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PORTSMOUTH PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES TO USE CITY BUS LANES IN TRIAL LATER THIS YEAR
A trial allowing Portsmouth-registered private hire drivers to use five of the city’s bus lanes has been given the green light to start this autumn. The News reports that Portsmouth City Council cabinet member for transport, Lynne Stagg, said she and council offi- cers had ‘agonised’ over how to run the scheme, which was first approved in December, in response to safety concerns from cycle groups and sup- port from drivers. “We came to the conclusion that it was better to do five lanes properly than 53 badly,” she said at her decision-making meeting on Tuesday 5 July. “And if private hire drivers drive properly then there is not a problem.” The trial will start in October and run into early next year after which a deci-
sion on the future use of bus lanes by the trade will be made. Under it, drivers will be able to use Cavell Drive, Marketway, Mile End Road, Bishop Crispian Way and Queen Street bus lanes which will all be regularly monitored. Peter Sutherland the representative for Uber drivers in the city said he was ‘for’ the trial but had complaints about the way the matter had been handled by the council and wanted access to be increased to ‘almost all’ bus lanes. He said: “Bikes and e-scooters have access to bus lanes without going through any sort of proficiency training yet you throw your hands up in the air at the very thought of skilled, profes- sional PH drivers having access. “Over us, you would have some control.
Over them, you would have no control.” But Portsmouth Cycle Forum founder Mike Dobson said the council was treating cyclists as ‘potential roadkill’. An interim report on the success of the trial will be produced before the end of the year after which the number of bus lanes included could be extended. It is estimated the trial will cost £56,000. Cllr Scott Payter-Harris said he supported the opening up of bus lanes but not the council’s approach. “I’m not overly enamoured by this being only five bus lanes,’ he said. “I think this is doomed to fail and it feels like it’s been deliberately set up to fail. “It’s going to give a minute dataset - not a full picture of what’s happening out there.”
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AUGUST 2022
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