Allowing taxis in bus lanes over Christmas a “huge step backwards” that will “put cyclists at risk”, say cycling campaigners

A decision to allow taxi drivers to use some bus lanes in Belfast over the Christmas period – in a bid to ease congestion in the city centre – has been branded a “huge step backwards” that will “make cycling less safe” and put people off riding bikes, Cycling UK has said.

Meanwhile, the Belfast Cycle Campaign, which has long criticised the lack of safe cycling routes in the city, has claimed that “clogging up” bus lanes with more drivers will put cyclists at “increased risk” while having a negligible effect on congestion.

In recent weeks, ongoing roadworks at Belfast’s new Grand Central Station and the Sydenham Bypass, a major traffic corridor linking the city centre to the east, have resulted in what local newspapers, politicians, and retailers have referred to as “traffic chaos”.

On Monday, infrastructure minister John O’Dowd told the Northern Ireland Assembly that anyone travelling into Belfast by car should “expect congestion”, while retail and hospitality groups met with the Sinn Féin MLA on Tuesday to call for solutions to the current “traffic problems” and argue that there “cannot be a repeat of what has happened these last few months”.

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In response to these complaints, O’Dowd announced this week that a temporary traffic regulation will be introduced which allows Class A and Class C taxis, categories that include private-hire taxis and Ubers, to use certain bus lanes in the city centre. Public-hire Black taxi drivers were already permitted to drive in these lanes.

Announcing the short-term measure, which came into effect on Wednesday morning and will last over the Christmas period, the infrastructure minister said he was “committed to bringing forward measures which will help alleviate the traffic congestion in the city centre”.

The temporary policy comes amid longer term plans to introduce a pilot scheme to permit all taxis to use city centre bus lanes, the consultation period for which is expected to begin “early in the new year”, O’Dowd said.

“In the meantime, I have asked my officials to urgently introduce temporary traffic regulations, as an interim measure, to allow Class A and C taxis to use a number of bus lanes,” he continued.

“Belfast is a thriving city and I would encourage anyone planning to travel to the city centre, especially over the Christmas period, to plan their journey, use public transport if possible, and if travelling by car factor in extra time for your journey.”

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However, the scheme has been criticised by cycling campaigners in the city, with Cycling UK describing it as a "huge step backwards” for active travel in Belfast.

According to Andrew McClean, Cycling UK’s Northern Ireland lead, permitting taxi drivers to use certain bus lanes “will make cycling less safe and put more people off cycling in the city”.

McClean argued that the move “does nothing to meet the needs of people looking for healthier, cheaper, and more sustainable ways of getting around”.

“Even the Department for Infrastructure’s head of roads said that we need ‘to get more people onto public transport, or to walk, and cycle’,” he continued.

“Belfast has a serious lack of safe cycle routes, and by opening up bus lanes to more drivers, we risk making things even worse for people that choose to travel by bike.”

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Meanwhile, Meg Hoyt, the co-founder of the Belfast Cycle Campaign, told road.cc that the group is “disappointed” with the new policy, which she believes will do little to ease congestion.

“We are concerned that it will put cyclists at increased risk, while not really providing any noticeable reduction in congestion,” Hoyt said.

“Bus lanes are one of the most efficient ways of moving people around the city, and clogging them with cars reduces their effectiveness.”

 (Department for Infrastructure)

Green Party councillor Brian Smyth has also criticised the traffic policy, which he branded “an act of desperation with little regard for the wider consequences”.

“Only last week the minister was encouraging people to get the bus into the city centre, yet now he has given the go-ahead to bus lanes being swamped by private taxis,” Smyth said.

Nevertheless, retail representatives, such as Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts, have described the move as a “welcome measure” that will enable Christmas shoppers to “travel in a timely and hassle-free manner”, though the Licensed Taxi Operators Association has branded the decision as “too little, too late”.

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As we reported earlier this week on the live blog, the traffic problems which have engulfed Belfast in recent weeks have prompted Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure to produce a series of social media videos encouraging commuters and shoppers to ditch the car and use public transport – and their bike – instead.

“Travelling into work doesn’t always have to involve congestion,” read the caption for one of the government body’s cycling-themed videos.

“Cycling past the queues of traffic and through the park means Sinead can enjoy her Belfast commute on the way to the office.”

(Department for Infrastructure)

However, the videos have come in for criticism, both in the Sunday Times and by local cycling campaigners, after one scene showed a cyclist forced to ride on the road because the adjacent cycle lane was filled with parked cars and vans – a frequent sight on the streets of Belfast.

“Valiant efforts were clearly made to ensure all the cycle lanes shown were unobstructed by cars — film crews must have had to wait all day for such rare moments,” the Sunday Times’ Atticus columnist wrote in their scathing appraisal of the department’s latest active travel campaign.

“But one lane off Great Victoria Street was so hidden beneath parked vehicles the producers appeared not to realise it was there. They showed a cyclist pedalling past it in the road, oblivious. At least that part of the campaign is realistic.”

Beyond misguided social media films, the Department for Infrastructure has long faced criticism for its apparent inaction when it comes to active travel.

In recent years, cyclists have argued that the ongoing lack of a joined-up cycling network in Belfast, as well as non-existent efforts to tackle bike lane parking and evidence that cycling appears to be an afterthought during the design of other big transport projects, have left Northern Ireland’s cycling culture lagging far behind the rest of the UK.

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Last year, Belfast City councillors pointed out that, despite the implementation of the Belfast Cycling Network Delivery Plan in 2021, only 2.8km of cycle lanes were installed in two years, a lack of delivery branded “incredibly frustrating” and “ridiculous”.

And at the end of November, the tragic death of a cyclist in the city sparked renewed calls for improved cycling infrastructure from campaigners, as SDLP leader Claire Hanna pointed out that the “dire situation of underinvestment” needs to change and that some drivers have “irrational attitudes” towards people travelling by bike.