Election Day Mayoral Pledges.

[Stu]

Franchising is a very very small piece of the puzzle in terms of transport improvements.

As I have said many times before, franchising won't magically make bus services punctual and reliable overnight, you'll still have the same issues. What needs to be looked at is the 'infrastructure'. More bus lanes, and more bus priority measures, such as 'smart' traffic light signals that alter traffic flows to allow buses through quicker.

There's too much focus (and money being spent) on 'active travel' and cycle lanes; bus lanes would be far more useful and used by far more people.

Birmingham City Council missed a trick years ago by not investing in park-and-ride sites dotted around the middle ring road, ahead of demolishing city centre car parks. We now have the ridiculous situation where the two remaining multi-storey car parks at the Bullring and Moor Street are regularly full on Saturdays, and because they are located on a main entry and exit point for buses to/from Moor Street Queensway, the resulting congestion from drivers queuing to get into these car parks causes the buses to also get stuck and delayed.

Sort out the infrastructure and get to grips with congestion and roadworks programme scheduling, and the privately-operated bus services will become more reliable and punctual without the need for 'taking back control'.

[Ronnoc]

There's too much focus (and money being spent) on 'active travel' and cycle lanes; 

I pretty much agree with everything apart from this bit. Enhancing active travel does play a big part in reducing congestion if done correctly. A lot of car journeys that people take can usually be done via means of walking or cycling. The road system here is extremely hostile to cycling, we don't have to look very far to see the benefits of good cycling infrastructure (Paris, London, Netherlands). Bus lanes and cycle lanes please.

[Stu]

I pretty much agree with everything apart from this bit. Enhancing active travel does play a big part in reducing congestion if done correctly. A lot of car journeys that people take can usually be done via means of walking or cycling. The road system here is extremely hostile to cycling, we don't have to look very far to see the benefits of good cycling infrastructure (Paris, London, Netherlands). Bus lanes and cycle lanes please.

I'm not averse to 'active travel', I just said there was 'too much focus', that's all.

The WMCA and local councils have been spending millions of pounds on building cycle lanes/routes, which is all very well and good, but from my own observations, I rarely seem to see any cyclists using them.

Maybe they are being built on the wrong roads, because I do see plenty of cyclists using other roads that I travel along, which don't have cycle lanes.

I would prefer that more money and effort was spent on bus lanes and bus priority measures, that's all.

[Ronnoc]

Recently there has been a lack of focus on active travel, with the vacant Cycling & Walking Commissioner only just being addressed by the new mayor alongside BCC's terrible decision to remove the Cabinet Member for Transport just a few days ago.

The cycle lanes you mentioned are decent, however they aren't comprehensive enough and they end quite abruptly. I'm sure there are enough people willing to switch to cycling, but unfortunately the infrastructure is still very lackluster.

I would also love to see new bus lanes introduced, I quite like what is going on along the 50 route where there have been some extensions to existing bus lanes. Personally, I think the new mayor should squeeze as much money as possible from the central Gov for a wide variety of transport methods. London's already had their fare share, so should we.

[Tony]

I'm not averse to 'active travel', I just said there was 'too much focus', that's all.

The WMCA and local councils have been spending millions of pounds on building cycle lanes/routes, which is all very well and good, but from my own observations, I rarely seem to see any cyclists using them.

Maybe they are being built on the wrong roads, because I do see plenty of cyclists using other roads that I travel along, which don't have cycle lanes.

I would prefer that more money and effort was spent on bus lanes and bus priority measures, that's all.

There's a brilliant cycle lane city to Perry Barr, shame I regularly still see cyclists in the bus lane slowing buses down and there's still one idiot regularly rides over the flyovers

[PhageyMcPhage]

There's a brilliant cycle lane city to Perry Barr, shame I regularly still see cyclists in the bus lane slowing buses down and there's still one idiot regularly rides over the flyovers

Average speed of buses about 10 to 12 mph.

Average speed of cycling about 10 to 12 mph.

Bicycles in bus lanes shouldn't be an issue.

[PhageyMcPhage]

P&R from the middle ring road wouldn't work. Once someone has driven that far they're going to carry on into the city centre. Most drivers could use bus or train the whole way.

[2206]

Average speed of buses about 10 to 12 mph.

