Transport Insights

The BBC reports the continuing return of bus lanes in Liverpool, noting that the city council scrapped many of its bus lanes in 2014 but started to reintroduce some in 2023.

Proposals to create one on Longmoor Lane in Fazakerley and add one on Upper Parliament Street in Toxteth were unveiled by Liverpool City Council earlier this week.

There’s a typically mixed reaction, with some councillors saying they had been given no advance notice of the plans, one resident saying it was “an absolute joke”, and another welcoming the initiative.

Or is that just the way the BBC likes to report things?

The BBC (via the Local Democracy Reporting Service) says the new bus lanes will cost £125,000.

The council has said no fines will be issued for vehicles straying into the bus lanes, which they describe as “experimental”, until they have been in place for six months.

The report includes a baffling quote from one (Labour) councillor:

Declan Henry, a Fazakerley councillor, said: “I agree that bus lanes could really help ease congestion and encourage the use of public transport but we have to have the infrastructure in place so that public transport is a convenient and cost-effective option.”

Yes, put infrastructure to support public transport in place before spending a hundred and twenty five grand on bus lanes.