Glasgow bus lanes leave me exhausted

In this week's reader's article, Ian Murray, who works for a firm of facility managers in Glasgow, goes to town on bus lanes. To read your views on the article, see below.

A STOP/START LIFE IN THE BUS LANE

The hardest piece of tarmac is afraid of a red coloured piece of tarmac, why? He's a cycle path.

"Bus lane". If there was a definition in a dictionary for "bus lane" it would read: "A lane for the exclusive use of buses, taxis and bicycles."

Why is it then that the popular definition of a "bus lane" in Glasgow is, "a lane for the exclusive use of buses, taxis, bicycles, chancers, pushy drivers, white vans, blue vans, just about any colour and size of lorry and anyone else with the nerve to drive in one".

It's a tale of two cities involving Edinburgh and Glasgow

The difference between the Glasgow definition and the Edinburgh definition is that after the words "... drive in one" the phrase "and nine times out of 10 if you are not a bus, taxi or bicycle the police will stop you, fine you and put points on your licence".

There is further difficulty with the bus lane delineation between the two cities.

In Edinburgh the bus lane from outside the city runs continuously almost without interruption on all roads that have them, into the city centre. There you are not allowed on half the roads unless you fall into the aforementioned categories.

Faster journey

In Glasgow the bus lane is present for about 20% of the road. For the other 80% it either does not exist at all, or you are allowed to park in it, leaving your car well beyond the hour at which you have to move it and suffer no recourse.

The results are startling. In Edinburgh if you get on a bus at the edge of the city you will be whisked to the city centre more quickly than your neighbour in his car.

How hard can it be?

In Glasgow, you will stop every 10ft, have to push out in front of your neighbour, in fact all of your neighbours, and arrive at work usually no earlier than they do.

Why is the policing and enforcement and the actual creation of proper bus lanes in Glasgow perceived as rocket science to the council?

The rest of us get it without the aid of traffic impact assessments or costly studies. Try riding a bus through it, it becomes painfully obvious.

I for one, still take the car, and I don't want to!

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and are not endorsed by the BBC.

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We asked for your views on Ian Murray's article. The following represents the balance of opinions we received.

As a bus driver in Aberdeen I should maybe clear up a point or two. One ticket for all transport, as in Canada, would be frowned upon by the Office of Fair Trading as "it removes customer choice regarding which operator to use" - a throwback to Mrs Thatcher's determination to privatise everything in sight. Everyone in the industry knew that it was a recipe for disaster. Many operators are scared to invest large amounts of money, as at any time a "cheapo" operator could come in and cream off the profits by running only at peak times, without having invested anything. The bus lanes here were put in by the council in order to improve public transport, but are badly policed and, in fact, are often blocked by the council's own vehicles at peak times.
Shugz, Aberdeen

If the blue meanies (traffic wardens) worked at peak times rather than hanging about outside shops at 8am in Glasgow's southside and actually booked the drivers who think parking restriction times do not reply to them then maybe the bus lanes would work more efficiently. A 20 minute bus ride down Pollokshaws Road into town can take an hour due to one selfish driver who is parked opposite Queens Park.
Julie, Glasgow

I think Rob should give bus drivers a break. Yes, I agree that buses can get dirty, people smoke on them and they often run late but this is not the fault of the individual drivers who have to put up with all sorts of abuse from a minority of passengers. Buses would be cleaner if people stopped dumping rubbish, papers and unfinished drinks on the floor. As for confronting smokers, it's not worth taking the risk of challenging ignorant people like this who are totally oblivious to the welfare of other passengers or even enjoy winding everybody up to encourage confrontation. I travel to and from work by bus every day and the majority of journeys are hassle-free.
Paula, Glasgow

I live in south east London and currently have no underground transport available. It used to take me up to an hour and a half to catch a bus to work which is only five miles from home. From outside my house to central London it's a traffic jam (of buses) nearly 24 hours a day. Every bus is totally packed and often don't stop to let anyone on. I now drive a scooter and have shaved up to an hour and 10 minutes off my journey each way and cut travelling costs using public transport by at least 50%.

