Access for motorcycles in bus lanes update

Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has launched a petition calling for the outcome of last year's motorcycles in bus lanes consultation to be reversed because, not only did the public overwhelmingly support it but the outcome of the consultation was to advise councils they should probably be doing it anyway without the official rubber stamp.

The consultation launched by the previous Government in March 2024 asked for views from the public and local authorities as to whether motorcycles should be allowed universal access to bus lanes. The consultation received 14,000 responses, with only 178 disagreeing with the statement ‘If it is safe to do so, motorcycles should be allowed to access bus lanes by default’ but the current Government turned the proposal down on the basis that the safety benefits are not clear. The Department for Transport (DfT) also argued that ‘Research on the potential safety impacts for cyclists, and the impact on bus services would be needed to form the evidence base for any change in policy’. This despite tha fact that more than two thirds of bus lanes are currently accessible for motorcycles so all the data already exists. 

Just to rub salt into the wound, the DfT also added that 'At present, the Government has no policy to encourage the use of motorcycles.'

MAG's Director of Campaigns Colin Brown is more tenacious than most and, having read the consultation outcome carefully, he noticed that on the last page, there is a section referring to a Traffic Advisory Leaflet TAL 1/24 published by DfT which:

• updated references to legislation

• reminded local authorities of their powers

• encouraged local authorities to consider whether to allow motorcycles into bus lanes on their road networks

The leaflet sets out various factors for local authorities to consider in making those decisions.

This consultation did highlight issues regarding the current approach to permitting access. In urban areas permissions can change frequently at borough boundaries and this can lead to uncertainty. To help address this, DfT will update TAL 1/24 to include advice that local authorities should work with neighbouring authorities to achieve consistency of provision across boundaries, particularly in urban areas.

DfT will also consider how best to work with the metro mayors, combined authorities and Transport for London, to encourage a more joined up approach to motorcycle access in these areas.     

The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions are amended from time to time. Although there are no current plans to do so, the responses to this consultation will be taken into account if DfT makes future regulatory changes.

In MAG's view (and BikeSocial agrees) these three points are effectively encouraging local authorities, councils and metropolitan districts to build a joined-up policy on bus lane access anyway and so, all that's needed is a petition to bring the issue back into the minds of MPs. 10,000 signatures will mean the Government has to respond, 100,000 has the potential to trigger a parliamentary debate.

The link to the petition is here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/712763

And there's video from MAG explaining all the above here:

What happened in the 2024 consultation on allowing motorcycles in bus lanes?

It’s been more than 30 years since the first trial schemes to allow motorcycles in bus lanes were started back in 1994 but despite all those decades of experience and knowledge it’s still a topic mired in confusion and inconsistency. Local authorities can choose whether to allow motorcycles to share bus lanes and central government has traditionally been neutral on the subject. That changed last year with a consultation on whether to make motorcycles in bus lanes the default position rather than an exception.

The consultation followed on from the then-Government’s ‘Plan for Drivers’, published in October 2023, which marked a move away from the DfT’s normally agnostic position to one that put more emphasis on the benefits of allowing bikes in bus lanes. In January 2024, Government guidance to local authorities was updated to remind them of their power to allow motorcycles in bus lanes, encouraging them to use it by saying “Wherever it is appropriate, local councils should allow motorcyclists to use bus lanes.”

But despite that, there are still many areas that haven’t implemented that policy. The 2024 consultation suggested that the default position could be reversed, with motorcycles allowed in bus lanes as the general rule rather than the exception, but giving local authorities the power to exclude them in particular cases where it might cause problems.

 The consultation gave two options. The first was to stay with the current position, where bikes are only allowed in bus lanes where local authorities decide it’s suitable. The second option was to change the rules to make motorcycle access to bus lanes the default position.

The consultation document said that the existing rules had three benefits: giving local authorities the responsibility for their own roads, potentially reducing conflict between motorcycles and cyclists (who are allowed in bus lanes by default) and reducing any impact on bus services by additional motorcycle traffic.

But it then listed five drawbacks to the status quo, including worse safety for motorcyclists, a lack of consistency between different local authorities, failure to improve journey times, failure to reduce congestion, and potential for increased collisions between bikes and pedestrians.

The document put forward more positives than negatives to the idea of making bikes in bus lanes the default position. The main pros to changing the rules are improved journey times for motorcyclists (and as a knock-on effect making motorcycling a more convenient and attractive form of transport), improving safety for motorcyclists, reducing congestion for other motorists, and finally giving clarity and consistency to the rules.

