Banning motorcycles from bus lane is 'ludicrous'

The bus lane runs along the Long Ashton Bypass near Bristol

A ban on motorcycles using a bus lane on a main road has been criticised.

Since it was installed in 2023, motorbikes have not been allowed to use the bus lane on the Long Ashton bypass in North Somerset, although bicycles are.

This means bikers heading towards Bristol have to sit in traffic next to the mostly empty bus lane, despite motorcycles normally being allowed to use such lanes.

At a meeting of a North Somerset Council scrutiny panel, councillor Peter Burden said bikers wanted the “ludicrous” situation to end.

'Safety issues'

Council officers said motorcycles were only banned because of a “safety issue” for motorcycles in the bus lane at the far end.

Rob Thomson, head of bus service improvement plan infrastructure at the council, told Mr Burden that they wanted to allow motorcycles in all bus lanes, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

However, he added the current stance was that it was safer to not have motorcycles in the lane at all than to tell them to leave it before the end.

Mr Thomson said: “We believe the safety issue at the far end is greater than the issue you are talking about.”

According to the council, buses make up 1% of traffic on the road but carry 20-25% of all journeys.

They say passenger numbers on the X1 service increased by 61% between April 2023 and April 2024.

The bus lane replaced the previous high-occupancy lane.

It was the first of four “bus priority schemes” far installed in the area using the £48m bus service improvement plan (BSIP) funding the council was handed by the government for infrastructure to improve the speed of buses.