Zurich S-Bahn line S10 is a radial route between Zürich HB and Uetliberg.
Zurich S-Bahn line S10 is a radial route between Zürich HB and Uetliberg.

A radial route is a public transport route linking a central point in a city or town, usually in the central business district (CBD), with a suburb (or satellite) of that city or town. Such a route can be operated by various forms of public transport, including commuter rail, rapid transit, trams (streetcars), trolleybuses, or motor buses.

1884 map showing proposed radial railway routes in Hamilton, Canada
1884 map showing proposed radial railway routes in Hamilton, Canada

Typically, a pair of radial routes will be combined, solely for operational reasons, into a single cross-city route, between one suburb and another suburb.[1] A cross-city route of that type is sometimes called a through route. A public transport operator may combine radial routes into a through route because terminating a route in a city or town centre has certain disadvantages:[1]

On the other hand, there are certain advantages in terminating a route in a city or town centre:[1]

In most cases, the advantages of operating routes across a city or town centre outweigh the disadvantages,[1][2] but each case must be assessed on its own merits.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Route Planning". Urban Bus Toolkit. World Bank Group / Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility. Retrieved 27 October 2012. ((cite web)): External link in |publisher= and |work= (help)
  2. ^ El-Hifnawi, M (2002). "Cross-town bus routes as a solution for decentralized travel: a cost-benefit analysis for Monterrey, Mexico". Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. 36 (2): 127–144. doi:10.1016/S0965-8564(00)00040-9. Retrieved 27 October 2012.