Others do it. Why will we not open bus lanes to two-wheel traffic? John Wheeler reports
The bus lanes are open! Go for it! All it took for this volte-face in traffic management thinking was above average precipitation resulting in total gridlock in and around Dublin. But it only lasted for the night of the deluge.
Everyone knows that even on a clear day the Greater Dublin area is choking to death by too much of the wrong sort of traffic. Apart from too many vehicles, Third World signage and signalling systems is not helping. Nor is the Dublin Transportation Office's (DTO) agenda to put us all on buses or pedal cycles.
Congestion has reached such a pitch that anything that would even slightly alleviate what is now a crisis has to be accepted.
We know that it only takes a seemingly slight event, like too much rain, for everything to grind to a halt. So let us look at even slight changes that could bring some relief.
The most obvious change would be to decrease the number of space-eating, mobile sitting rooms-cum-workstations, (otherwise known as cars) and their usually solitary occupant. Not to ban them, simply to encourage their drivers to consider alternative forms of transport, such as a motorcycle or any form of 'powered two wheeler' (PTW).
The traffic situation would be significantly worse than it is if thousands of people had not already decided to leave the car behind and use a motorcycle instead. Some have even sold their cars.
They are not eccentric misfits, but folk from every walk of life who have reached the conclusion that life is too short to waste hours of possibly productive or quality time staring at the rear end of the car in front.
They should be encouraged. Encouraging more space-saving, more efficient forms of personal transport, seems to be a heretical notion in the cubicles of State bureaucracy and in the minds of ministers in their Mercedes cocoons.
Simply permitting motorcycles to legally use bus lanes would encourage more stranded car drivers to take to two wheels. It's not a novel suggestion - and it works well elsewhere. It could happen tomorrow at a stroke of the pen and at no cost to the State.
In Britain the decision to permit bus lane access is left to local authorities. Motorcycles have been permitted in bus lanes on a permanent basis in Bristol since 1996, Reading since 1999 and Colchester for a similar period. There is also access in Bath, Birmingham and Hull. Swindon is soon to expand its bus lanes from about seven km to a full network and has agreed to allow motorcycle access.
London's strategic transport body, Transport for London (TfL), has agreed to motorcycle access to bus lanes in three central locations. One began early in September, the others are soon to start but were delayed by raising appropriate traffic orders. They should have started in April. They are receiving Department for Transport support in monitoring the scheme. The London boroughs may then follow suit if it is successful.
A more unusual bus lane application is one on the M4 Motorway east bound between Heathrow and the elevated section in Chiswick approaching London. This is the outside lane and the whole motorway is subject to a 60 mph limit.
The bus lane was established over two years ago but after lobbying through their Road Users Committee, have allowed motorcycles access since July this year.
The grounds for doing so was an increase in sideswipe accidents involving motorcycling through keeping them with the rest of the traffic.
In Norway motorcycles are permitted in bus lanes. In Sweden, motorcycles can use bus lanes in Stockholm. It all started 15 years ago when the Swedish Motorcycle Council and the local road safety foundation started to introduce the idea of reducing accidents by separating motorcycles and cars on the major highways leading to and from Stockholm.
Before this initiative, most bikes were filtering and had some accidents.
Filtering is illegal, but nobody cared. Almost all bus-lanes are now legal for motorcycles and scooters.
The Swedes have not had a severe accident in a bus-lane involving PTWs in all of these 15 years. The Swedish motorcyclists say: "If you want to reduce accidents with filtering bikes which is almost impossible to stop, let motorcycles use bus-lanes. The Stockholm approach works."
For years, the Irish Motorcyclists Action Group (MAG Ireland) has been lobbying for motorcyclists to be permitted to use our bus lanes. The advantages simply could not be clearer. This is not just a selfish argument. Anything that helps traffic continue to flow is of benefit to all road users. The evidence also shows that it is much safer, not just for motorcyclists but for pedestrians and car users.
Instead of prohibiting motorcyclists from using bus lanes, why not permit them? You know it makes sense.