SA_SA_SA wrote:mjr wrote:...
Which conflicts slightly with rules 211, 159 and 160.
I don't see how. If cars and motorcyclists can give way (eg by slowing or stopping) to a bus signalling its desire to move off (rather than OVERtaking it) why can't cyclists do it in a suitable road position?
They can, but the bus departure is still delayed until enough do to cause a lull. The conflict is that there's 223 telling cyclists to let buses pull out, but the other three basically telling drivers not to pull out into cyclists.
I like bus lanes, though my local ones are usually only wide enough for buses, so they must change lane to the all-purpose lane to pass a cyclist unless the cyclist(me) lets them past . Once in front of a bus I can usually stay ahead of it due to its stops.
Most of my experience cycling in bus lanes has been various London ones (CS7 and CS8) and the outer section of Dereham Road Norwich - all of them have enough buses (about every 5 minutes off-peak, more at commuting time) to mean they maybe stop less often than some lane with a few buses an hour. It's a really low-quality experience cycling in a bus lane.
As for the idea that a bus driver must change lane, hah! They do but rarely fully. If one even passes wide enough that you don't get tugged around by the draught, that's unusual. If a bus lane were wide enough for cyclists to pass a stopped bus (say 2.5m bus + 1.5m clearance + 1.0m cycle = 5m) but not the extra metre or so for a bus to pass a cycle that's not stopped at the kerb, I suspect drivers would be more likely to attempt a close pass without crossing the lane line.
Has Mainland Bus deregulation has had a bad effect on Bus driving standards?
Quite possibly. LondonBusWatch makes me think that even the more managed London market is pretty poor. I can only guess what's going on in the rest of the country with unreasonable targets for drivers and older buses, but I've reported a couple of Stagecoach bus drivers for apparently doing their paperwork or using mobile devices while driving along bus lanes.
Locally, there's a repeating pattern: local challenger starts up with new/refurbished buses, smart drivers, polite driving and so on, takes over routes from whichever national oligopolist was here by competition and purchase, then sells up to another of the national oligopolists, the new buses get transferred elsewhere and we get dirty old clunkers from more competitive markets and driving standards seem to fall like a stone.
I don't know: wouldn't Edinburgh cyclists want to oppose any more roads lost to tram tracks (unless on an ELevated/separate path) ?
As far as I can tell, the local cycling campaign (Spokes Lothian) still broadly supports trams (because they should reduce motoring volumes?) but seeks better design of cycleway/tramway crossings.