18-month trial in London
Despite efforts from CTC and the London Cycling Campaign, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has requested an 18 month trial of the use of bus lanes on London’s major road network, starting in January 2009. This comes despite a Transport Research Laboratory report on motorcycle use of bus lanes in Westminster showing that motorcycle speeds increased at one site to 43.1 mph – on a 30 mph road – with very worrying implications for the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.
Allowing motorbikes into bus lanes under the guise of an ‘experiment’ is a worrying development. The experiment itself could seriously undermine the Mayor’s own aims for road safety, pollution and for increased cycle use, yet the Mayor has not assessed these risks, let alone consulted on how to minimise them.
Worse still, he hasn’t even said what this experiment is designed to prove, and how he will decide whether to keep it or scrap it. We will therefore work closely with other cycling organisations to insist that the experiment itself needs to be properly designed or, failing that, cancelled altogether.
Department for Transport guidance
In 2007, the Department for Transport published guidance advising local authorities on the option of allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes.
CTC has consistently objected to any such proposals, on the basis that the resulting conflict undermines the encouragement of cycling as a healthier and more sustainable alternative, without providing any of the claimed safety benefits – indeed, initial trials of allowing motorbikes in bus lanes suggest that both motorcycle and pedestrian safety was worsened.
We believe it is inappropriate to allow motor cycle access to bus lanes since they are private motorised vehicles which represent a disproportionate threat to cyclists who would otherwise benefit from use of the lane. Whilst we are not happy at the Government’s decision to publish this guidance, it must be said it is lot better than the consultation draft we responded to.
It now includes a section on cycle safety (and a much better section on pedestrian safety), and a whole new section suggesting that new schemes should be monitored, including video recordings and user questionnaires, both of which should cover pedestrians and cyclists.
Moreover, the guidance flags up the conflicts that can arise if motorcycles are allowed into bus lanes that are narrower than 4 metres – the typical width of most bus lanes is more like 3 metres. In practice we believe this means that there are very few bus lanes where admitting motorcycles would be justified in accordance with the Department for Transport's latest advice.
CTC's policy on motorcycles can be found here.
Are two wheels always good? (Cycle Magazine, 2003)
Powered Two Wheelers in Bike and Bus Lanes (CPAG, 2003)
