The buses can dock within two inches of the curb so that all the doors line up with the platform.
"This precision eliminates the need for wheelchair ramps, a major time delay in service," he said.
The other advantage of optically guided steering is that buses with the technology require a narrower roadway -- typically five feet narrower -- than buses that rely on humans to guide them.
"The smaller right of way means a cost savings in purchasing land, or minimizes the land you have to take away," Reddie said.
The trim paths the buses use make them particularly suited to tight spots like bridges, tunnels, median strips and road shoulders.
In Las Vegas, the buses will share the curb lane only with right-turning traffic. Curbs and platforms are being planned for the bus stops.
"We're using simple concrete platforms, poured like the patio in your back yard," said Gibson.
He added that such construction represented a considerable savings over the steel rails, barrier protections and other expenses of a trolley or other light rail system.
Jeffrey A. Warsh, executive director of the New Jersey Transit Corp, is familiar with the Civis system. "The buses are absolutely gorgeous," he said.
"If you didn't see the rubber wheels, you would think they were very modern light rail vehicles."
Warsh said his group was considering several corridors in New Jersey for bus rapid transit. "It's a matter of where to set aside dedicated right of way," he said. "In many cases you can use the existing shoulder, and you've got your bus rapid transit."
The Civis buses in France, as well as those that will come to Las Vegas, have global positioning satellite equipment that tracks their location.
This information is transmitted to displays at the stops so that riders will know when the next bus is coming.
The French vehicles also have controls that let the drivers change traffic lights ahead to avoid being slowed down.
Joe Calabrese, chief executive of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, said that while he liked the look of the Civis buses, he wanted to know how well they would stand up to the snows of Cleveland.
Marino of Irisbus predicted that snow would not be a problem. "People plow," he said.
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