What Scottish cities need to realise is that trains, trams and underground metro links are the only way forward. It's expensive, but in the long run will benefit everyone. Bus lanes are just a cheap bodge job to public transport solutions. Converting these bus lanes into closed tram routes would dramatically speed up commuting times. As for Glasgow, it already has the beginnings of an underground metro, it should be a priority for expansion and investment. Buses are noisy, smelly, polluting forms of transport and really should not have a future.
Conrad, London

Why are taxis allowed to use these lanes? They are usually empty or with one passenger so what makes them different from me in my car?
Derek Houghton, Alexandria

I remember about 14 to 15 years ago the old regional council had a plan which would have split Glasgow into four quadrants. The city centre itself would have been in four. This would have used traffic management schemes to ensure that private vehicles could not have driven through the city centre as is the case now. However buses and taxis would have been allowed via bus gates in the road. To move from one part to the other private cars would have had to go onto the M8 and then come off which is not a viable idea in rush hours. This would have forced some onto public transport. Use the train it's a lot quicker - 12 minutes from Anniesland to George Square at 8am.
Ronald Smith, Glasgow

The bus lanes are great and should be extended all over town. Paisley Road West would be a great stretch, however I would change the bus lanes to cycle lanes as we require far more protection from car/buses/taxis who see the cyclist yet still aim to cut us up and pass within inches of the handlebars. A cycle path should also be a commuting lane not a winding, pointless, dark, glass-filled track.
Smug Cyclist, Glasgow

I agree entirely with what Louise from Perth has said and I fear that this is what has happened in Glasgow as well. As someone who mainly uses buses, but occasionally has to take a car to work, I can tell you the road system is exasperating for both forms of transport! I am totally amazed that it has been so easy to destroy what was once a good flow of traffic in Glasgow's west end and create in its place traffic backlogs, hold-ups and the subsequent lowering of good traffic sense due to built-up frustrations.

Unfortunately, as public transport in Glasgow is so unpleasant to travel on, there is little incentive to leave your car at home. Maybe we could look at improving the state of the buses, to get motorists onto them in the first place thereby making good sense of "improvements" to the road systems.
Sarah, Glasgow

Get the Red Routes like Edinburgh has so no parking on the main arteries into the city centre. Everyone will be a lot happier - buses and cars alike.
Fiona Stewart, Glasgow

Absolute rubbish. Bus lanes are simply an encouragement for rogue drivers to queue jump and cause increased road rage amongst those they go past. To add more bus lanes to Glasgow's streets will only exacerbate this problem. As for enforceability, this is very much hit and miss and will not dissuade the majority of these ignorant "chancers" who many will tell you are actually in possession of that charming Glasgow "patter" which the city is apparently renowned for. More bus lanes is not the solution. The focus should instead be on improving the train service and in the longer term expanding the underground system. This means less pollution, less vehicles on the roads, less road rage and more room for those of us who actually enjoy driving.
Stuart Paterson, Glasgow

Bus Lanes are an utter waste of money - for every nanosecond saved by them for their passengers, hours of time and gallons of fuel are wasted by the private vehicles that now have to travel on an artificially congested road. Congestion in Edinburgh is appalling - it's nothing to do with a rise in cars, simply the wholesale removal of half of the arterial road surface. This week, I was driving to the airport at 09.20 and heading west, it was okay (no buses in the bus lane, only two taxis) but traffic was still queuing heading east, nose to tail beside a lane vacant except for a single bus with about five people in it. The result - five people get to town about five minutes faster, heaven alone knows how many hundred have to spend an extra 20 minutes - what a waste.

