DfT Motorcycle Bus Lane Access Consultation Enters Final Stage
The consultation was launched last month and has already received a lot of interest from the public
A consultation on motorcycle access to bus lanes is due to close next month.
Having opened on 17 March, the consultation had received more than 11,000 responses by April.
It will close on 9 June, meaning there are just over three weeks remaining to make your own response to the consultation which is regarding only bus lanes in England.
If pushed through in parliament, it would mean that bikers across the country would be able to ride in bus lanes just like cyclists (and in many cases) taxis can. Currently, it sits with the local authority as to whether or not to allow powered two-wheelers (PTWs) to share bus lanes with other authorised traffic.
In some cases, the ability to ride in bus lanes can be confusing, with certain lanes allowing it and others not - even within the same local authority area. This causes problems for bikers, who could be riding in a bus lane completely legally one minute, only to turn a corner and find themselves at risk of a fine from a traffic camera or officer.
That’s a situation that the DfT wants to change, and it sowed the seeds of this in January 2024, when it issued advice to local authorities on the ways it could improve bus lane use for motorcyclists. The government now seems to take this one step further, and asking all road users to take part in a consultation on the matter over on the Gov.uk website.
The consultation description on the website reads:
"Local authorities can choose whether to allow other vehicles, including motorcycles, to use bus lanes on their networks. This consultation seeks views on allowing motorcycles to access bus lanes by default, as is the case for pedal cycles. Consulting on this was a commitment in the Plan for Drivers, published in October 2023."
To take part in the consultation, head to the webpage below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/motorcycles-in-bus-lanes
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
