In most areas, a busway refers to a special roadway that is reserved solely for bus traffic. Unauthorized cars that enter this strip of road can be subject to penalty, based upon local laws governing busways.
For busways that have more than one lane, there is the chance to pass one another, just like on a regular highway, by taking advantage of the left lane. In busways that have active on-line stations where passengers can be picked up and dropped off, there is often a passing lane for other buses to overtake idled buses.
An advantage that busways offer is not only to reduce congestion on regular roadways, but to provide passengers with the chance to use different bus routes. These generally include dedicated, express and local routes.
Dedicated busways can increase the average speed and pickup time of buses by allowing buses to run in their own lanes, without interference of other traffic patterns. This can be a viable solution for cities that rely heavily on public transit systems to reduce traffic problems overall.
