Impact of congestion
73. Bus Users UK states that urban bus operators
require a fleet that is ten per cent larger than would
otherwise be needed, simply to deal with the effects of congestion:
There is no incentive or reason for the car driver
to transfer to using the bus merely to sit in the same traffic
jam. This can be a vicious circle - the bus service gets slower
- the bus passenger buys a car - congestion worsens - the bus
slows down - the next bus passenger buys a car… There is
a need therefore for a legal obligation to be put on transport
authorities to measure current bus speeds at congested areas and
then to set out an action plan, perhaps through the Local Transport
Plan Bus Strategy, as to how this speed will be improved…[78]
Operators are unanimous in agreeing about the problem
of congestion. Their views were most pungently stated by Stagecoach,
that "congestion is progressively destroying bus services".[79]
Local authorities agreed that where bus priority was not available,
this presented a limit to bus growth and in some cases meant that
services had to be reduced;[80]
this was contrasted with, for example, York or Swansea where the
bus has its own road space and is therefore far more reliable.[81]
74. The Government appears to be out of step with
operators, local authorities and other stakeholders as to how
much bus delays and cancelled services are a consequence of congestion
or of operator negligence or failure.[82]
The Department has stated in 2004 that, for example, in the third
quarter of that year the percentage losses of mileage for English
bus services were 0.4% from traffic congestion; 0.4% from mechanical
problems; and 0.4 % from staffing problems.[83]
Mr Dick Helling, Oxfordshire County Council, however, was confident
that most of the delays in his area were due to congestion rather
than the operators.[84]
Congestion is acknowledged by all those involved in the provision
of bus services to be a major contributor to the unreliability
of bus services. This is particularly worrying because passengers
who are driven away from buses because of unreliability are likely
to switch to the car, thereby exacerbating the problem. We are
concerned that the Government has not acknowledged the role that
congestion plays in undermining the provision of bus services
and we urge the Government to give a high priority to tackling
congestion, in partnership with local authorities, as a central
part of the provision of integrated transport services.
Enforcing bus priority
75. There is a strong impression that highway authorities
are not enforcing those priority measures that do exist. As Stagecoach
told us: "[PTA] areas are often dominated by councillors
in favour of re-regulation and, at a local level, they are prepared
to oppose a bus lane because of local traders' representations".[85]
The PTAs agreed that there is a problem at local level, particularly
as regards consistency of provision, as Mr Parker, Tyne &
Wear PTA, told us:
…it is a real problem when you have got
five local authorities in Tyne & Wear who all have different
rules for bus lanes. Trying to get them all to agree to have the
same rules, the result is the police are more reluctant to enforce
bus lanes because they claim that drivers can always use the excuse
that they are confused and they are not quite sure whether they
are in Gateshead or Newcastle.[86]
76. Highway authorities must recognise that priority
measures are in the interests of the entire community. Where possible,
and particularly in metropolitan areas, bus lanes should be co-ordinated
across local authority boundaries. Bus lanes must also be rigorously
enforced by the police or safety cameras in order to actively
discourage car drivers from flouting the law. Priority measures,
such as bus lanes, should also be open to community transport
as a matter of course. It is an anomaly that these vital services
do not receive priority on the roads.
78 Ev 65 Back
79
Ev 80; operators are not alone, in evidence most of our witnesses
agreed about the problem of congestion including Belfast-based
Translink, the Transport & General Workers' Union; and the
Transport Salaried Staff's Association (Q168) Back
80
Q9 Back
81
Q8; 'Planning for the future of the ftr', Local Transport Today,
24 August 2006 Back
82
Q50 Back
83
Commons written answer, 8 November 2004, c489W Back
84
Qq 50-51 Back
85
Ev 80 Back
86
Q106; there have also been examples in Birmingham and London of
councils removing bus lanes Back
