Modern Vespa

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23578218-details/Motorcyclists+to+be+allowed+in+red+route+bus+lanes/article.do

So from 5 Jan you can rip it up to work along with the buses, cabs and cycles...

Politician makes good on promise shock!!

I like this bit...

The move, to start on an 18-month trial basis, has been condemned by cyclists and the London Cycling Campaign has written to the Mayor warning him it could endanger the lives of cyclists and pedestrians.

yeah ok! so its fine for cyclists and pedestrians to be moved down by buses and taxis, but god forbid they be hit by bikers / scooterists.

...i hate cyclists

(p.s. not all cyclists are bad, just the ones that are *edited because i didnt want to get shouted at*..... i keed i keed )

is there a map anywhere of the proposed new scooter-friendly routes? it can be tricky knowing where you can and can't use bus lanes.

I suppose protocol would have it that scooters should stay close to the rhs of bus lanes so as not to get tangled with cyclists. on the finchley road last week i was surprised by a cyclist who wanted to turn right and pulled out in front of me. i was using the 'might is right' method of deciding who has priority and then remembered that i wasn't on the grand trunk road in india

No map, but most (not all!) boroughs will be following TFL's lead. Do check the blue signs though!

We recently got this privilege in Toronto too where scooterists and motorcyclists can ride in the HOV lanes (Bus lane) legally too. Congratulations.

I have been riding in them for a while (albeit very briefly) - not yet busted which is strange. I think they stopped enforcing the fines after Boris got in.

Shame this is,nt all over the uk... riding in the bus lanes, or is it ??

This is great! I never thought Boris would follow it through!
I have been riding in them briefly too - with no hassles. Especially the bus lanes that are on the right-hand side of the road...

I think it will be fine for all if cyclists stick to the left hand side on the lane - simple.

TfL Bus lane map available (and also more details from Transport for London)here

Hey all,

I - as a former cyclist - think this idea is fine . All two wheeled forms of transport should be given extra rights amongst our four wheeled brethren...

As long as motorcyclists/scooterists honor the space being occupied by bicyclists and pedestrians and give them a little room and friendly warning when passing it sounds like this is a great idea!

Keep us posted next year on how the 'experiment' works.

Desi B.

A lot of cyclists in London are an absolute nightmare. They don't stop for any red lights, they ride on pavements and they don't do a lifesaver (look over-the-shoulder) before pulling out when passing a parked car. I had to beep my horn at one who started filtering past traffic without even looking behind him to check.

Please don't get me wrong, I don't hate cyclists in general, just the ones who show little consideration for other road users. Several cyclists have posted comments on the original article that Wonder Machine linked to, saying that MCs will make the bus lanes less safe. Considering that these are bus lanes, and that they are more likely to be mown down by a Mercedes bendy-bus, the comments just seem ridiculous.

The comment about the advance stop line for cyclists made me grin too. I rarely see a cyclist stopped at one, or indeed even a normal stop line! I like the green cycle boxes at the lights on the A118 Romford Rd coming out of Stratford which as well as having a white cycle painted on them also have the words "SOLO M/C"

Agreed - Many cyclists can be a pain in the ass (arse for you English folk... ). I have actually ALWAYS thought that stronger pushes should be made for responsible bicycle riding practices. As someone who doesn't ride nearly as much as I used to, I have become much more aware of irresponsible bicycle riding (both by experienced and novice riders).

I do hope this idea works - it would be cool to try to implement such things more broadly in the U.S. as well...

Best wishes!

Desi B.

Okay this morning I had a suicidal cycle freak ride through a red light on Southhampton Row as the traffic on Bloomsbury Way was given a green, so that where the roads cross, the traffic started to pull away. He pulled right into the no blocking box intersecting the two raods and into the path of the hand turn lane. Lunatic, he looked at me as if I should see him.

I avoided him, but he was a total chump. A cyclist died on Southampton Row a month ago doing exactly the same thing except he was crushed by a lorry.