If the local authorities wish bus lanes then they should create new private roads (with auto rising bollards) not deny half the road network to others. By this I mean just an ordinary road, not a farcical charade like the £10m guided busway where vehicles dribble along hunting from side to side for all of a mile. Councillors shouldn't be squandering our money on playing at social engineering and ludicrously expensive technology - they should serve the needs of their city by making it easy for commuters and commercial users to get in and out.
John Gailey, Edinburgh

I live and work in the west end of Glasgow, I frequently have to travel out from the west end and am now finding that with traffic Improvements implemented by the council, my journey times have increased by about 50%. i.e. previously one hour to the outskirts of Edinburgh Airport now takes an extra 25 minutes. Most of this time is taken up travelling one mile along Great Western Road. Don't try to tell me that this is going to help improve air quality. It is now even worse travelling back from Glasgow Airport. Last week due to a couple of accidents on the M8, I decided to travel back home via the Erskine Bridge. With the new bus lanes introduced on the A82, the queue heading into town stretched from before Knightswood Cross. How does a 15 minute journey take one and a half hours? Put in a bus Lane!! And as for the commuter parking, don't let me start.
Flo Watson, Glasgow

I think Colin Brown is correct. Ban all cars, vans and trucks. Shut down all the car manufacturers in this country as we will no longer need them. Teach the selfish elitist motorist a lesson. The money saved from no petrol or diesel tax, insurance tax, first registration tax, road fund licence tax and VAT. Don't suppose the chancellor needs the squillions raised anyway. Increased unemployment? Serves the motorist right! Dream on.
AMcR, Stirling

I cycle down Clarkston Road every day and can't believe that there is not a proper bus lane right into the centre of the city. If I have to take the bus, it takes twice as long as cycling after 7.30am. Commuters simply won't use the bus, especially at this time of year, if takes as long as a car journey. And what about all the missed health benefits of using a bike? Do something about bus lanes Glasgow and East Renfrewshire!
Duncan Morrison, Glasgow

Earlier this year while Lothian Buses were on strike the bus lanes were opened up as a free-for-all and any road user could make use of them. Now maybe people stayed at home on the days when the strikes were on as they had no alternative means of transport but I was getting to work five to 10 minutes earlier when I could make use of the extra lane that is normally reserved for buses.
Michael, Edinburgh

I come into Edinburgh from the west every day, often by bus along Calder Road via park-and-ride, or by train or by bike. It's mental that I can cycle the 18 miles into work faster than I can drive it. Driving all the way is the slowest method - bike, park and ride and train all take about the same time door to door. Bus lanes are great - they carry more people than other lanes at peak time - 100% fact. They just look empty because one bus will be carrying perhaps 50 people, which probably equates to 40 cars as so many cars aren't carrying passengers. Put 40 cars end to end and you have an instant quarter mile traffic jam. Why should a bus have to sit it out in a queue of selfish fools?
Stuart, Edinburgh

I agree - there is a culture of driving and parking in bus lanes and bus stops. Glasgow should introduce on-board cameras and fine those car drivers who obstruct bus lanes. I believe this is already done in London.
Keith Wall, Glasgow

Having used public transport for the past while I'd like to bring this up. The trains are pretty much a very good, quick service and mostly on time. Buses, however, are a disgrace. They are filthy, cramped, smelly, very slow and over priced. A 10-minute journey in a car for me takes 30 minutes on the bus, on a good day. Trains on the other hand are pretty good. Having been to other countries and used some extremely good public transport networks it is really quite sad that here we can't do the same. It could be so much better but I don't see it ever happening unfortunately.
NC, Glasgow

These lanes should be properly enforced. Cycle lanes are popular and very efficient in the Netherlands. They would work well in Scottish cities if drivers would abide by the rules. Cyclists have their own lanes/traffic lights and buses/taxis drive on the tram lines when there are no trams around. More people on bikes and buses means less traffic.
CC, Glasgow

Why are taxis allowed in bus lanes? What makes them any different to private cars? They don't take up parking spaces but they produce much more pollution because they drive all day. But everyone seems quite happy to let them drive down the bus lanes.
Bill, Edinburgh

Glasgow bus lanes are a joke. I live in Shawlands and what bus lanes there are are stop-start affairs with cars and vans parked in between. Car drivers aren't too happy to let buses pull out. Having worked in England and used some of the excellent park and ride services, I wonder where the investment in public transport is going in this city.
Sam Lowry, Glasgow

