Ealing Council to end bikes in bus lanes

It was announced last week that Ealing Council have decided to discontinue their experiment that allows motorbikes to use bus lanes. The scheme which has been in place since 2009 has been scrapped as there have been an increase in biker casualties since that start of the scheme, the main cause being car drivers turning across bus lanes to access side roads.

Initial findings in a report in 2008 showed safety benefits to vulnerable road users however this has not proved to be the case. It was reported that there would be a 40% increase in safety from bikes being allowed in bus lanes.

However the findings in Ealing have been very different with more casualties reported and the severity of injuries being significantly higher. Many other councils may follow in scrapping the scheme.

Tags: bus lanes