To think that taxi's should NOT be allowed in bus lanes.

[cherryrednose]

I've never understood why they are. They are not public service vehicles, as buses are, they are private businesses. They are not reducing congestion, as a bus is, as they quite often only have one passenger who might presumably otherwise have taken the bus.

I ride a bike and get sick of taxis harrassing me in bus lanes. As a driver I also get sick of taxis speeding past on my inside then cutting in at the last minute to get in the 'normal' lane.

AIBU?

《Ponders the possibility that OP has just decided to play "fuck with nap Queens head" this boring Tuesday eve》

The irony is that your bike is only for one passenger and isn't a public service vehicle.

So if taxis shouldn't be allowed in bus lanes then your bike shouldn't either for the same reasons.

A bus is a public service vehicle in the sense that they carry a large number of passengers on routes which are intended to be conveinient for commuting shopping etc and therefore help to reduce congestion and enable people to get around.

A bike is not a motorised vehicle so not able to harrass other bikes nor cut it at speed on the inside - the reasons i gave for disliking their presence in the bus lane.

Depends if the bike is a moter or a push bike.

Well then the only difference between a bus and a taxi is they carry less people but have the benefit of being smaller? They are still public service.

As for.bikes not harassing, you have to be having a laugh, some people on bikes are dangerous in the extreme and cause drivers to slow down and take precautions to avoid them,

Honestly, you're not making any sense.

Well I agree with you OP. We have a bus lane that runs past the bottom of our road. When traffic is queuing and you are turning right into the road you can see a bus coming, but not a taxi. They drive like lunatics.

Most of the taxis I see in bus lanes do not have a fare. Therefore how are they any different to a private car?

Erm a bike ain't a public vehicle either and you're using the bus lane that you've said are for public vehicles only. Give me strength

Yabu

For thinking bikes don't harrass! They bloody well do.

I love taxis in the bus lane.

Don't get me started on cyclists who think lights don't apply to them.

Or cyclists on pavements.

Is it the same in the UK as it is where I live, that taxis must be carrying a passenger (or on the way to a booking) to use the lanes? (And then they can only use certain ones - like with flow)

If so I think it's down to the fact they are a hired service. Like the bus is.

Or cyclists full stop!

Taxis aren't just used by members of the public y'know, plenty are used by businesses and particularly local government for school/community contract work.

I think if anything, cyclists shouldn't be allowed in bus lanes...why is it sensible to put a person on a flimsy bike in a lane solely used by large vehicles with multiple blind spots? I'm sure buses cause more accidents to cyclists than taxis do.

I would have thought cyclists in the bus lane would be more dangerous than taxis! Don't loads of cyclists get killed in bus lanes in London because the drivers don't see them?

Also as mentioned above - the worst part is cyclists running red lights! If you want to be in the road abide by the rules of the road!

Sorry charliedontsurf sort of a cross post! :)

I ride a bike and get sick of taxis harrassing me in bus lanes

Well I walk my legs and get sick of cyclists harassing me on the pavement

Just the circle of life innit

Well I walk my legs and get sick of cyclists harassing me on the pavement

Just the circle of life innit

LOL

It does ease congestion. It takes a number of vehicles out of the congested lane and is an easier to enforce and more sensible rule than, say, red cars use the bus lane on a Tuesday and blue cars on a Wednesday.

Taxis have as much right to be in a 'bus' lane as a cyclist does.

Sorry cant work out if you are a mamil or a mawil, but hey to clear up, taxis are a public service because they can be hailed by any member of the public, they are usually for short distances, driven by knowledge qualified drivers who can get a member of the public from a to b in the shortest time possible, cabs can lower a platform to accommodate buggys, wheelchairs and are trusted with school runs. While Cyclist share these lanes, have no licence like other road users, if they had to do a theory test they might understand better

Yeah I don't think black cabs should be in bus lanes. Bus lanes are to enable public transport to work more effectively and be more attractive to use.

Public transport often doesn't go quite where you need it to, though. Taxis fill the gap, often taking people from one public transport terminus to the place they actually want to go. That's why train and bus stations have taxi ranks. So taxis are providing a complementary service to public transport and therefore I can't see any good reason for them not to use bus lanes.

How is a bike a public service vehicle? Unless Op rides a tandem or a rickshaw.......

I've never used a cab in London before recently -I'd always get a bus- and OF course, we should all use buses. But you know, breaking a bone in your leg suddenly concentrates your mind about how far away the bus stop is. (Fucking long way on crutches).

So YABVVVU. You don't know why someone is taking a taxi rather than a bus. Maybe it's cos the bus is just totally impossible.

If taxis weren't allowed to use bus lanes they would get caught in traffic and that would push the fares up, making them less cost effective than bringing your own car into town and parking it all day.

The taxi typically makes multiple short journeys throughout the peak period when bus lanes are in operation that would otherwise be made by people using their own cars. If all the people who used taxis used their own cars instead that would make congestion worse. Therefor they get to use the bus lanes.

Taking taxis out of bus lanes isn't going to improve efficient transport is it. A tiny number of cab fares would transfer to bus or bike. The aim is to expedite non private car use. We've chosen to punish car drivers first and foremost.

Of course you're being unreasonable OP.

Several reasons:

• taxis are beneficial to the environment (not simply congestion) as they reduce private car ownership

• bikes aren't buses yet you don't have a problem with them using the bus lane

• you came to MumsNet expecting a sensible answer about cycling. They're viewed as worse than even teachers around here!

Electro has it. It is a simple way of reducing congestion by taking some traffic out of normal lanes without impacting the efficient running of bus services. I'd rather see some traffic using the lane than none at all.