Stormont’s Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd has announced that from 6 am on Wednesday 18 December, taxis will be permitted to use certain bus lanes in Belfast City Centre over the festive period.
Over recent months there has been major traffic congestion throughout Belfast, the Minister says he is “committed to bringing forward measures which will help alleviate the traffic congestion in the city centre.”
Class A (public hire) and Class C (private hire) will be able to use the Shaftesbury Square and Great Victoria Street (Shaftesbury Square – Grosvenor Road) bus lanes inbound towards the City Centre.
Outbound away from the City Centre, they can use the bus lanes on Great Victoria Street (Howard Street – Bruce Street), Bruce Street and Dublin Road.
I am committed to bringing forward measures which will help alleviate the traffic congestion in the city centre.
– Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd
I had previously announced my intention to introduce a pilot scheme to permit taxis to use city centre bus lanes to help support the industry and ease traffic. My officials are continuing to carry out the necessary legislative work and the consultation period for that scheme will commence very early in the new year.
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.
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.
DFI will continue to work closely with partners in the coming days and weeks. We all share a common goal of wanting to keep Belfast moving, while balancing the needs of everyone who needs to use the city’s roads and footpaths.
The DUP’s Infrastructure Spokesperson, Deborah Erskine MLA, has welcomed the announcement but questioned the timing of the announcement.
This announcement has been made in parallel with the pilot scheme announced by the Minister on 11th October. Last week I had questioned why there had been no progress on that since then.
Since it has been possible to introduce this interim measure without the consultation and legislative work related to the pilot scheme, it begs the question of why it has been left until one week before Christmas before its introduction.
It is a welcome step forward that hopefully can make some difference to traffic congestion and send out a positive message for our retailers. However, this would also have been helpful over the past few weeks since the problem was first highlighted.
We all want to see our town and city centres being successful, and particularly at this time of year. There must be lessons learned from this in the future about ensuring action is taken early and is taken in collaboration our retailers and business community.
– Deborah Erskine MLA
Alliance’s Infrastructure Spokesperson, Peter McReynolds MLA, has criticised the move by the Infrastructure Minister, saying it will “fail to address congestion.”
He posted on X, “Disappointing to see taxis are to be permitted to use some bus lanes in Belfast City Centre from 6am tomorrow.”
“Not only will it fail to address congestion. But will also impact on public transport efficiency, make bus lanes less safe for cyclists and cause confusion for drivers,” he added.
Disappointing to see taxis are to be permitted to use some bus lanes in Belfast City Centre from 6am tomorrow.
— Peter McReynolds MLA (@PMcReynoldsMLA) December 17, 2024
Not only will it fail to address congestion. But will also impact on public transport efficiency,make bus lanes less safe for cyclists and cause confusion for drivers. https://t.co/uaDveHPO1o
A number of Green Party councillors on Belfast City Council have criticised the policy.
Cllr Brian Smyth said on X: “Utterly useless from the DfI. Ask people to get the bus, then fill up bus lanes with taxis. 34% of people in Belfast don’t have access to a car or van, this will impact them.
He added, “Also endangering lives of cyclists. This is a failure of Stormont never investing in public transport.”
Utterly useless from the DfI. Ask people to get the bus, then fill up bus lanes with taxis. 34% of people in Belfast don't have access to a car or van, this will impact them.
— Cllr Brian Smyth (@Briansmyth99) December 17, 2024
Also endangering lives of cyclists. This is a failure of Stormont never investing in public transport. https://t.co/WeA0bjnnFj
Several cycling advocacy groups have said that allowing taxis to use bus lanes, which are also used by cyclists, will negatively impact them.
Sustrans in Northern Ireland have advised anyone cycling “to be extra cautious when using the ‘bus and cycle lanes’ in Belfast.”
As of 6am tomorrow (Wed) we would advise all people #cycling to be extra cautious when using the 'bus & cycle lanes' in #Belfast We look forward to the acceleration of a proper cycle network in the city @JohnODowdSF @niexecutive @CyclingUK_NI @belfastcyclecam @PMcReynoldsMLA https://t.co/cFKRzE3E2y
— Sustrans in Northern Ireland (@SustransNI) December 17, 2024