Sharing a lane with a cyclist is probably okay, I just don't appreciate them using me as a shield (they hide behind you and turn when you do) - get out of my mirrors and make your own decisions!

I am more afeared of the buses - if Boris gets rid of the bendy bus I might have to revise the voting habits of a lifetime!

i am often surprised just how much road you need to overtake a bendy bus.

cyclists are easier to despatch. especially when going up hill.

They are a mare on Green Park. You start to overtake and then they caterpillar across the road and you find your lane is occupied by the top half of a bendy bus with the other lane occupied by its sluggy bottom half.

Maybe they work wonderfully in Frankfurt but in London where the roads were laid down by Eric the Viking and Biggus Dickus the bendy bus is a poor choice of mass transport.

Yeah Bendy Buses are LONG>>>>>!

Apparently you can get points on your licence for misdemeanours on a bicycle if you have a licence.

I cycle to work nearly every day, from Streatham down through Brixton, to Waterloo. This route has allowed m/c use of bus lanes for a few years now and I've never had any problem with motorcyclists getting in my way or causing me grief; and on the days that I use my scooter I've got common sense enough to do likewise. There are obviously a few couriers who ride like Jack the lad in the bus lane, but they'd probably be doing that whatever lane they were in.

Same in Nottingham.

i was actually hit by a cyclist a few months ago - he was crossing three lanes of traffic in the middle an intersection, and had the nerve to call me a load of names after smashing into me

apart from the few idiots on PTWs who will jump at the chance to use the bus lane as their own personal race track, i don't foresee any real problems sharing the bus lanes with cyclists - we've already got plenty of practice sharing the rest of the road with them, and the absence of any other vehicles apart from the occasional bus should only make things easier.

my thoughts exactly!!! I loved it!!!
oh how I'll harass cyclists now....

well after reading the rest of the thread I can only say thanks WM for letting us know and ABOUT TIME WE GET SOMETHING, I still haven't digested the parking charge in Westminster, much as I don't digest the TV License.
so hey ho

I can get to work both via the Finchley Rd or West End Lane/Abbey Rd/Lisson Grove.
The first is faster for cars and buses alike. The bus lane is allowed in rush hour all the way down. But there are SO MANY buses/taxis/cycles/motorcycles on it that's actually really aggravating. you have to move lanes into the regular traffic to overtake the damn buses every 5 seconds, which is quite dangerous as well as there are wheels and legs and pedestrians coming out of behind buses and cars and etc etc

So I choose the latter route, which is not only prettier, more pleasant but despite the loser cars being queued all the way down, the road is just wide enough for me to filter all the way down to Marylebone, which suits me fine

Like WM I too use the bus lanes every now and then when traffic is ridiculous, they only do you if you're over the dashed area with cameras, don't they? Like with speed cameras?

anyway, as I said, about bloody time.
and cyclists will just have to put that in their pipe and smoke it

Fantastic! about time too. I use the Finchley Road bus lane every day and it's soo much faster than mixing it with the cagers - even if you do have to overtake a bus every now and then. Thanks for posting the news, nice one Boris! and looking forward to using the bus lanes already!!

I thought the idea of the advance stop line was to get all the cyclists in front so you can mow them down when the lights change!

it is. and bloody cagers always spoil it for us by stopping their damn cars in there

Looking on the bright side, down there in our fine capital, you'll now be able to get them in the bus lanes....

Being new to scootering in London, i have been trying to observe the more experienced and it seems to me that the experienced scooterist (thats NOT me) will use the thick white line that exists on the edge of a bus lane therefore using the buslane without actually being illegal. I personally use the bus lane all the time, but the ones near me are OK to use before 7.00 am and I leave for work at 6.30, so no probs there. Good for Boris, lets hope he doesnt balls anything up.

Technically, that solid white line is the same as any other solid white line - straddling it is verboten.

However, urban legend has it that as long as you are on it or only a foot away inside then you won't get done - the defence if they do try it on is that you had to avoid a cager who aggressively took your space.

No idea if it is illegal or not but I have not been busted yet for doing this.