[sustran] Re: Motorbikes get to use bus lanes (London)

[Carlosfelipe Pardo]

Hi,

I've been in London for 3 months now, and the way I see it, this new 
18-month "trial" is just legitimizing what was already happening (!) I'm 
not sure if it's good (because they may now regulate it better) or if 
it's bad (because now more people on motorbikes will go on the bus lanes 
and thus threaten cyclists, women getting off the bus, etc). If they 
follow the code of conduct (see link below) that has been established 
(especially the issue of not using excessive speed) it may work... but 
in general it feels like something more negative than positive. We'll 
have to wait and see how it all unravels, and this first week isn't 
useful since only starting Monday will we see more people on the roads.

There are two websites which are useful to see with more "official" info:

- The TfL specific website: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/motorcyclesinbuslanes

- The "Bus Lane code of conduct" from the motor cycle industry 
association: http://www.mcia.co.uk/Public/Bus.aspx .

Two other related measures from Boris's government are:

- Elimination of the western extension of the congestion charging zone 
as of next year (? - not sure), which would reduce revenue for public 
transport and raise fares... plus the obvious increase in congestion, etc.

- Getting rid of the "bendy buses" (articulated) around mid 2010, on the 
grounds that they would be dangerous to cyclists. I have no idea if this 
is true, but I know that performance of the articulated buses is higher 
than the double decker. I'd rather think it's a nostalgic measure...

But what would you expect from a mayor who was previously GQ Magazine's 
reviewer of sports cars?

Any views from others in London are really appreciated. Despite being 
here, I'm not really getting too much into these issues.

Best regards,

Carlos.

Sujit Patwardhan wrote:
>
>
> From the look of it, this is not going to be good for the cyclists. 
> Motorcycles, Scooters AND Cars need restraint not encouragement.
>
> The statement by Boris:
>
> "One of the ways we can ease congestion is by encouraging more people 
> to get on their bike, whether pedal or powered, and I believe they 
> should be able to share our bus lanes successfully and safely. "
>
> shows that his focus is obviously on reducing congestion for Cars 
> (encouraging more people to get on their bike, whether pedal or 
> powered), and not improve safety and convenience of (pedal) cyclists, 
> who actually need to be given the most sops.
>
> It's a pity to see years of good work by Ken Livingstone being slowly 
> dismantled.
>
> --
> Sujit
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 8, 2009 at 6:33 AM, Sudhir <sudhir at cai-asia.org 
> <mailto:sudhir at cai-asia.org>> wrote:
>
>     Readers may find this interesting ( Source - BBC)
>      
>
>     *Motorcyclists are now allowed to use some of London's bus lanes.*
>
>     From Monday, motorcyclists will be able to ride in the restricted
>     lanes for an 18-month trial period.
>
>     Transport for London (TfL) said it hoped the measure would cut
>     accidents and traffic in the capital. The change will only apply
>     to TfL bus lanes.
>
>     Pedal cyclists, who already use the lanes, have been against the
>     scheme claiming it would not improve safety or reduce congestion.
>
>     *Vulnerable road users*
>
>     The scheme is one of London Mayor Boris Johnson's election pledges.
>
>     He said: "I have long been staggered that while motorcyclists can
>     use bus lanes in many other cities and some of our boroughs they
>     were not allowed to use the TfL routes that criss-cross the capital.
>
>     "One of the ways we can ease congestion is by encouraging more
>     people to get on their bike, whether pedal or powered, and I
>     believe they should be able to share our bus lanes successfully
>     and safely. "
>
>     In June last year the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) presented the
>     mayor with a 3,000-name petition asking him to reconsider the plans.
>
>     In a letter to the mayor, LCC's chief executive Koy Thomson said:
>     "While we would support measures to make motorcycling safer, such
>     as a 20mph speed limit, there is no clear environmental, safety or
>     congestion reason for allowing motorcycles into bus lanes."
>
>     Jeff Stone, of the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF), said
>     allowing motorcycles in bus lanes would make it safer "for all
>     vulnerable road users".
>
>
>     Read More :
>     http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7811062.stm &
>     http://www.mcia.co.uk/Public/Bus.aspx?OBJ_ID=1321720
>
>
>     -- 
>     Sudhir Gota
>     Transport Specialist
>     CAI-Asia Center
>     Unit 3510, 35th Floor, Robinsons-Equitable Tower,
>     ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
>     Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
>     Tel: +63-2-395-2843
>     Fax: +63-2-395-2846
>     http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia
>     Skype : sudhirgota
>
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> -- 
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Sujit Patwardhan
> sujitjp at gmail.com <mailto:sujitjp at gmail.com>
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