I would wholeheartedly agree with the initial comments. I drive Great Western Road every day and in recent months it has turned into a complete nightmare after the addition of random bus lanes dotted here, there and everywhere. The point of these is to cause congestion and deter drivers from driving into Glasgow - however public transport is so unreliable, why should we? The bus lanes are ignored by every white van man and his dog with the aggressive drivers also thinking they have the right to flaunt the rules. If the bus lanes are to remain, surely the police must be more stringent with their application.
Lyn, Alexandria

I totally agree with Ian. Bus lanes in Glasgow might actually have some value if they were policed and indeed if they were joined up. The route I travel on involves the bus constantly pulling out into the backed-up traffic to avoid cars/vans parked either in the bus lane or in the small sections that are not classified as such. If people were fined for parking or driving illegally in bus lanes they would soon stop doing it and the traffic would flow far more smoothly as a result.
GR, Glasgow

Bus lanes are great in principle, but to get folk out of their cars you must make bus travel attractive. I lived in Spain in the 90s, and used the bus often to go to work. They were quick, clean and civilised. Getting the bus into Glasgow is a totally different matter. Dirty and smelly, smokers on single deckers and upstairs (theoretically all buses are no-smoking areas), aggressive neds, drunks, drug users. And this is on the 8am bus! Put simply, I would not get a bus in Glasgow even if it meant getting to work 30 minutes quicker. I would rather drive.
Chris Bowman, East Kilbride

I haven't travelled on the buses in Glasgow enough to comment on bus lanes, but I couldn't agree more on the comparisons others have made between services in Glasgow and Edinburgh. In Edinburgh bus shelters are on the whole clean, free of vandalism, have clear to understand timetables and fare information and the buses are clean, reliable and warm. The opposite is almost always the case in Glasgow and God help our reputation as a friendly place if visitors have to encounter the attitude of most of our bus drivers.

If buses are to become the transport method of choice in Glasgow, improvements need to be made to the whole system from the cleanliness of shelters, the quality of timetable information and ease of ticketing to policing anti-social behaviour, changing driver attitudes and improving the cleanliness, frequency and reliability of the buses themselves.
Phil, Glasgow

As someone who lives in Glasgow and commutes (by train) daily to Edinburgh, I have to disagree. Given the choice, I would much rather drive in Glasgow where there are two or three lanes available for all traffic, thereby keeping things moving, rather than sit in a jam looking longingly at the (largely empty) inside lane beside me. I work on Corstorphine Road where there is one lane for buses and one for cars and the traffic is nose to tail from about 4pm until 7pm every single day. Some of my colleagues spend 20 minutes sitting in a jam going nowhere because the traffic is in single file - surely that isn't helping congestion?

Clearly, the end solution is to reduce overall traffic volumes and encourage people out of their cars, but this requires a viable and convenient alternative to driving - that means a long term investment in Scotland's transport infrastructure and that can't happen overnight. Simply introducing a congestion charge will only succeed in lining the pockets of city councils as people will be trapped into paying because they have no viable substitute.
Jacquie, Glasgow

Bus lanes have their uses - however, so many times you can sit in the other lane and have absolutely no buses come by you. No wonder drivers get annoyed. If only buses, etc, can use bus lanes then why the heck should they be allowed to use the one lane that everyone else is left with? The more annoying this is when buses come out into the other lane and then try and get back in to a bus stop and as a result hold up other traffic. One of the main problems as always with buses is that the service is poor. I know it's cheaper, etc, but I certainly don't want to spend my bus journey to work in the morning standing in what can often be the equivalent of a sauna.
Richard Smith, Glasgow

Bus lanes, etc, in cities or towns with wide enough roads seem a good idea, allowing all drivers and passengers fair uptake and unimpeded progress within the space available. The rules and regulations are utterly confusing, if you can find them in the first place and there seems to be even more inconsistency in their enforcement. It is when the presence of bus lanes etc, narrows road systems (already narrow enough) to the detriment of some legitimate, tax paying users - by which I mean car drivers. Empty, or near empty buses, powering past queues of passenger-stocked cars; buses failing to pull in adequately at official bus stops blocking traffic flow, buses forcing their way across ordinary traffic lanes to reach bus lanes; bus lane traffic lights with inordinately long timing to allow a lone bus to trundle past dozens of waiting cars - especially at rush hours.

