Cardiff council is trialling a scheme to allow private hire vehicles and powered two wheel vehicles to use bus lanes in the city.
Currently, Hackney Carriages are the only other vehicle permitted to use bus lanes. There have been calls however for private hire vehicles to be allowed to use the lanes as well, as these vehicles face delays and longer journeys, particularly during peak times. As a consequence, customers pay more than would be the case with a Hackney Carriage.
Two wheeled, powered vehicles include motorcycles, scooters and mopeds. Permitting these vehicles to use bus lanes, will contribute to the council’s transport objective of encouraging motorists to use alternative forms of transport to the private car.
The change will require the council to institute an experimental Traffic Order as defined in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. This is a discretionary power which the council may use to prohibit, restrict or regulate the use of the road.
Councillor Ramesh Patel, Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability said,
“This is a good opportunity to trial the use of bus lanes by these additional vehicles as new technology in the form of CCTV cameras will soon be in place, which will allow us to identify permitted and unpermitted use of the lanes. The trial will not begin until the Council has been given powers to enforce bus lanes and moving traffic offences for which the cameras will be used.
There is a clear argument, from a consumer as well as an environmental perspective, for allowing private hire vehicles to use bus lanes. Two wheeled powered vehicles cause less congestion than cars and require less parking space at their destinations. If we can encourage this as a form of transport, it will contribute to reducing congestion in the city.”
The trial scheme will be reviewed after 6 months. If successful, Bus Lane Orders would be amended permanently to accommodate the new classes of vehicle.