Only two possible drawbacks to a rule change were listed, both prefixed with the word ‘possible’ to suggest they’re not even proven. One is that there are possible impacts on the safety of other vulnerable road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists, the other that there are possible negative impacts on bus journey times.

 When the consultation closed 14,000 people (but only about half of local authorities) had responded and all-but 178 were in favour of bikes being allowed into bus lanes. The then-new Labour Government, (who were admitedly dealing with a lot of other things) decided to ignore the numbers and stick with the current situation

Craig Carey-Clinch, Executive Director, of The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) said: “This creates a dis-virtuous circle where high rates of motorcycle casualties make a Government reluctant to promote motorcycling. Proposed safety measures for riders then get ignored because they might be seen to promote motorcycling. Without the safety measures the casualties remain high and we all go around again.

'The benefits of bus lane access to motorcyclists are clear, the benefits to public authorities are also clear in terms of reduced congestion potential and fewer conflicts on routes where motorcycles have to mix with general traffic. This is a common-sense measure, which is good for road safety and urban mobility. We encourage all to support default access when responding to the consultation.”

BikeSocial’s Publisher, Steve Rose, shared his thoughts on bikes in bus lanes back in May 2022:

All bikes in all bus lanes, let’s make it happen

Imagine if there was a simple way to make motorcycling more appealing to more people, made it even easier and quicker to get about on two wheels and with even less risk? How many more drivers (and cyclists) would take to a motorbike or scooter for their daily commute? What if all the infrastructure already existed allowing this enormous benefit to everyone with no additional costs? Should we mention here the study done ten years ago that showed how just a ten per cent increase in motorcycle use in cities could reduce congestion by 40 per cent? So how come this simple step to open up biking to more people, reduce congestion and make motorcycling safer hasn’t happened? Nope, we don’t understand it either.

This magical answer is bus lanes. Our cities are full of them and if you’ve been on a bus recently, you’ll know how effective they are. You’ll also, as a rider or driver have noticed how underused they are while squeezing the road space for other vehicles. The space we riders used to have for filtering and helping the progress of other vehicles has been trashed by bus lanes.

Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has been campaigning to allow access for motorcycles in bus lanes for three decades, arguing that bikes in bus lanes not only reduce congestion but also, separate riders from the other vehicles most likely to cause them harm. MAG has had some success – just under 50 per cent of UK bus lane miles allow motorcycle access.

But the access is haphazard and inconsistent. It’s not unusual for bikes to be allowed in some bus lanes, only for that to change as you cross into a different borough. In London, for example, the routes operated by Transport for London all allow motorcycle access, but most of those operated by individual boroughs away from inner London (Hackney, Islington, Camden, Greenwich etc) don’t. And so, as a rider you have to know when you cross boundaries and be looking out for the not-always-obvious blue signs while also scanning for all the other hazards of riding in London. Being able to just use all bus lanes on a bike would make things much simpler. I can’t imagine a scenario where a motorcycle would hold up the progress of a bus, plus it’s relatively easy for a bike to nip back into the edge of the main vehicle lane to pass a stationary bus at a stop.

So, what stops the 103 (out of 159) local authorities in the UK that don’t allow motorcycle access to their bus lanes seeing the benefits?

MAG’s Colin Brown explains that the way these authorities are structured means they don’t feel able to allow it without conducting a trial and trials are expensive – often costing several hundred thousand pounds.

But that’s just daft, surely. When 48% of available bus lanes are now in use by riders because other authorities have done the trials, made the decision and have many years of data to show the lack of impact on accident rates, is there any real benefit in one more authority doing one more trial? Commuting and the associated risks are surely the same regardless of whether you’re in Birmingham or Brighton? Surely it is time for universal access to bus lanes for motorcycles.

And here’s where you can help.

There’s a petition launched by MAG that you can access here asking that motorcycles should be given access to all the UK’s bus lanes. If it reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will respond, if that number gets to 100,000 signatures, it may get debated in parliament. More importantly though a successful petition will help MAG get a meeting with the Minister .

Those of us who work in biking know that Government has a problem with motorcycling in the UK. They, like many other non-riders can’t see past the accident statistics and outdated prejudice that riders are a menace to themselves and society. At the same time, it costs local authorities and the NHS huge amounts of time and money dealing with motorcycle accidents that could have been avoided if steps had been taken to reduce our vulnerability in towns and cities.

Bikes in bus lanes is a perfect example of something that local authorities can do, for no additional cost that will reduce congestion and therefore reduce air pollution too while saving the costs from dealing with accidents too. I'll say that again. All of this for No. Additional. Cost.