EMERGENCY/BUS LANE TRIAL UNDERWAY IN GRENOBLE
Technology from the French firm Egis is forming the backbone for a new smart lane trial now operating in the city of Grenoble. The system allows buses to use the emergency lane at peak periods in the morning, when congestion is heavy and frequently brings traffic to a halt on the busy A48 highway into Grenoble.
Business development manager at Egis Mobilité Fabien Dreveton explained that the system operates along a 5km stretch of the highway and uses technology to monitor traffic load and speed. When the speed of the traffic in the normal lanes drops lower than 50km/h, the system allows buses to move over into the emergency lane and travel at 50km/h. Should the speed of the traffic in the normal lanes drop below 30km/h or grind to a halt completely, the buses and coaches are speed restricted to 30km/h. The lane is controlled by a bank of cameras and VMS equipment and while Dreveton admits that the equipment and modifications needed are not inexpensive to install, the benefits to traffic flow (with the knock-on economic advantages these offer) can be substantial.
Entry points to the highway have been modified to give the buses priority, with lights to halt other traffic while other safety measures include additional emergency parking areas. This Government-backed trial may be extended to other cities such as Paris where traffic congestion is a problem, should it prove successful. Other possibilities for future applications of the system would be to allow trucks, taxis, high occupancy vehicles or motorcycles to use the emergency lane but for the purposes of this trial the system has been limited to buses and coaches only.
