Cross-city route

A cross-city route is a public transport route linking one suburb (or satellite) of a city or town with another, usually relatively distant, suburb (or satellite).

Such a route can be operated by various forms of public transport, including commuter rail, rapid transit, trams (streetcars), trolleybuses, or motor buses.

Typically, a cross-city route will be a combination of two radial routes, each linking one of the outer termini with the city or town's central business district (CBD).

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, including the following:[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] Another form of cross-city route is a peripheral cross-city route, which links a pair of (usually distant) suburbs (or satellites) without passing through or close to the CBD.