Addison Lee instruct their Minicabs to start using London bus lanes

[Biggsy]

Do you really think they would reduce their fares?

Yes.  Prices are ultimately minimised in a free market.

I'm trying to look on the bright side!  YACF doesn't have to be a moan zone all the time.

[AndyK]

Yes.  Prices are ultimately minimised in a free market.

Hahahahahaha! Good one! 

[Psychler]

Do you really think they would reduce their fares?

Yes.  Prices are ultimately minimised in a free market.

I'm trying to look on the bright side!  YACF doesn't have to be a moan zone all the time.

Fair enough!  Or is it fare enough! 

[Wendy]

Do you really think they would reduce their fares?

Yes.  Prices are ultimately minimised in a free market.

I'm trying to look on the bright side!  YACF doesn't have to be a moan zone all the time.

Oooooh, you Thatcherite!!! Outed!!     

[Biggsy]

Blame it on my earworm: http://youtu.be/xS0HEG9yAOE?t=14s

[Redlight]

TfL press release today:

Addison Lee drivers warned not to drive in London’s bus lanes or face criminal prosecution
 
•   Private hire vehicle drivers could be liable to personal criminal prosecution if they break traffic regulations, including by driving in bus lanes
•   Drivers who repeatedly break traffic regulations could lose their PHV drivers’ licences
•   Private Hire Vehicles are not allowed to use bus lanes in the capital and doing so is a criminal offence
•   Police resources will be on street tomorrow morning to ensure bus lanes are only used by those vehicles permitted to do so
 
Transport for London today warned drivers employed by Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) company, Addison Lee, that they could face criminal prosecution if they drive in bus lanes; and that they could have their licences revoked if they do so repeatedly.
 
The warning comes after the management of Addison Lee told their drivers that they were entitled drive in bus lanes.  Addison Lee has offered to indemnify their drivers against any penalties for driving in bus lanes. TfL has reminded drivers that such action is a criminal offence and they may be personally liable to prosecution, irrespective of any indemnity that Addison Lee may purport to give. 
 
TfL are urgently considering legal and regulatory action against Addison Lee.
 
A company owned by Addison Lee has brought legal proceedings arguing that the current regulations are in breach of European Union law. TfL is contesting those proceedings, which have not been determined and there has been no order by the court suspending the regulations. The legal process is continuing.
 
Leon Daniels, Managing Director of Surface Transport, said:  “The letter from the management of Addison Lee is utterly irresponsible. By issuing it, Addison Lee risk regulatory action against themselves and leave their staff liable to criminal prosecution.  We have asked Addison Lee to withdraw their letter immediately. We are also writing to all Addison Lee drivers reminding them that repeated breaches of traffic regulations could see their licence to operate withdrawn.
 
“London’s bus lanes are in place to ensure the efficient operation of the bus network, which carries more than six million passengers a day.  Allowing tens of thousands of Private Hire Vehicles to drive in bus lanes would seriously disrupt the bus network and our passengers’ ability to get around the capital.”
 
There are around 24,000 licensed taxis in London and over 60,000 licensed PHVs. Licensed taxis are allowed in many bus lanes. Taxis can legally ply for hire on the street, often picking up passengers from pavements by bus lanes. By contrast, PHVs are not allowed to ply for hire on the street.  Allowing 60,000 additional vehicles into bus lanes would have a negative impact on bus journey times, potentially creating delays for millions of passengers.
 
TfL is working with the police to ensure additional on street police resources from tomorrow to enforce against anyone using a bus lane when not allowed to do so.
 
ENDS
 
TfL Press Office
0845 604 4141

[phil d]

I don't have any great involvement in London traffic, venturing up to the Big Smoke relatively rarely.  But just to be Devil's Advocate for a moment, it would seem to me that it is as silly for cyclists to have the right to use bus lanes as it is for private hire vehicles or anything else that is not a bus.  If the purpose of bus lanes is to speed the passage of buses, the presence of cyclists (many of whom don't actually cycle very quickly, and all of whom would be difficult to pass on a busy road in rush-hour) does not help that purpose.

[TimO]

I think that with bikes it's considered that it would be dangerous if they were forced to cycle outside of bus lanes, where buses could be undertaking and so forth.  It's more a case of pragmatism.

There was a similar worry with the Olympic Route Network, but in the end most of the ORN (and PRN) roads have the lane in the centre of the road, possibly to avoid this problem (an unusually amazing case of foresight if so!)

[Wendy]

I don't have any great involvement in London traffic, venturing up to the Big Smoke relatively rarely.  But just to be Devil's Advocate for a moment, it would seem to me that it is as silly for cyclists to have the right to use bus lanes as it is for private hire vehicles or anything else that is not a bus.  If the purpose of bus lanes is to speed the passage of buses, the presence of cyclists (many of whom don't actually cycle very quickly, and all of whom would be difficult to pass on a busy road in rush-hour) does not help that purpose.

Hahahahaha! I must pass about 30 or more buses every time I commute. Sure, their top speed is higher than mine, but their average speed must be well below that of most cyclists.

[Kim]

I think that with bikes it's considered that it would be dangerous if they were forced to cycle outside of bus lanes, where buses could be undertaking and so forth.  It's more a case of pragmatism.

