If you are a cyclist or motorcyclist, you will be aware that for about two years motorcyclists have been entitled to use the bus lane on the stretch of Finchley Road which passes West Hampstead. This has been part of a trial involving three routes in London to test the merits of allowing motorcycle use of bus lanes more widely.
The scheme has been controversial, with cyclists in particular complaining about having to share bus lanes with motorcycles. Transport for London's evaluation of the trial has been much delayed as the Mayor's office considers how to navigate these tricky political waters.
Now the Daily Telegraph has obtained a leaked early draft of the report. It suggests that allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes produces tangible improvements in safety not just for motorcyclists but for cyclists and pedestrians too.
Transport for London calls motorcycles "powered two-wheelers" or P2ws. The Telegraph says:
"According to the report's executive summary, there was a net reduction in collisions involving P2Ws and pedestrians (46 per cent) or cyclists (44 per cent), plus a 45 per cent reduction in P2W casualties.
The evidence is especially clear after traffic migration is taken into account. The report shows that large numbers of motorcyclists changed their routes into London to take advantage of the trial bus lanes, with P2W traffic increasing on the experimental routes by between 25 and 40 per cent and falling by similar amounts on parallel roads that were monitored."
Transport for London tells the Telegraph publication of the evaluation of the scheme has been delayed because of "methodological issues".