Average speed of cycling about 10 to 12 mph.

Bicycles in bus lanes shouldn't be an issue.

Stupid comment. No way anyone can cycle as fast as a bus. I've been on many buses that have had to crawl at a snails pace because of cyclists infront.
One of the reasons other than safety cycling isn't that popular is because lots of people of people don't want to arrive at their destination cold, wet, sweaty and tired. it doesn't have the same potential as mass transit/bus lanes do to get people out of their cars.

[Marge559]

Yes I'm sure the average speed of the X1 is 12mph... More nonsense from one of Jeremy Vine's minions... We all know cyclists cause nothing but hazards and delays for buses, lorries and pedestrians. To this day I've not met one who could actually tell me what either Highway Code rules 64 or 71 say, let alone follow them! When you look at the amount of money wasted on these cycle routes which just sit empty, while they still use the road, and the absolute deathtraps waiting to happen that are "floating bus stops", over investing in dedicated busways, faster priority, bus gates and proper public transport interchanges, it's laughable and no wonder we are in this mess. 

[spacecowboy150]

Yes I'm sure the average speed of the X1 is 12mph... More nonsense from one of Jeremy Vine's minions... We all know cyclists cause nothing but hazards and delays for buses, lorries and pedestrians. To this day I've not met one who could actually tell me what either Highway Code rules 64 or 71 say, let alone follow them! When you look at the amount of money wasted on these cycle routes which just sit empty, while they still use the road, and the absolute deathtraps waiting to happen that are "floating bus stops", over investing in dedicated busways, faster priority, bus gates and proper public transport interchanges, it's laughable and no wonder we are in this mess. 

so youre criticising cyclists for cycling on the pavement and the road? What are they meant to do?

[MW]

Average speed of buses about 10 to 12 mph.

Average speed of cycling about 10 to 12 mph.

Bicycles in bus lanes shouldn't be an issue.

Lol have you ever driven a bus in a bus lane with cyclists?

Your figures may well be true, but you're looking at averages over a distance and not considering the reality of the speed between bus stops for buses. 

You've put one of the biggest vehicles and one of the tiniest vehicles in one narrow lane and because the speeds are not similar, they're constantly overtaking each other. 

[0.5%]

so youre criticising cyclists for cycling on the pavement and the road? What are they meant to do?

not wrong though, they are a menace to a lot of people. has the new mayor actually said anything about cyclists , pro or against ?

[Sh4318]

not wrong though, they are a menace to a lot of people. has the new mayor actually said anything about cyclists , pro or against ?

The reason cyclists use the pavement is because the lack of infrastructure, our roads have been designed for cars and occasionally accommodated for cyclists, given the amount of accidents and overspeeding that occurs in the midlands, you can hardly blame a cyclist for not wanting to risk their life on the road. The cycling infrastructure is improving, but it's still poor in many areas

[PhageyMcPhage]

Stupid comment. No way anyone can cycle as fast as a bus. I've been on many buses that have had to crawl at a snails pace because of cyclists infront.
One of the reasons other than safety cycling isn't that popular is because lots of people of people don't want to arrive at their destination cold, wet, sweaty and tired. it doesn't have the same potential as mass transit/bus lanes do to get people out of their cars.

*Average* speed is not the same as *maximum* speed. A bus stops frequently. Cyclists don't keep stopping at bus stops. This makes their *average* speed the same.

[PhageyMcPhage]

Yes I'm sure the average speed of the X1 is 12mph... More nonsense from one of Jeremy Vine's minions... We all know cyclists cause nothing but hazards and delays for buses, lorries and pedestrians. To this day I've not met one who could actually tell me what either Highway Code rules 64 or 71 say, let alone follow them! When you look at the amount of money wasted on these cycle routes which just sit empty, while they still use the road, and the absolute deathtraps waiting to happen that are "floating bus stops", over investing in dedicated busways, faster priority, bus gates and proper public transport interchanges, it's laughable and no wonder we are in this mess. 

Lets work it out.

X1 is roughly 20 miles long. The 08:05 from Birmingham is timed to take 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Speed is 20 divided by 1.333 hours.

My calculator gives an answer of 15mph. A reasonable cyclist could hit that average over the same distance.