I may be wrong, but I thought it was because cyclists, pedestrians, horseists etc have a right to use the public highway, and in the usual case of a magic paint bus lane on an established road, it would require legal wrangling to remove the public highway status to prohibit them.

A road built specifically for buses (eg. access to a bus station) can be truly bus-only.

[sas]

But just to be Devil's Advocate for a moment, it would seem to me that it is as silly for cyclists to have the right to use bus lanes as it is for private hire vehicles or anything else that is not a bus.

They may originally have been designed for buses, but their use has changed to "Bus and other environmentally sustainable/traffic reducing lane". However "Bus lane" is less of a mouthful

[alexb]

I don't have any great involvement in London traffic, venturing up to the Big Smoke relatively rarely.  But just to be Devil's Advocate for a moment, it would seem to me that it is as silly for cyclists to have the right to use bus lanes as it is for private hire vehicles or anything else that is not a bus.  If the purpose of bus lanes is to speed the passage of buses, the presence of cyclists (many of whom don't actually cycle very quickly, and all of whom would be difficult to pass on a busy road in rush-hour) does not help that purpose.

Very few bus lanes are actually continuous. In most cases the bus lane exists to allow buses to pass through road sections where they would otherwise get snarled up in traffic. You still see buses caught up in traffic. Queenstown Road is a good case in point where the buses are frequently caught behind oversized vehicles (HGVs usually) in the right hand lane who overhang into the bus lane and stop the bus from getting through.

In most cases, buses could overtake cyclists, or just hang back and wait for the next stop to come up. Even at 15mph a bus is still going to outrun a lot of London traffic.

[Julian]

I don't have any great involvement in London traffic, venturing up to the Big Smoke relatively rarely.  But just to be Devil's Advocate for a moment, it would seem to me that it is as silly for cyclists to have the right to use bus lanes as it is for private hire vehicles or anything else that is not a bus.  If the purpose of bus lanes is to speed the passage of buses, the presence of cyclists (many of whom don't actually cycle very quickly, and all of whom would be difficult to pass on a busy road in rush-hour) does not help that purpose.

Hahahahaha! I must pass about 30 or more buses every time I commute. Sure, their top speed is higher than mine, but their average speed must be well below that of most cyclists.

I beat buses every time, and I'm slower than a slow thing mostly.  Partly because London bus stops are only about 400m apart, and partly because the bus lane isn't continuous so they get caught up in traffic queues when the bus lane runs out. 

Buses are generally very good about sitting behind you to the next bus stop / an appropriate place to overtake. 

[andygates]

I thought cabs using bus lanes was national.  Is London all special again?

[Domestique]

I thought cabs using bus lanes was national.  Is London all special again?

As the title says. Its a London thing.

[hatler]

Any reports from anyone as to whether Addison Lee drivers were using bus lanes today and whether any of them were stopped ?

[Biggsy]

The BBC didn't manage to find any.  The drivers probably are more concerned about a bollocking from the police than their boss.

[andygates]

I thought cabs using bus lanes was national.  Is London all special again?

As the title says. Its a London thing.

That probably explains why I've never met this Addison Lee character then. 

Just for provincial reference, cabs in bus lanes isn't the apocalypse out here.  You may now all play the London Is Special card.

[barakta]

I would say that London's traffic is worse than most other places and probably has a lower level of car ownership by % of the population than many other cities.  I wonder if there is data on that.

We sold our car when we lived in London as it was pretty much useless for getting anywhere due to heavy traffic. We felt there was no need to own a car in London - public transport was cheap and plentiful and less slow on average.   A journey which would normally take 10 minutes anywhere else used to take 45+ minutes.  No where else I have lived (Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham) are the roads even in the equivalents of Zone 3 and 4 that insane.

[Psychler]

John Mason of TFL has apparently said on the radio that it is now in the hands of solicitors to remove Addison Lee's licence.

[clarion]

Ooh!  Fingers crossed.

I don't imagine that large donations to Boris Johnson's campaign or the Conservative Party will in any way induce undue political intervention.

[Wendy]

John Mason of TFL has apparently said on the radio that it is now in the hands of solicitors to remove Addison Lee's licence.

Oh yeah, great to hear!!! You must be even more chuffed than the rest of us, right? If only it'll actually happen...

[Redlight]

Oh I hope so, even if just to stick two fingers up to my wa--er of an ex-boss who over-ruled the rest of the management team to give them the contract to ferry "key personnel" (i.e. him and his wife) around.

[Adrian]

I saw an Addison Lee people carrier in a bus lane on the Brixton road this evening, but it was parked in a red route bay.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I thought cabs using bus lanes was national.  Is London all special again?

As the title says. Its a London thing.

That probably explains why I've never met this Addison Lee character then. 

Just for provincial reference, cabs in bus lanes isn't the apocalypse out here.  You may now all play the London Is Special card.

I think 'public hire' cabs in bus lanes is a national thing including London, but not 'private hire'. I think but again I'm not sure, London's minicabs are legally neither public nor private hire but something inbetween - probably unique to London!

And while we're at this - why do we persist with the public/private hire split? It's a farce! Not only do cabs in bus lanes work well in other places, but classing all cabs as taxis under the same rules, indeed letting the same vehicle work either on street or from a phone, works perfectly well in many many places.