Motorbikes in Nottingham's bus lanes

[Joeman]

Transport for London (TFL) did a study on motorbikes in buslanes. Their recommendation was to allow motorbikes into all buslanes to reduce motorcycle deaths.

Then the London Cyclists Committee got involved and despite there being no evidence that motorcycles in buslanes increased the danger for cyclists, they successfully campaigned to have motorcycles banned from bus lanes.

So not only are streets being made narrower to accommodate Cyclelanes (making filtering for motorbikes more dangerous), the cyclists are also laying claim to the bus lanes of London.

So much for "sharing the roads" it's a blatant land-grab with no consideration for biker deaths.

Expect the same result to happen where you are as councils continue to pander to every cyclist demand.

[JRH]

But in London today to visit stepdaughter in South East London and the number of roads closed for a CYCLE event from north east London to South West Surrey.

[redkev]

Well, I noticed the other day that the motorcycle logo had been removed from the Nottingham bus lane trial signs, I searched online for some sort of 'report/findings' but nothing.

So I wrote to the council, and got the following reply....

Dear Mr. XXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your enquiry regard the Mansfield Road bus lane trial, which allowed motorcycles to use the bus lanes between the County boundary and Nottingham City Centre.

This trial concluded on 25th May 2020, and I would firstly like to apologise for the fact that you didn't receive an update on the current status. At this point in time, I can confirm that the Council is not proposing to implement the measures on a permanent basis or carry out any similar trials along other bus corridors leading in/out of the city. The motorcycle logos were removed from each bus lane sign at the end of the trial and informatory signs advising motorists that the trial has ended are due to be erected at key points along the route. Due to Covid-19 and the impact on staffing levels, we have not been able to get these signs up yet. However, I can confirm that this work is now imminent.

During the trial, the Council carried out monthly surveys on Mansfield Road and noted the use of bus lanes during their operational hours (7.30am-9.30am and 4pm-6pm ) alongside the usage of general traffic lanes. Over the whole survey period, a total of 293 motorcycles were recorded on Mansfield Road in both directions. Of these, 69% were using the inbound bus lanes during the morning peak and 59% using the outbound bus lanes during the afternoon peak. Of the 293 motorcycles picked up during the survey, 108 did not use the bus lanes despite being permitted to do so. Some 81 sat in queuing traffic, whilst 17 overtook static traffic and 10 overtook moving traffic in the general traffic lane. Overall, motorcycles made up just 0.63% of all vehicles counted (46,291 vehicles). The estimated number of bus patrons recorded during the same survey periods in both directions is approximately 107,500.

A simple assessment criteria was used to gauge the success of the trial, examining the following factors: Level of use; Journey times; Level of casualties; Speed of motorcycles; and Perception of the existing bus lane corridor users. To summarise, the surveys found that there was/were:

o No significant increase in the use of the bus lanes by motorcycles, or evidence of a move to this mode of transport;

o No change to journey times due to extremely small numbers of motorcycles utilising the bus lane; and

o No accidents parallel to, and in the bus lanes prior or during the trial.

In addition to the above, the cost of rolling out a policy to allow motorcycles in all of the City's bus lanes would be approximately £350,000. This includes new signage for all sections of bus lane and new Traffic Regulation Orders allowing the policy to be enforced.

In conclusion, motorcycles have seen no clear benefit from the bus lane trial. Motorcycles numbers and accident figures do not justify such a large spend for no benefits to either the City Council or motorcycle users collectively. The Portfolio Holder for Local Transport therefore made a recommendation to reinstate the original Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which exempts buses, wheelchair accessible taxis and pedal cycles in bus lanes during their operational hours.

I regret this is not the outcome that you had perhaps hoped for and I trust you appreciate the reasons for not implementing this initiative on a permanent basis at this particular moment in time.

Kind Regards

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Traffic Management

Not the result I had hoped for seeing as the current travel retrictions are being lifted and traffic will get busier as more people start getting back to work. And I suppose the opposition by Nottingham cyclists had nothing to do with it? (Sorry, lost the link).

[SometimesSansEngine]

If you ever get involved in cycle campaigning you'll know how laughable it is when it's claimed you're a "powerful lobby".

Actually what you've got there as a consultation reply could have easily been written in response to a cycling campaign or initiative.

For whatever reasons doing anything on the roads always seems to add up quick, whether it's consultations, publishing the TROs and changing the signs (plus I think all the plans need to go through lots of 'officers' to ensure that all the plans, paint and signs meet regs)

You'd assume they could just stick a picture of a motorbike on the existing blue signs but what do we know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(The idea that loads of people were going to look at a motorcyclist zipping past them during the trial period and think "ooh, what a good idea, must do my CBT is an odd one. If that was one of the success criteria then the trial was always doomed to failure. Research has shown that many people only switch modes of transport - especially for a commute - during a major life event, such as a change of job, location, divorce etc. Not a bus lane trial)