Glider (Belfast)

A Glider bus in Belfast City Centre
Interior of a Glider vehicle
A Glider bus stop

Glider is a bus rapid transit system in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed to improve the efficiency of mass transit in the city by connecting East and West Belfast and the Titanic Quarter via the city centre.[1] The service is operated by Translink.[2][3]

There are two routes, G1 (West to East Belfast) and G2 (city centre to Titanic Quarter). The busways total 15.2 miles (24.5 km) in length using both dedicated bus lanes and mixed traffic lanes. Costing approximately £100m of public funds,[4] construction started in 2014, and opened in late 2018. It uses a fleet of 18m-long Van Hool ExquiCity articulated buses. Weekday services run from soon after 5 a.m. to soon after 11 p.m. (other times at weekends and public holidays), operating on a 7-9 minute interval, increasing to 4–6 minutes at peak times.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Guide To Glide". translink.co.uk. Translink. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  2. ^ "New plan for Belfast's regeneration" Archived 8 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine. RTE News, 28 November 2008
  3. ^ "Belfast Rapid Transit - Highlights from the Outline Business Case" Archived 28 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Department for Regional Development, Northern Ireland.
  4. ^ Adrian Rutherford. "Cutbacks blamed for closure of Dundonald park and ride terminal - just six months after it opened" Archived 29 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Belfast Telegraph. 19 May 2015
  5. ^ Time To Glide - Service Guide
  6. ^ Linda Stewart. "Belfast Rapid Transit System: Faster buses in Belfast... and a train to the airport" Archived 7 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Belfast Telegraph. 20 May 2014