Bus rapid transit on segregated track

Guided busways and bus rapid transit

Not a metro. These are buses, not trains. They run on dedicated concrete guideways or segregated lanes with platform-style stops, so they feel like light rail and are often sold as such, but they are ticketed as buses and operated by bus companies.

Where a tram was too expensive, several English cities built guided busways instead: concrete tracks that steer the bus automatically, with kerbside platforms and off-street alignments. The Cambridgeshire route is the longest in the world. Fares follow the operating bus company rather than any network-wide scheme, which is the main thing to watch.

Serves: Cambridge, Manchester, Crawley, Bristol, Luton
Operator: Various local authorities and bus operators
Opened: 2011
Lines: 5
Fares by: Operator-set bus fares, capped nationally

Guided busways and bus rapid transit — Bus rapid transit on segregated track — Photo: Ian Yarham · CC BY-SA 2.0

Ticket options

Single, any busway

£3.00

Best for One trip

The national bus fare cap applies on most routes, though longer guided runs can sit above it.

Cambridgeshire Busway day

£7.50

Best for Cambridge, St Ives and Huntingdon

The world’s longest guided busway at about 16 miles. Stagecoach Dayrider covers it.

Leigh–Salford–Manchester

£5.60

Best for Commuting into Manchester

Part of the Bee Network, so it shares the Greater Manchester bus cap rather than having its own fare.

Fastway day ticket (Crawley)

£6.20

Best for Gatwick, Crawley and Horley

Metrobus route 10 and 20 serve Gatwick directly and are far cheaper than the airport trains.

Bristol MetroBus day

£6.00

Best for Bristol park and ride

The m1, m2 and m3 routes use segregated sections and link the park and ride sites to the centre.

Fares checked September 2026. Confirm on the operator’s own fares page before you buy.

How to pay

Contactless on board, with the operator’s own daily cap
Operator apps (Stagecoach, Bee Network, Metrobus, First)
No through ticketing between the different busways

Concessions

Under 5s travel free on all of them.
Child fares follow the operating bus company, typically around half.
English National Concessionary passes are valid, as these are legally buses.

Worth knowing

The Leigh busway is inside the Bee Network cap, so it combines with Manchester trams on one ticket. The others do not combine with anything.
Crawley’s Fastway to Gatwick is the cheapest way to reach the airport from the local area by a wide margin.
Guided sections are fully segregated, so these routes keep time far better than an ordinary bus in traffic.

Photos

Leigh–Salford–Manchester busway Gerald England · CC BY-SA 2.0

MetroBus, Bristol Garuda3 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Luton–Dunstable busway Robert Eva · CC BY-SA 2.0

Common questions

How much is a single on the guided busways?: The cheapest single listed is £3.00 (Single, any busway).
Can I pay with a contactless card on the guided busways?: Yes. Contactless on board, with the operator’s own daily cap.
What do children pay on the guided busways?: Under 5s travel free on all of them.