Liverpool council’s decision to suspend bus lanes for nine months has been hailed as a bold attempt to improve traffic flows.
Could such a scheme ease congestion problems in Malta?
The answer from Arriva Malta is a resounding “no”.
“Arriva firmly believes that bus lanes improve service reliability and help manage traffic flow and congestion,” a spokesman for the public transport operator said.
Bus lanes were introduced in Malta in 2004, the main ones being in Floriana, Marsa (currently out of use due to road works) and Sliema.
Just last week, the Sliema council called for the bus lane along the Ferries to be suspended to ease traffic flow, at least over the Christ-mas period.
Responding to questions by Times of Malta, Arriva described traffic congestion across the islands as a “major issue”.
“Our service provision is regularly hampered by circumstances beyond our control, including double parking,” the spokesman said.
Coincidentally, Arriva Merseyside is the bus operator in Liverpool and it strongly opposed the city council’s suspension of priority lanes.
Arriva Merseyside said it had not been consulted about the measure, which, it warned, could lead to a “massive difference” in the service it provided due to possible delays.
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson countered that the impact of bus lanes on congestion and traffic flows was unknown and his priority was “keeping the city moving”.
While refusing to be drawn into discussing the pilot project in Liverpool, Arriva Malta said more bus lanes and “other innovative traffic enforcement measures” were needed in the Maltese islands to “promote a modal shift to public transport”.
Arriva Malta was tasked by the previous Government with identifying traffic hotspots and places where bus priority measures could be introduced. In November 2011, it completed an assessment of the implementation of bus lanes and selective vehicle detection lights in several locations across the islands.
Selective vehicle detection lights allow traffic signals to favour buses’ movement through intersections by changing traffic lights as the vehicles approach.
According to Arriva, various locations had been identified as suitable for bus lanes and presented to the Government for consideration.
“As part of the current negotiations with the Government concerning changes to the transport network, Arriva has proposed that there is a commitment from the State, as well as the EU, to implement these much-needed measures across both Malta and Gozo,” the spokesman said.
“Our company has offered its expertise and assistance to fulfil this.”
Transport Malta did not respond to questions on bus priority measures at the time of writing.
Jim Wightmann, a spokesman for the Bicycle Advocacy Group, expressed his firm belief that bus lanes reduced congestion on the roads. He said the group would oppose any measures to remove them.
“If you make the bus service less efficient, you push people back to using cars. More cars equal more congestion. The average door-to-door journey speed for buses is already quite slow. Slowing them further will just discourage their use,” he said.
Mr Wightmann added that one of the unintended consequences of bus lanes was that they made the roads safer for cyclists by acting as a buffer from the main traffic flows, especially in Marsa.
pcooke@timesofmalta.com