I live in a large town which has been brought successfully to a standstill, causing vastly increased atmospheric pollution from idling car engines and quadrupled travelling time and costs, by so-called control and 'traffic calming' (an oxymoron if ever I saw one). There is nothing wrong with a good idea (road safety) but we seem totally bereft of intelligent planning and planners to implement it in a competent, workable and unbiased manner. We need all forms of traffic to function effectively and efficiently but regulated in a manner designed to increase quality for all and not quantity for some!
Louise Gamble, Perth

In my opinion bus lanes are a good idea, however if the councils want us to leave the car behind and catch the bus then they should provide a more frequent and reliable service. Another matter which I have to point out is that I drive along a main route with a bus lane right along it. One morning a couple of weeks ago I saw nine policemen and a police riot van bunched up on this road to catch motorists using the bus lane! Total waste of money if you ask me!!
O, Edinburgh

I agree with this. In Aberdeen (not sure about anywhere else) they've introduced "bus lane cameras", where if you're caught using the bus lane, then you're supposed to have the £50 fine imposed on you, although I believe in reality very few people have actually been fined for this offence and the idea of the cameras were banded as another way of profiting from the public. As a side point, I'd like to comment on the statement made by Colin Brown that "car drivers are generally selfish elitist people who cannot share with persons they perceive to be beneath them i.e. non-car drivers". Some of us have to take the car, or we'd spend more time travelling to work than we actually spend in work in the first place. I have to take the car (as do many many others) due to medical reasons as it would be very painful and very demanding physically for me to walk the 20 minutes to my nearest bus stop, stand and wait for the bus to arrive and then walk the 15 minutes from the bus stop to my office. I offer lifts to/from work to those who require them, but 95% of the time I am in the car on my own. I do not believe that this makes me a selfish and elitist person, unless you view looking after my health and being able to support my living by making the effort of going to work in the first place being selfish and elitist.
Sarah, Aberdeen

Agree with the need for bus lanes and the fact that they need to be better policed to stop misuse by white vans, etc. Have to disagree with CJ though about awkward left turns. At traffic lights there are arrows to move into the left hand lane in order to make the turn from there, you don't need to try and turn left from the right hand lane! As for bus fares in Glasgow, is it the only place in the world where the passenger tells the driver how much they want to pay?
Edward, Glasgow

Just back from a visit to Toronto where they have a fully integrated City Transport System in operation. You buy a fixed price token and are free to travel on tube or bus till you reach your destination. Make the system more user friendly and people like me will use it!
David Nicol, Glasgow

Hasn't anybody worked it out yet? The traffic jams we see daily are caused - purposefully - by our councils. Traffic islands, bus lanes, bus stops projecting out into a main artery (see Dumbarton Road, Scotstoun), lane closures and countless new traffic lights are responsible for the thousands of wasted hours and millions of pounds in the unnecessary burning of fuel. A small minority of our political elite are responsible for this chaos and Scotland's drivers (and electorate) seem powerless to do anything about it.
Mike

I live in Livingston but work in Edinburgh. I own a motorbike and a car and shave 20 minutes off my trip when taking the bike. Like Harry I use the bus lane (when safe to do so) and never get in anyone's way and other cyclists do the same as is sort of an unwritten rule. But it should be made legal for cycles and motorcycles to use this lane as I've never held anyone up and therefore reduce the traffic flow.
Ben Gates, Edinburgh

Couldn't agree more - there's very little benefit time wise in getting public transport in this city and when I choose to cycle, as I sometimes do, it's even more dangerous because of the idiots swooping in and out of the bus lane. The bus lanes should be rigorously enforced.
Chris Campbell, Glasgow

