Why does the Council feel the need to enforce bus lanes on Xmas Day?

[ENG601PM]

Perhaps it would have cost more in terms of legislation to allow for exemptions for the odd day hither and yon.

 

Or just turn off the fines computer.

[Planner1]

Well I could give you an argument about available road capacity, environmental impact, productivity, good practice elsewhere, or just plain old fashioned Christmas spirit.

 

I think you'll still be stuck with signs. Have you got anything else love?

 

Road capacity generally depends on the capacity of the signalised junctions or roundabouts.

 

Bus lanes stop well before junctions and all traffic can use all lanes at the junction. Overall network capacity is largely unaffected by bus lanes. They just help the buses to arrive a bit higher up any queues.

 

Many of the bus lanes and bus gates operate at peak hours only.

 

Therefore there is actually very little for motorists to gain by using bus lanes on Xmas day or other public holidays.

[1978]

Am I alone in thinking of mountains and molehills here?

[Planner1]

Or just turn off the fines computer.

 

Would you expect the police to turn off the red light cameras and speed cameras? Why should bus lane ones be any different?

[dave_the_m]

I once got done in Ealing on Boxing Day, in a mon-fri peak-hours bus lane. My brain's logic at the time was along the lines of:

 

I have no idea what day of the week it is (Christmas does that to you) but it's clearly not a working day and this bus lane is intended to help buses queue jump in rush hour, and there's no queue, and normally you're supposed to keep to the left-most lane, so I'll drive in the left-most lane. I am clearly doing the Right Thing.

 

Doing the right thing cost me £65.

[diezeltruck]

Why can't people avoid a bus lane on Christmas Day?

 

Bus lanes are not there to simply "avoid" at all times. I refer you to the Councils interpretation or reasoning for what the purpose of a bus/tram, lane/gates is... ie "To keep the city moving" and "allowing buses or trams to move more freely." It is the only day that there is NO public transport in the city. So, what are they actually "keeping moving"?

 

---------- Post added 26-12-2017 at 14:49 ----------

 

Why would any motorist think that a bus lane or bus gates would not apply onXmas day or any other public holiday. The signing of them is explicit and UK signing regulations do not allow for them to be signed not to apply at public holidays.

 

Some Sheffield bus gates are there for traffic management reasons, not to just give priority to buses/trams.

 

What other traffic regulations does the OP not think should apply on Xmas day? Speed limits, no entries, banned turns? Should it just be a free for all?

 

An interesting response I had from Bromley Borough Council in Greater London reads:

 

Although the Traffic Management Order permits enforcement action to be undertaken on Christmas day the Authority takes a pragmatic approach in not enforcing as no London Transport services will be operating and therefore maintaining priority routes on Christmas day is not a requirement.

 

I think this is what EVERY Council should adopt.

[ECCOnoob]

Well I could give you an argument about available road capacity, environmental impact, productivity, good practice elsewhere, or just plain old fashioned Christmas spirit.

 

I think you'll still be stuck with signs. Have you got anything else love?

 

Yes you "could" give me those arguments but seemingly have held back.

 

Also, unless you are going to provide stats that prove there is any increased demand for road capacity to such a level that it requires the opening of this extra carraigeway lane for a single day of the year.... or that there is any measurable and noticable change in environmental impact between normal driving in a bus lane and normal driving in a adjacient carriageway.... or that there is any signficnat and noticable time difference in an overall journey times directly due to the opening of bus lane on one single day of the year... then your "argument" will amount to nothing.

 

As for throwing in some unseen and unwritten alleged "good practice" and your final desprate submission of using the mythology of "christmas spirit" as some reasoned argument to prove your point

 

You have still failed to say one reason as to why YOU need this free access to a bus lane. Was the traffic heavy? Were you delayed? Were you significantly inconvenienced by the restriction which would exist for the other 364 days of a year?

