Enforcement brings bus lane relief

14 June 2006

Bus passengers and cyclists are reaping the benefits of more effective enforcement of bus lane and parking restrictions in the capital, according to a report by Transport for London.
Camera enforcement of bus lanes improves compliance by at least 50% during the first year of enforcement at each site, it claims. Penalty notices are down 58% on last year, from 20,450 to 8,602.
Bus journeys are almost 13% faster in bus lanes compared with sections of road without priority measures, and the gap is growing, TfL’s enforcement directorate adds. ‘In general, buses in bus lanes are faster now than six years ago, while buses outside bus lanes are slower.’
Monitoring of its network pinchpoints indicates a year-on-year improvement in bus times, but ‘little overall change’, as other factors cancel out the benefits.
The enforcers also note average waiting times for buses on London’s red routes had fallen by a minute (15%) between 2000 and 2004. The report estimates that the benefits of time savings to passengers amount to £25M a year.
Cyclists are also benefiting, according to TfL. It cites five years’ monitoring of one bus lane, in Holloway Road, where bike use has increased by 80% with prohibited vehicles down by 98%.
Mayor Livingstone hailed the ‘remarkable figures’ for buses’ speed and reliability. And Patrick Troy, head of the directorate, added that enforcement and publicity had ‘resulted in a real change in driver behaviour’. One effect is that drivers avoid bus lanes for fear of bus-mounted cameras, and are more likely to be caught by CCTV. About 75 more of these cameras are being added each year.
The report also notes that while illegal parking on red lines has stabilised, compliance problems are increasing in parking and loading bays.
Yellow box offences fell by 23% at pilot sites after June 2004, as traffic flows dropped by 4%, the report states. However, a TfL spokeswoman insisted that most sites had seen a 5% flow increase.
Over 40% of appeals were allowed against a 25% target.

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