Potential driving law changes to allow motorcycles to ride in bus lanes to address traffic concerns have been rejected following a widescale public consultation.
Between March and July 2024, the Department for Transport ran a public consultation on whether to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes by default, as is the case for bicycles.
This was done in response to the previous Conservative Government’s Plan for Drivers, which pledged to make better use of bus lanes.
The revised Traffic Advisory leaflet aimed to guide local authorities on allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes and hold a consultation about whether motorcycle access should be standard.
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The consultation questioned whether the Government should continue with the current position with local authorities making the decisions, or whether all motorcycles can use bus lanes by default.
In total, the DfT received 14,327 responses, with 46 of these coming from “main” stakeholder organisations.
It found that 12 of 19 local authorities did not allow motorcycles to use bus lanes at all, while four allowed riders to use more than two-thirds of bus lanes in the area.
The Government said that it was not clear whether there were safety benefits for allowing motorcycles into bus lanes, with varying evidence.
It also stated that the cost of installing new traffic signs and Traffic Regulation Orders would be “considerable”, which the DfT said could not be justified.
At present, the Government does not have policies in place to encourage the greater use of motorcycles.
Local authorities allowing motorcycles into bus lanes at their discretion “aligns with wider Government policy” on bus service improvements, encouraging walking and cycling.
The report states: “DfT is strongly convinced that local authorities are best placed to understand the needs of their local road network rather than central Government.
“In the absence of robust data from the consultation, there is little justification for moving away from a position of local authority choice to one in which allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes is the default.”
The consultation noted issues with permitting access since permissions in urban areas can change frequently, especially at borough boundaries.
Following the conclusion of the consultation, the Department for Transport said it would update regulations to include advice that local authorities should work with neighbouring authorities to ensure consistency.
While there are no plans to do so, the responses from this consultation will be taken into account in the future if the DfT chooses to make regulatory changes.
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The Traffic Advisory Leaflet (TAL) 1/24 was updated to ensure there were references to legislation, as well as reminding local authorities of their powers.
It also encouraged local authorities to consider whether to allow motorcycles into bus lanes on their road networks.