 

Traffic restrictions are not just about signs. They are part of legislation which is active at all times. Its not just switched on and off on a whim just the same as any other legal enforcement isnt.

 

Yes, the council could choose to relax the rules for a single day. Yes they could spend money and time changing the bylaws, signage and terms of enforcement, but why should they. Is there is a meaningful reason for it? Will it offer any significant benefit? Will it actually give meaningful change to anything? Probably not.

 

After all, there are whole periods of a normal day at any possible time of the year when some entitled ponce believes that bus lanes are too frequently unoccupied or underused or that yelllow lines and cross hatch no parking areas are totally unreasonable or that one way systems or restricted junctions are wholly inconvenient or that paying parking charges is just sooo beneath them.... BUT whether they like it or not, it does not give them any right to being able to choose when they think they should flout them.

[diezeltruck]

Hang on,I think I know this one, is it because there are no buses?

 

 

That is exactly what it should be on Christmas Day - free for all, because there are no buses.

 

 

 

Hiding behind the excuse that "the signs have been made now" is beyond feeble, because there are no buses.

 

Absolutely spot on! The Council have stated the reasoning for bus/tram, lanes/gates, so when there is no public transport in operation, the bus lane restrictions should not be in operation.

 

If not, then they are really there for the purpose of generating revenue.

 

The Council or any council for that matter, cannot have it both ways.

 

I am a cyclist by the way and do not drive.

[ENG601PM]

Would you expect the police to turn off the red light cameras and speed cameras? Why should bus lane ones be any different?

 

Because there aren't any buses.

 

Would you expect to the council to retain the bus gate / lane enforcement if there weren't any buses? Actually, don't bother answering that one. This is Kafkaesque as is it.

 

---------- Post added 26-12-2017 at 14:56 ----------

 

Yes you "could" give me those arguments but seemingly have held back.

 

Also, unless you are going to provide stats that prove there is any increased demand for road capacity to such a level that it requires the opening of this extra carraigeway lane for a single day of the year.... or that there is any measurable and noticable change in environmental impact between normal driving in a bus lane and normal driving in a adjacient carriageway.... or that there is any signficnat and noticable time difference in an overall journey times directly due to the opening of bus lane on one single day of the year... then your "argument" will amount to nothing.

 

As for throwing in some unseen and unwritten alleged "good practice" and your final desprate submission of using the mythology of "christmas spirit" as some reasoned argument to prove your point

 

You have still failed to say one reason as to why YOU need this free access to a bus lane. Was the traffic heavy? Were you delayed? Were you significantly inconvenienced by the restriction which would exist for the other 364 days of a year?

 

Traffic restrictions are not just about signs. They are part of legislation which is active at all times. Its not just switched on and off on a whim just the same as any other legal enforcement isnt.

 

Yes, the council could choose to relax the rules for a single day. Yes they could spend money and time changing the bylaws, signage and terms of enforcement, but why should they. Is there is a meaningful reason for it? Will it offer any significant benefit? Will it actually give meaningful change to anything? Probably not.

 

After all, there are whole periods of a normal day at any possible time of the year when some entitled ponce believes that bus lanes are too frequently unoccupied or underused or that yelllow lines and cross hatch no parking areas are totally unreasonable or that one way systems or restricted junctions are wholly inconvenient or that paying parking charges is just sooo beneath them.... BUT whether they like it or not, it does not give them any right to being able to choose when they think they should flout them.

 

It's exactly as if you haven't read the first post on this thread.

[diezeltruck]

Perhaps it would have cost more in terms of legislation to allow for exemptions for the odd day hither and yon.

 

Bromley Borough Councils response was: "Although the Traffic Management Order permits enforcement action to be undertaken on Christmas day the Authority takes a pragmatic approach in not enforcing as no London Transport services will be operating and therefore maintaining priority routes on Christmas day is not a requirement."

 

Many Councils responded by stating that although it was within the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to enforce restriction on Christmas Day, they chose not too enforce.