At Right To Ride we welcome the inclusion of motorcycles in the new Bus Lanes introduced in Belfast.
They will be on the Shore Road, York Road, York Street, and Victoria Street.
The lanes will be available to buses, motorcycles, bicycles and Belfast public hire taxis and will be in use from Monday 2st1 November 2011.
Drivers urged to take care
The bus lanes are clearly marked with white lines and the associated signs.
Drivers should take extra care when travelling on these roads until they are familiar with the new lanes.
On the Shore Road, York Road and York Street the bus lanes will give priority to buses between Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle to Mount Vernon Road and North Derby Street to Midland Terrace inbound between 7.30 am to 9.30 am, Monday to Friday.
Travelling out of the city centre, buses will be given priority between Midland Terrace to North Queen Street and Mount Vernon Road to Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle Monday to Friday, 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm.
The bus lane on Victoria Street will give priority to buses between Chichester Street and Queen’s Square from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm, Monday to Saturday.
This additional four kilometres of bus lanes will bring the total length of bus lanes in the city to 46km.
Roads Service would urge drivers to take extra care when travelling on these roads until they are familiar with the new traffic management arrangements.
Original Sources – NI Direct Government Services – Click Here – Department for Regional Development – Click Here
Information
An experimental scheme, allowing motorcycles to use certain bus lanes in Northern Ireland, came into effect on 1 June 2004.
Northern Ireland Motorcyclists Start To Use Bus Lanes – June 2004 pdf 113kb
Code of Conduct For Motorcyclists Using Bus Lanes – December 2008 pdf 276kb
Traffic Advisory Leaflet 2/07 The Use of Bus Lanes by Motorcycles – February 2007 pdf 542kb
Make sure you ride in bus lanes with caution – Plymouth City Council – 2007 pdf 545kb
Good, as long as the bus drivers don’t decide that they take precedence and start assaulting bikers with their buses…
Watch out for the cyclists too!
From MAG Ireland
This sensible and progressive policy stands in stark contrast to the short sighted approach displayed by the authorities on this side of the border who refuse to see the benefits not just to motorcyclists as vulnerable road users, but also to society as a whole.
In our recent meeting with the RSA’s Noel Brett, the MAG Ireland delegation again raised the use of bus lanes by motorcycles and the RSA has agreed to look again at this issue, albeit with some degree of reluctance.
MAG Ireland continues to push for the use of bus lanes by motorcycles, and the example set by the authorities in the North would be a good one for their counterparts in the South to take heed of.
MAG Ireland website – Click Here
Shankill gets new city bus route
A new bus lane will be introduced on the Shankill Road in West Belfast later this month.
The 1.3km city-bound route was announced on Monday and comes into operation on 28 November.
Transport Minister Danny Kennedy said it will carry around 550 passengers per hour on 14 busses.
“The increasing number of bus travellers on the route will now have a more reliable service because of this dedicated bus lane,” the UUP minister said.
The city bound bus lane will become operational on Monday 28 November 2011 and will give priority to buses between Lanark Way and Peters Hill from 7.30am – 9.30am, Monday to Friday.
The bus lane shall benefit approximately 14 Metro services/550 passengers per hour.
The bus lane will be available to buses, cycles, motorcycles and Belfast public hire taxis. It shall be clearly marked with white lines and associated signs.
Original Source – Click Here