Outrage over £500,000 paid by council on bus lane fiasco
THE farce over two controversial bus lanes in Derby which are now being scrapped has cost the city council taxpayers £500,000.
While bus companies labelled the decision to remove the lanes in Duffield Road and Kedleston Road as "ludicrous", campaigners were outraged that they were installed in the first place.
The Duffield Road lane was created three years ago by the then Labour-led city council at a cost of £144,000 amid a blaze of controversy.
Plans for the Kedleston Road lane were put on hold but were finally implemented last year at a cost of £308,000 when the Liberal Democrats ran the council.
Now the Conservatives, who are staunch opponents of the bus lanes, hold power they have decided to scrap them but it will cost the council £50,000 to take them out.
Campaigners against the lanes said the projects had been a waste of money.
Simon Bucknell, of Duffield Road, claims he had to spend £10,000 of his own cash widening his driveway because the bus lane made it dangerous to get his car out.
He said: "All the years of campaigning and lobbying have been worth it. The decision has made my day. It's a shame that so much time and money have been wasted on this.
"The Conservatives have always said they didn't want the lane and I'm amazed that politicians have delivered on their word but they have."
But bus companies said the scrapping of the lanes was bad news for passengers.
Jeff Counsel, managing director of Trent Barton, said: "We are bitterly disappointed by this. It seems to us it is an ill-conceived decision which we will be challenging.
"The bus lanes were introduced not necessarily to put other people or commuters off driving but to encourage a modal shift and to enhance bus journey times.
"Times have clearly been improved and on our Sixes service which uses Duffield Road, passenger numbers are up 10%.
"On our Allestree service, which uses Kedleston Road, where the bus lane has only been open six months, we have seen passenger numbers up one per cent and journey times improved by 4%. That's in spite of the road works with Connecting Derby, so it seems ludicrous to change that."
Keith Myatt, spokesman for Arriva, agreed. He said: "We are rather disappointed to hear that the city council is making this decision, as bus lanes go a long way to assist a lot of bus services in operating reliably for the benefit of customers using public transport in Derby."
The cost of installing the bus lanes included their construction, consultations with residents and bus companies and staff time spent monitoring and reviewing their performance.
The Kedleston Road lane cost more than twice as much as the one in Duffield Road because the council had to improve drainage, resurface parts of the road and paths, create additional parking, plant trees and create a puffin crossing.
The decision to scrap the lanes was taken by the cabinet member for planning and environment, Councillor Matthew Holmes, who ordered a review into all lanes in the city when his party took control of the council in May.
He took into account views from residents and ward councillors who said the lanes were dangerous.
A statutory consultation on the lanes' removal has to be carried out before action can be taken. Depending on the outcome of that, the lanes will be taken out in April.
Bus users have questioned Mr Holmes's decision.
Philip Byers, 29, of Uttoxeter New Road, is a full-time student at the University of Derby and travels on the Kedleston Road lane every day.
He said: "Scrapping the bus lane seems counter-productive because the Government is urging people to use public transport.
"It's also annoying because it will probably cause more delays. The lanes stop the buses backing up so it does seem a shame."
John Clough, 48, of Stanage Green, Mickleover, gets daily buses to and from his home.
He said: "Bus lanes make things so much easier. You do get the occasional person who parks in them but, otherwise, once you get in them, you're flying. They do make a difference."
In addition to scrapping the two lanes, Mr Holmes ordered officers to report back on whether bus lanes could be used by other vehicles during certain times.
How will changes affect city roads?
ABBEY STREET BUS GATE
Officers to report on options regarding the removal of the bus gate, opening up to all traffic or closing the access completely.
KEDLESTON ROAD
Bus
lanes to be removed from entire length of road with the road reverting
to traditional two-way layout. Prohibition on loading/unloading
adjacent to the bus lane also to be removed. Parking and pedestrian
facilities should remain.
DUFFIELD ROAD
Bus lanes removed
and the road reverting to traditional two-way layout. Cycle lanes
installed, where safety and design allow. Consultation carried out on
changes to the area around Mile Ash Lane Junction to better manage the
flow of all vehicles.
OSMASTON ROAD
Officers to report on
options for removal of Russell Street to Litchurch Lane lane and options
for the alteration or removal of the bus gate at Litchurch Lane.
CURZON STREET
Removal of outbound bus lane on Curzon Street, between Wardwick and Abbey Street.
The Nottingham Road, Costco, Victoria Street, Albert Street and Uttoxeter New Road bus lanes would not see any changes made.
83 Comments
View all
by Mole, Belper
Saturday, April 16 2011, 12:56PM
“.. Justifiable battle, well won, Duffield Road is just too narrow to support three lanes. I drive it every day and it was just plain dangerous before last week's change.
