“Right.... a majority of people are "motorists" so this term is meaningless. You can split car users into 2 main groups:

people that own a car but use them only when neccessary, and

people that drive everywhere, everytime etc. and cannot think about travelling even the shortest distance without their car.

People who work in Derby and live on a bus route should, by the use of common sense, catch the bus. Many do, many don't. Most car drivers use excuses about the car costing less (I don't think so given the cost of fuel and maintenance on a modern car) or excuses about how the bus takes too long. The fact is that all these people that use the car to get to Derby from Mickleover, Allestree, Chaddesden, Mackworth etc etc are selfishly causing tailbacks that effect everyone else.

Bus lanes speed up journeys for the responsible people that take it upon themselves to think about others, not just themselves. Bus lanes are an incredibly useful tool for getting a bus to it's destination without it getting stuck in a line of "3 mile commuters".

Those who feel the car should have unrivalled preference on the road are living in a dream world. Just because you own a car doesn't mean you have to use it everyday.

I think there should be more bus lanes. Loads more infact. So many that buses can just whizz in and out of town without getting stuck behind a line of "Mr Importants" in their Audis and BMWs with their freshly pressed jackets hanging in their back windows.

Just so you know, I own a car but use the bus and my motorcycle to get travel at rush hour as I don't like traffic jams.”

“The best way to improve the roads for who? More people use cars than use public transport - one day governments, both national and public, will realise that, and will actually fund road developments and improvements that benefit car drivers rather than trying to force us to drive more cars on smaller roads.
Even in London where they charge £8 per day congestion charge, traffic levels are still higher than when the brought the charge in. So its done nothing about congestion, but has done a lot about charging drivers - again!
When I drive up the M6 I have an option of queuing in traffic or paying £5 to use the traffic free M6 Toll. Why shouldn't bus companies be paying for bus lanes in the same way, and then those who benefit will be paying for it, rather than those of us who are inconvenienced by it?”

“The best way to improve the roads is to have fewer single-occupant cars on them.”

“The problem with bus lanes which operate at variable times is a large majority of drivers apply a 'if I don't go in it at any time I won't get fined' approach, so the bus lane remains empty most of the day.
I see this when I drive into London where we have 7am-7pm bus lanes and 7-10am and 4-7pm bus lanes. When you then drive in them 'out of hours' people look at you like you're stealing their family silver but its not my fault! However, this is the genuine behaviour you see.
Its also amazing the difference in traffic flow before 7am and after 7am.
Give drivers a road free of bus lanes, speed humps, priority blocks, traffic lights, etc and its amazing how well they organise themselves - and I include bus drivers in that. Once the anti-car MINORITY start to get vocal and clutter the roads it messes it up for everyone.
One day eventually drivers will get their voices heard, despite paying the most towards using the roads, and being the majority on the road. Why not improve roads to make car drivers' journeys five minutes faster?”

“Sounds like the Kedleston Road residents are doing pretty well on their own Geoff. I wish them well in their campaigning. John (Ked Rd) if you are interested I have the accident figures before and after bus lane. Please email us at duffieldroadaction@hotmail.com happy to hand over our documentation to read¿if you¿ve got the time. John, the documentation and information that we have researched and collated is condemning to say the least and having spoken to the Dft March 2007 re Duffield Road, they said and I quote ¿we would certainly advise against any such scheme where three lanes on one road are at the minimum Dft lane width' !!
p.s. John, don¿t let people like Geoff and Ian niggle you, they make the campaigning process much more fun if anything. I think they probably work in the council or are retired with nothing else to do. Keep up the good work.”

“Thats right John -
Put the facts aside
;)”

“Ian with respect, I expect the council to hold proper data on bus time savings, increased bus passenger numbers and reduced car congestion that can be attributed directly to the bus lane. This is not available even at request under the freedom of information. I don¿t dispute Mango mans claim but want to see the official data, a gut feeling isn¿t enough.

Having recently read a great deal of DFt guidelines on bus priority and read Dft bus lane case studies where bus lanes have been successfully implemented, it is absolutely apparent that implementing a scheme that divides a road in to three in sections where all lanes are at or below the Dft min width guideline goes against Dft bus lane recommendations. There are certainly no case studies where this type of scheme has been successfully implemented and one can only draw from this that the Dft make these recommendations for a reason, i.e. they negatively effect the road environment, cause issues and ultimately increase the chances of accidents. This is not my opinion but comes from the government department that advises local authorities. It¿s on the Dft website.

Putting the facts aside for a second, is a 5 minutes time saving on a rainy morning enough for this scheme to achieve its objective: to encourage people to use the bus rather than drive to work in their cars. I don¿t think so, especially if you don¿t work in Derby City Centre.”

“So a bus lane that shaves 5 minutes of journey times "doesn't work" Simon? Get off your high horse! You were wrong about the Duffield Road lane and you are wrong about this too”

“Bits of bus lanes are pointless - to have any use they must be the full length of a road. Derby isnt in a position to bolt such lane onto its infrastructure because its old and set in stone. Just another box ticking exercise in my view ! YAWNS at Geoff Allestree”

“I was surprised to read that the section near Five Lamps opened 2 weeks ago, as the signs were covered until Sunday!
On the first day cars kept out of the lane all day even though it only operates at peak times.
Glad to hear it does make buses from Allestree noticeably quicker - thought that 2 such short sections would make no difference. And obviously buses will still get stuck around the shops, especially when there are vehicles parked on the yellow lines and very close to the many junctions there or when large shop delivery lorries co-incide with peak traffic.
I do hope that cyclists don't experience any problems coming out of town past Five Lamps as that side has narrowed for 24 hours a day although the bus lane is only for 4ish hours a day.
In the past, parked cars near St Alkmunds have been an issue for both bikes and larger vehicles, so those restrictions will probably help.”