buses

We need to remove the Translink monopoly on bus routes to deal with congestion and get people out of their cars…

| Readers 3199

If you commute into Belfast by car, you will know it is a pretty hellish experience. Congestion is getting worse. At peak times the Westlink is like a car park. Trains are already at capacity, so the best option is to increase bus usage. The Guardian has this to say about the benefits of bus services in England: The M25 has 790 miles of lanes. If these are used by cars carrying the average load of 1.6 occupants, at 60mph …

Read more…

Experiences of bus privatisation in GB

| Readers 1248

As threatened a number of times, I’ve finally pulled together this piece on why bus privatisation isn’t all it’s made out to be (cross-posted to my own site, where I’ve included a bibliography) I simply want to walk through the scenarios for privatisation we have seen in GB since 1986 and their pitfalls. Deregulation The main model followed in GB outside London was to deregulate bus transport.  All publicly owned bus companies, including municipal fleets, were privatised, either by sale …

Read more…

Belfast Telegraph and City Centre bus lanes

| Readers 1332

And I thought I’d stopped commenting on transport for a wee while.  Hey ho. Jim Rodgers is quoted in today’s Belfast Telegraph as calling for a formal review of city centre bus lanes, backed by Gavin Robinson.  I’m not going to retread ground I covered on Friday and Saturday, but I do want to make a few comments. As I’ve already noted, I think the bus lanes were brought in too soon.  Implementation should have been more closely tied to …

Read more…

Transport options for Belfast. Who gets priority on our roads?

| Readers 1306

Andy Boal explores the transport options for Belfast It’s been interesting to read the responses to Brian’s post, but I’ve had a good look at the DRD’s proposed budget cuts and the consequences for public transport. It’s grim reading. Before we get into that, let’s start with a few principles. First of all, there is limited roadspace in Belfast, and a lot of people trying to use it.  It needs to be prioritised. Secondly, a lot of drivers have little or …

Read more…