Belfast’s worsening traffic congestion could be eased by immediately allowing more taxis to use bus lanes, it has been claimed by cab operators.
The call comes as motorists face ongoing gridlock in and around Belfast city centre as a result of roadworks including the closure of Durham Street close to the new Grand Central Station.
Stormont’s infrastructure minister John O’Dowd announced in October that a scheme would soon begin allowing other taxis to use bus lanes alongside black taxis and wheelchair-accessible cabs.
The plan would see both marked and unmarked taxis able to use the lanes, but that scheme will not be implemented before Christmas, Mr O’Dowd confirmed on Monday in the Assembly.
Now the Licensed Taxi Operators Association (LTOA) has called upon the minister to give the green light for more taxis to use the lanes, claiming a move to do so would both immediately ease congestion and provide a boost to the city’s economy.
However, the organisation is suggesting that only Class A cabs - which feature external signage indicating that they are taxis - be allowed to use the lanes, rather than unmarked Class C taxis, which are to be included in the suggested scheme by the infrastructure minister.
They have warned that allowing unmarked taxis in the lanes “will only cause confusion” as they look like private vehicles to other drivers.
Mr O’Dowd has urged people to increase their use of public transport in a bid to help ease the congestion.
In a statement, the LTOA said taxis are public transport “and are as much a part of the solution to these issues as buses and trains”.
“The difference however, is that increasing bus and train provision (which we wholeheartedly support) is a long-term solution which requires significant operational and financial investment, whereas improving taxi efficiency could be delivered quickly and with little cost to the public purse,” a spokesperson said.
They said if taxi efficiency in the city was reduced to pre-congestion levels, it would offer operators an additional 2,000 bookings per week each.
“Even 2000 bookings, with an average of 2.5 passengers per booking would mean that 5000 extra passengers could be assisted – whether that’s getting to work, the pub, the hospital appointment, or to the supermarket,” they said.
“All of these additional journeys will help improve the fortunes of the hospitality and retail sectors and surely will help reduce specific time related delays around missed hospital and doctors’ appointments.”
The LTOA has called upon Mr O’Dowd to allow Class A taxis to use bus lanes for a 12-month period, only when they have passengers on board or are on their way to collect a fare.
The body has also proposed other measures they believe will reduce gridlock, including allowing traffic to turn onto Hope Street from Great Victoria Street, providing “an additional exit route southbound through the city”, and temporarily combining the cycle and bus lanes at Dublin Road, to create an extra traffic lane.
They also suggest reviewing “excess crossings/traffic lights across the city”.
“The worrying prospect is that this is not a problem for just the next year, rather that congestion will remain a permanent problem without intervention,” the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure told the Irish News that in order to launch the pilot scheme to allow Class A and C taxis to use bus lanes, “a change in legislation is required”.
“This means the normal legislative process must be followed, including a consultation period. Further details will be announced as soon as possible,” they added.
Speaking in the Assembly on Monday, Mr O’Dowd said of Belfast city centre: “The fact remains there are too many cars and too limited a space, so therefore each of us have to make a decision in terms of how we deal with that.
“If you do travel into Belfast city centre, using a car, you should expect congestion, and that leads to congestion for other people as well.”
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