is on tyres, so it's quite flexible if there were roadworks or an incident it can get around that.
"We can change routes if there was a major event, for example.
"You can add vehicles in which gives it that flexibility that a tram doesn't have.
How would it work?
"It operates like a tram - off-vehicle ticketing, no interaction with the driver, side doors so people can get off and get on very quickly without waiting at stops", added Dickson.
"We hope that it would be a smart-ticketing scheme, that people would actually move probably towards monthly season tickets if they were using it regularly.
"But the efficiency is in the off-vehicle ticketing, you don't have to deal with the driver."
What route would it follow?
The system would link major towns in Aberdeenshire with Aberdeen City Centre, including Inverurie, Ellon and Stonehaven.
It would also, in theory, provide quick, efficient, regular routes to TECA, Aberdeen International Airport, University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University.
Councillor John Crawley, chair of Nestrans and Aberdeenshire Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, said: "Our vision is for a cross-city network of ART priority routes that connect people to the places they want to go to, including key education, employment, healthcare, retail and leisure destinations, the airport and rail station, as well as the city centre.
"ART aims to provide a more attractive alternative to car travel for many journeys, helping to reduce congestion and air pollution, as well as better services for the many people that do not have access to a car."
How is it being paid for?
In 2021, a successful £2 million award to develop the business cases and designs for ART. It is hoped that this work will result in further funding which would enable the delivery of ART, subject to formal approval by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Council.
Nestrans’ vice chair, Councillor Michael Hutchison, Aberdeen City Council, said, "Rapid Transit schemes have been successful in other cities, including in Belfast and Bristol, and I believe it can be a success for Aberdeen too.
"The delivery of our own rapid transit scheme will give us the opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint and to help make the North East a better place to live, work and visit.
"It would be a step towards realising our ambition of making Aberdeen the net-zero capital of the world.
"We hope that people will help us to get this right for the North East.
"We want to hear what folk have to say, we want to make sure it is designed to meet the needs of as many people as possible, and we want to ensure Aberdeen City and Shire has a public transport system fit for the 21st century."