But, Dear Bus Lane Action Group. Please don't disband.. Just morph into another action group to tackle the ridiculous number of totally unnecessary and badly phased traffic lights that are springing up all over Derby, causing huge delays on simple junctions that worked perfectly well before.. I'll be joining!”
by Rowan, Allestree/Darley Abbey border
Friday, January 21 2011, 5:40PM
“I use the Duffield Road bus lane as both cyclist (90%) and bus passenger(10%). If the bus lane has to be got rid of for ideological reasons, then so be it. I would urge there to be NO bike lane to replace it though; it causes the "out-of-sight-out-of-mind" mindset by motorists, and will make Duffield Road more dangerous - bikes cowering in the gutter, and drivers not pulling out to overtake with enough clearance.
Can we have a bike path through Darley Park (Furnace to Abbey) instead?”
by ycart1, Derbyshire
Thursday, January 20 2011, 5:42PM
“I think it is stupid to get rid of the bus lanes. As a regular user of the buses, they struggle with the amount of traffic on the road as it is, these lanes help. Does the council want the bus users to go back to using so many cars because customers are fed up waiting for buses stuck in traffic? Will the extra cars help congestion? Because all those who have complained about the bus lanes, are going to be stuck behind them now, and you can't say that they won't grumble about that! The councils plan to remove them is downright stupid. Just because the government doesn't like them! Well a lot don't like the government. And it will show before long. Bus users went up, car users went down, traffic flowed more easily. The only ones to complain are those tho live there. Would be a different story if they didnt!
As to get rid of buses all together, very mature. Perhaps those of us who have no choice but to use them should invest in a horse and cart! Or say goodbye to Derby because I'm not walking 12 miles there and back between school times!”
by bus driver, all over
Thursday, January 20 2011, 11:02AM
“Would you believe it even with the schedule we have now, we still get time to stretch and relax for 10 mins before the next run.
I resent being labelled as arrogant and ignorant because I offered you a meeting with us down at the bus station, just not today because its my day off.
Its true we are not a charity its what pays my wages, keeps food on my table and put the clothes on my kids back.
Arriva had no choice but to make these changes and they aren't from what i've been told because its what people want it's because the routes they had for instance weren't paying, y quite a few stop after 6pm. why a lot of drivers left them and they had to draft people from other depots and out of retirement.”
by Iain, derby
Thursday, January 20 2011, 9:53AM
“Oh and Grumpy, no need to put my name inside " " as it is my real name
unlike your moniker, or do we can you "John"?”
by iain, Derby
Thursday, January 20 2011, 9:49AM
“no OBSESSIVE INFANTILE VEDETTA
Grumpy
I would just like to see these pages reclaimed for serious debate
Please look through your postings from yesterday
Every single one of them is some snide remark, insult or assumption about a fellow contributor, not one is in any way contributing anything serious to the debate
Now please, who is being childish - It's not me!”
by Super sarcastic, Derby
Thursday, January 20 2011, 8:47AM
“M, it's nice to see Arriva have done something that is sensible with their routes, you would be surprised at how many people would like across town routes, even though that would probably reduce my income in my present job, it would give a better public service.
The complete road system in Derby is a shambles and not user friendly. This is why I suggest increasing the running times of buses to incorporate traffic problems.”
by M, Derby
Thursday, January 20 2011, 8:34AM
“Super Sarcastic - i agree with you about the tight schedules, some are ridiculous, and very little consideration is given to the people who have to work to them. Like you say it is all about penny pinching.
The point with the bus lanes is that they do improve the service for passengers too. Saving the company money is just a side effect if you like (or the other way round if you wish!).
Most people want to travel into the CIty Centre, thats why not many services run suburb to suburb.
Arriva now run a through service from ALvaston to Littleover (via Derby and the Royal) - the 43 (or 42) and 33A interwork. This offers people a one bus link to the hospital from Allenton and Alvaston. Only prob with this is that traffic in Alvaston effect the service to Littleover!!”
by M, Derby
Thursday, January 20 2011, 8:27AM
“Yes bus companies save money through bus lanes, it speeds up journeys times. Bus companies also operate to generally tight schedules to make a good profit. What is wrong with that? Almost all private companies that provide public services run to the same principles!
You could argue that the money bus companies make/save is re-invested to provide a better service for their customers.
Many peoples argument seems to be that "i don't use the bus, why should i pay for a bus lane"? I don't cycle many places, but i don't complain when thousands of pounds are spent on cycle lanes, or when a footpath i don't use is resurfaced.
The Duffield Rd lane works. It doesn't make the road overly dangerous. Most cyclists use the Darley Park cycle lane, and even if they don't, the road is no narrower than many others. Removing this lane WILL NOT make it quicker for people in cars.”
by Super sarcastic, Derby
Thursday, January 20 2011, 8:18AM
“Oh Mr Bus Driver, you are the same as many other Trent Barton drivers, arrogant and ignorant. I know far more than you obviously realise about how bus companies work. By stating that "trent isn't a charity ", you simply prove my point that it is all about profit !
As for the gridlocked traffic, I spent 9 hours driving around Derby city centre yesterday and never saw one accident.
My point is, if you had extra running time, you would have less of a problem and still be able to run a decent service. As you are a driver, I thought you would appreciate some dead time and have the opportunity to stretch your legs between runs. If you were a manager, I could accept your argument, but not from a driver.”