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Thought this might be of interest to members in Doncaster and Leeds.I have just been reading the latest update e-mail from MAG (motorcycle action group) and read with interest that as from October 2020 any powered two wheeler in Doncaster can use ALL bus lanes in the city.This trial I believe will last 12months.Message is use it or loose it.Leeds however are a different kettle of fish.Reluctantly they have finally given in to a trial no date given but MAG think this will start before April 2021.How ever the catch is it will only be on one bus lane on the A65 KIrkstall Road but as yet MAG don’t know if this will be outbound or inbound carriageways.
On a sad note the 12month bus lane trial in Nottingham was cancelled as no powered two wheeled vehicles hardly used the bus lanes.This MAG think was due to the use of bus lanes being advertised.

It is a shame there is no consistency across the country.

In Colchester you can ride in the bus lanes but across the border in Suffolk you can’t ride in the bus lanes in Ipswich.

Surely PTW users are safer in bus lanes, and cause less delay to buses than cyclists, but obviously not everyone (eg councillors and traffic planners) agree.

This is a real bugbear of mine. Completely empty bus lanes and I have to run the gauntlet filtering along the offside of queuing cars.

On a side note: is the LCGB affiliated to MAG?

Knowledge wrote:It is a shame there is no consistency across the country.

In Colchester you can ride in the bus lanes but across the border in Suffolk you can’t ride in the bus lanes in Ipswich.

Surely PTW users are safer in bus lanes, and cause less delay to buses than cyclists, but obviously not everyone (eg councillors and traffic planners) agree.

There is no consistency in London, you have to be focused on the sign at the start of each bus lane to see which vehicles are eligable. Some boroughs even change the priority half way along and dont use correct markings

Chadley wrote:
On a side note: is the LCGB affiliated to MAG?

Not as far as I am aware.

Rich'

How many times do you see it where the road markings are an absolute contravention to the highway code? (usually roundabout markings)
It is ridiculous that the rules on bus lane use can be applied in such an indescriminate manner.
I suppose this is to be expected though, especially when they are often applied by tree hugging bicyclists on the local clouncil. In some cases, these lanes are adopted illegally without anyone being held criminally responsible.

There is a safety issue to consider here though....... Quite often, when traffic is queing in the right lane, it is very tempting to use that empty bus lane on the left at 30-40MPH.
Recently, a friend of mine came a cropper when a car tried to cut across the road from the opposite direction resulting in a written off scooter and some hospital surgery. The car driver didn't realise that he was cutting across a bus lane because the stationary traffic (Wagons and other high sided vehicles) obliterated his vision.
York is particularly bad for this situation due to the high number of tourists who are very unfamiliar with our busy roads.
Just be aware of this potential situation when using these bus lanes.
Ride safe.

steve g wrote:Thought this might be of interest to members in Doncaster and Leeds.I have just been reading the latest update e-mail from MAG (motorcycle action group) and read with interest that as from October 2020 any powered two wheeler in Doncaster can use ALL bus lanes in the city.This trial I believe will last 12months.Message is use it or loose it.Leeds however are a different kettle of fish.Reluctantly they have finally given in to a trial no date given but MAG think this will start before April 2021.How ever the catch is it will only be on one bus lane on the A65 KIrkstall Road but as yet MAG don’t know if this will be outbound or inbound carriageways.
On a sad note the 12month bus lane trial in Nottingham was cancelled as no powered two wheeled vehicles hardly used the bus lanes.This MAG think was due to the use of bus lanes being advertised.

I have been riding through Nottingham a lot recently and noticed there was no signage regarding powered two wheelers could use the bus lanes.

In Hull, when they first brought it in, you could only use the East side of the city's main drag, I remember getting pulled over riding up the Nth end main road by a flashing blue mister, & us both exchanging views
since then all bus lanes in Hull are 2 wheel friendly

Nottingham bus lanes!!! news to me and I live there!