BUS LANE BULLETIN
BRADFORD COUNCIL CANCELS PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER’S FIVE BUS LANE VIOLATION FINES
A Bradford man who hit out at the council over the placement of a bus lane sign after receiving five PCNs has now had them cancelled. Mohammed Sajad, was very pleased to learn that Bradford Council cancelled all five £70 PCNs for using the bus lane on Bridge Street, Bradford, in December. On Mr Sajaad’s journey on December 17, he noticed a Bus Lane Suspended sign from Croft Street indicating that the bus lane on Bridge Street was suspended. So Mr Sajad said he used the bus lane believing the whole lane was suspended but received a PCN for
December 17 and four other dates. Mr Sajaad said: “Firstly, I wouldn’t have contested the bus lane fine if I knew for a fact I can’t use the bus lane. The council have obviously seen sense and cancelled all PCNs but I shouldn’t have had to go
through this in the first place.” In a letter cancelling one of the PCNs, Bradford Council wrote: “The sign in question was only meant to refer to a short section of the bus lane where some temporary traffic management was set out. As it’s a black and yellow advisory sign, it is only valid until the driver reaches the next permanent road sign that displays the
order.You have driven past the temporary sign, assumed it applies all the way along the route and not observed the permanent sign that follows it. But we have cancelled your PCN after considering what you say.”
PUSH FOR READING PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES TO USE BUS LANE MOVES AHEAD WITH CONSULTATION
A long-running campaign to allow PHV drivers access to a bus lane heading out of Reading is moving a step closer to reality. The outbound bus lane in King’s Road is currently used by buses, taxis, motorbikes and cyclists but PHVs cannot use the bus lane, even though they have used the inbound King’s Road bus lane for years. At a recent meeting, councillors discussed an informal consultation into changing the outbound bus lane to let PHV drivers use it. Of the 1,221 who participated, 1,150 responded in support of the move, with 71 people objecting. The Reading Private Hire Asso- ciation (RPHA) was set up in 2022 in part to push for access. Speaking at the meeting, Kamran Saddiq, RPHA chairman, said: “The inbound bus lane was given to us
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over 11 years ago, it’s been going fine. Great credit to the buses, we’ve never stepped in their way, we don’t intend to, we want that flow to continue.” Mr Saddiq expressed frustration that ‘out-of-town’ taxi /PHV drivers, registered with other councils such as the New Forest and Fareham, are incorrectly using the bus lane while Reading licensed PHV drivers are ‘stuck’ in regular traffic by sticking to the existing rules. However, concerns were raised about how the bus lane will be enforced. Asif Rahid, chairman of the Reading Taxi Association, said: “All the out-of-town hackneys that use the bus lanes are easily identifiable. But not all PHVs licensed by the council have plates or roof signs, some are executive vehicles that look like a normal car.
“Joe Bloggs sitting in that traffic will see that and think ‘I have that car, I can use it’, the potential is there. From day one there needs to be enforcement.” The inbound King’s Road bus lane had ‘authorised vehicles only’ signs installed in July 2019 to discourage out-of-town drivers from using them incorrectly.
Mr Rashid added that out-of-town drivers should have all access to bus lanes removed. Councillors on the traffic manage- ment sub-committee unanimously agreed to
launch a statutory
consultation into the change at a meeting on Thursday, January 11. Subject to that consultation, the council’s highways team will need to identify funding and make changes to signage to reflect the change.
FEBRUARY 2024 PHTM
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