BUS LANES & BUS GATES –
Article by Dave Lawrie, Director NPHTA 0161 280 2800
info@nphta.co.uk What is the problem?
When private hire vehicles are excluded from roads, the journey and therefore the cost to the passenger, is massively increased. The council that has imposed such a condition is to blame, the passenger is the financial victim of such a decision, but the driver is the physical victim, as this leads to arguments over the increased fares and sometimes drivers being attacked. Those attacks are directly the fault of the council that decided to impose such no go areas.
Bus lane versus bus gate, what is the difference?
A bus lane is a dedicated lane that runs alongside an existing carriageway (road) that excludes other road users from entering that lane, in order to ease traffic flow for bus travel.
A bus gate creates a complete no entry zone, these tend to be more around city centres.
Why are these lanes and gates introduced?
We are seeing many more bus lanes and bus gates popping up all over the UK, excluding private hire vehicles from using them, or travelling along them.
The reason for such limited access is to allow for ease of traffic flow for public transport, allowing such vehicles to navigate more efficiently through traffic, in order to reduce congestion. This is also intended to promote the use of buses, cycles and taxis, since the intention is to get to your destination with as little hold ups or congestion as possible.
Who is allowed to enter these areas?
Most signage will say “bus, cycle and taxi only” which means that private hire vehicles are not allowed to make use of those areas.
You might remember this being discussed when we were writing about signage on EV charging points, where a council tried to suggest that the word taxi, means taxi and PHV, but only when it suited them, for a cheaper sign on the charging points, but not for bus lane use.
20
Some may say “bus, cycle, taxi and authorised vehicles”, which may then allow for locally licensed private hire vehicles if registered with the local authority in question. Some go further to say “locally licensed” whilst others may clearly say “and private hire vehicles”.
So as you can see, there is no uniform approach, no national standard, making it very confusing for all. We see daily questions all over social media asking: “Can I use a bus lane here?” The answer is, the only way to know for sure is to search for that council’s Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) and try to find the information for that particular council, which is all very confusing.
Taxi and private hire – what is the difference?
A taxi, (hackney carriage plated vehicle) can make use of taxi ranks and be flagged down on any street whilst within their licensed area, and can accept their own bookings from any source, be that a phone call, or a private hire operator. A PHV may only respond to bookings that are made through a private hire operator, licensed by the same council as the badge and plates (the triple lock of three licence rule).
There is a slight difference here between English and Scottish legislation, since for Scotland, a private hire can actually accept their own bookings, until four or more vehicles are being “operated” at which point they must apply for a “booking office” licence, known in England as the operator licence.
Should PHVs be able to make use of bus lanes and bus gates?
The short answer is, yes they should. The reason for this is simply because, once the passenger has been picked up and is en route to their destination, the role is identical; transporting the public along the shortest possible route.
What does the legislation say?
According to the LGMPAct 1976, s.69 Prolongation of Journeys states:
(1) No person being the driver of a hackney carriage or PHV licensed by a district council shall without reasonable cause unnecessarily prolong, in distance or in time, the journey for which the hackney carriage or PHV has been hired.
(2) If any person contravenes the provisions of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence.
NOVEMBER 2024 PHTM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
