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ITEM TD6
TRANSPORT DECISIONS COMMITTEE – 6 SEPTEMBER 2007
USE OF BUS LANES BY PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES
Report by Head of Transport
Introduction
1. In July 2006 the Oxford District Private Hire Association (O&DPHA) wrote to the County Council requesting that Private Hire Vehicles (PHV’s) be granted access to bus lanes. This request was made on the grounds that the cost to their passengers was more than the equivalent journey for a Hackney carriage passenger. Hackney carriages currently have access to bus lanes and are able therefore to pass queues during heavy traffic periods where bus lanes are provided.
2. The County Council, in its response, accepted that the role of PHV’s is similar to that of Hackney carriages. There was, however, a concern on the identification of a PHV, due to its similarity to a private car and enforcement of the bus lanes. At that time work was progressing on the proposal to introduce camera enforcement at the ‘bus gates’ in Oxford city centre. It should be noted that PHV’s have been permitted through the ‘bus gates’ since their introduction in 1999. O&DPHA were told that their request would be reviewed when camera enforcement was extended to the bus lanes on the radial routes into and out of Oxford.
3. Further representations were received from O&DPHA in March 2007. At that time enforcement of the ‘bus gates’ had only just commenced but a commitment was given to reviewing the County Council’s policy on access to bus lanes by PHV’s. Unfortunately staff resources could not be released to undertake the necessary background work due to commitment to programmed schemes. Following discussions between the Cabinet Member for Transport (Councillor David Robertson) and the Head of Transport the decision was taken to formally propose a change to the relevant Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO’s) to permit access to bus lanes by PHV’s and to use the response from this to review our current policy.
Consultation
4. Amendments to the TROs listed at Annex 1 (download as .doc file) were advertised from 27 July to 17 August. Consultation letters were sent to standard consultees. These included all bus operators using routes in and around Oxford on which bus lanes are provided. In addition all County Councillors with wards in the city were included in the consultation. Of the 60 consultation letters sent out 5 responses were received and these are set out at Annex 2 (download as .doc file) together with officer comments. Only one of the respondents supported the proposal. Copies of the replies are available in the Members’ Resource Centre.
Issues Raised During Consultation
5. Those objecting to the proposal had the following main objections: o Pressure on road space and congestion in bus lanes o Erosion of bus priority o Increased conflict with buses/cycles due to increased traffic in bus lanes o Other traffic being drawn into bus lanes
6. The provision of bus lanes on radial routes clearly provides reductions in overall journey time for buses and provides the operators increased reliability of service provision. As further development takes place within Oxford the demand for travel will need to be met substantially by buses. Any erosion of benefit currently derived from the bus lanes will undermine the ability to meet further growth in demand and reduce reliability of service provision.
7. What is uncertain is what effect PHV access to bus lanes will have. We do not have data on the current level of use of the sections of road on which bus lanes are provided by hackney carriages and PHV's. It is not possible therefore to draw any clear conclusions as to the number of PHV’s that may use bus lanes and the effect this may have. This is discussed further in paragraph 13.
8. Permitting PHV access to the bus lanes will potentially increase conflict with cyclists. Anecdotal evidence would suggest that bus and cycle speeds are relatively compatible. However, PHV’s, as hackney carriages, will not have cause to stop in the same way as buses and are likely to have an overall higher speed. Bus lanes in Oxford are at the minimum width possible and where there are high cycle flows this speed differential could be a problem.
9. A concern has been expressed that PHV’s may be tempted to move from the bus lane to the general traffic lane and then back to the bus lane in order to overtake a bus at a stop. This is a possibility but again we have no information on how hackney carriages react in this situation and cannot therefore know how PHV’s might behave.
10. Concern has also been expressed at the presence of PHV’s in the bus lane attracting other traffic into it. This is always a possibility particularly as operators from outside Oxford have minimal identification to distinguish PHV’s from a private car. The fact that we are not, at this point, proposing any changes to the bus lane signing may exacerbate any problem.
Signing Issues
11. The Traffic Signs Regulation and
General Directions 2002 defines a ‘taxi’ as a vehicle licensed under section 37
of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. The Act of 1847 refers to hackney
carriages. Bus lane signs permit the inclusion of the word ‘taxi’ on the signs
to indicate that hackney carriages are permitted to use it. 12. While the word ‘taxi’ is used by the general public to cover PHV’s the signing regulations do not include them within the definition. However, if access to bus lanes for PHV's was permitted the full consequences of this is uncertain and it may be that any such permission would need to be withdrawn. Changing the bus lane signing would be an expensive exercise. It is estimated that to alter all the existing bus lanes signs could cost up to £100k. It is proposed that if the proposal is approved no changes should be made to the signage but that this be reviewed when camera enforcement on the bus lanes is introduced as further changes may be required then.
The Way Forward
13. As mentioned in paragraph 7 the effect of permitting PHV access to bus lanes is uncertain. To better assess the effect of this it is suggested that comprehensive survey work be undertaken. A report on the findings of this work can then be reported to the March Transport Decisions Committee for a decision to be made on whether or not to permit PHV access to the bus lanes.
How Project Supports LTP Objectives
14. PHV’s (like Hackney carriages) are acknowledged to play a role in complementing the public transport network. However, if PHVs were to be allowed access to bus lanes in Oxford it is recognised that there could be problems related to causing delays to buses which are acknowledged as being integral to tackling congestion within the City. There may also be road safety issues to address if the speed of traffic (including PHVs) within the bus lane increased. It is hoped that the extra survey work suggested would help to indicate the scale of these potential problems.
Financial and Staff Implications
15. The staffing and financial implications can be met from present resources.
RECOMMENDATION
16. The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) agree to survey work being undertaken to quantify the potential effect of permitting PHV access to bus lane; and
(b) defer a decision on permitting PHV access to bus lanes until March 2008 so that the survey work referred to in a) can be considered.
STEVE HOWELL Head of Transport Environment & Economy Background papers: Nil Contact Officers: John Cramer Tel: 01865 815963 August 2007
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