Bus lanes are all well and good, but the fact has to be faced that they are only part of a solution. Until public transport in Glasgow is radically overhauled and made a viable alternative to taking the car, people will still take the car and the number of cars on the road will not go down. Until then, all we are doing is removing 50% of the road from use by 80% of drivers and generating our very own traffic jams, as if we didn't have enough trouble with that already. I have no problems with bus lanes and think they would be a good idea, but only if more people were convinced to get the bus and it started to put a dent into the number of cars on the road, thus making the traffic move faster and flow better.
Douglas Thomson, Glasgow

Totally agree with the article. I cycle to work and over my three-mile journey am generally quicker than the bus, not because I'm quick, but because they're so slow. Dumbarton Road in Partick is a nightmare for all drivers, which is one reason I leave the car at home now. Dangers aside it's more fun to play with the traffic than sit in it.
Harry Wragg, Glasgow

It appears to me that Glasgow City Council's objective is simply to beat motorists into submission. They are doing this by creating the most unworkable bus lane network they can conceive of. Where traffic once flowed steadily, a series of ill-judged and hastily implemented configurations are causing frustration and confusion. For example, a simple junction layout on Balmore Road has been changed three times in as many months when it caused no problems in the first place.
Fin, Glasgow

I can understand the logic behind lanes exclusively for buses, taxis and bicycles. However, in practice it is frustrating in that during rush hour traffic, the outside lane can be congested causing lengthy tail backs. Simultaneously, the bus lane is free of traffic. Surely this defeats the purpose of having a bus lane? Would rush hour traffic not move more freely if two lanes were available for use on our roads?

A second point would be the dangers associated in making a left hand turn - across a bus lane. This presents clear dangers when drivers have to check, double check and triple check their 'blind side' in order to turn left. Again, would the traffic not have a smoother flow if vehicles were permitted to use the bus lane for the purpose of a left hand turn. This is a practice that I have adopted whilst driving and would not consider turning left from the middle of the road for fear of being marmalised by a SPT double decker!
CJ, Glasgow

If you don't want to take your car Ian, then don't. In my experience car drivers are generally selfish elitist people who cannot share with persons they perceive to be beneath them i.e. non-car drivers. Driving your own personal vehicle is a luxury and should be discouraged by means of expensive road tolls, parking restrictions and increased taxation on fuel and car ownership. This government and previous governments have been held to ransom for decades by the "car lobby" and its time that selfish and ignorant car owners are ignored for the greater good of society. The tide will turn and sooner than you think.
Colin Brown, Edinburgh

I pay my road tax so I don't see why I can't use all of the road. It shouldn't be bus lanes you're worrying about, it should be the amount of traffic on the road. Les cars, less problems.
Liam, Glasgow

Absolutely right, not sure what the bus lanes are like in Edinburgh but in Glasgow they actually hinder your journey by bus. I for one would never use a bus unless absolutely necessary for a variety of reasons. They are very dirty inside and out, sometimes they don't even stop, nothing is done about unruly passengers by the drivers, people still smoke on them, they always run late or you get three of the same bus arriving at the same time and of course the constant pulling in and out of bus lanes in Glasgow means you'd be quicker using a bike or train. I do disagree, though, that the car would be as good. It takes just as long as any bus, at least the trains are relatively quick when and if they turn up.
Rob, Glasgow

Why aren't motorcycles and mopeds allowed to use the bus lanes? They take up no more space than the bicycles, and certainly won't slow the buses like a cyclist does (I often hop up onto a pavement if it's quiet to let the bus pass). It would also be much safer for the motorcyclist than having to filter through streets choked with dozy rush-hour drivers. It may even encourage more people out of their cars.
Richard Bogle, Edinburgh

Maybe we should just introduce congestion charging like in London or simply ban cars from entering the city centre completely?
Dan, Glasgow

I agree. Compared with the capital, Glasgow's buses and bus network are second division. If a tourist, the buses in Edinburgh are much easier to use. The routes, and more importantly, the prices are clearly marked at the stops - have you ever asked a Glasgow bus driver how much a fare is? Lordy what a waste of time! Better system and cleaner to boot, shame on Glasgow! I'll stick to my bike!
Dougie Young, Glasgow