London sees sense...
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/N.../oct2708-Date-set-for-London-bus-lane-access/
Date set for London bus lane access
By Steve Farrell
Politics & the law
27 October 2008 14:45
Motorcyclists will be allowed in the capital’s bus lanes from January 5, London Mayor Boris Johnson has said.
The move will start as an 18-month trial, after which a decision will be made on whether to make it permanent.
Johnson said: “Londoners know that I am determined to make it easier for them to get from A to B in our great city. And 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 Transport for London red routes that crisscross 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. At the end of the trial period I will listen carefully to the views of all our road users and then make a decision about whether this should be a permanent arrangement.”
The change will apply to red route bus lanes managed by Transport for London, the capital’s transport authority. They make up 40% of all London’s bus lanes.
It will come as bad news for the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), whose current campaigns include ‘protecting cyclists from the dangers of motorcycles in bus lanes’.
Opening bus lanes to motorcycles was one of Johnson’s pre-election manifesto pledges.
LCC boasted in June of handing the Mayor a petition with 3,500 names urging him to reconsider.
An MCN petition urging Johnson to press on and name the date we could expect to use the bus lanes gained 3,900 signatures.
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