Latest news with #buslanes
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Derby's bus lane cameras raise £1.8m in 2024
Drivers paid out more than £1.8m after being flashed by bus lane cameras in Derby last year, new figures City Council handed out fines to 51,391 motorists who drove through lanes designated for buses in 2024, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) figures, revealed by a Freedom of Information request to the council, show the authority raised £1,849,291 in highest earner was the bus lane in Traffic Street near the Derbion shopping centre, which saw fines total £711,840. The city council said issuing such penalty charge notices (PCNs) was designed to reduce congestion and pollution. 'Follow the rules' Another bus lane in Corporation Street - where millions has been raised since the enforcement began - saw £681,805 raised from 19,012 PCNs, the LDRS response to the figures released, a spokesperson for Derby City Council said: "We are committed to creating a greener, more accessible, and sustainable city for everyone."The enforcement of bus lanes forms part of our wider strategy to support the National Bus Strategy which aims to reduce congestion and pollution and offers people more reliable and sustainable transport."Ideally, we wouldn't generate income from PCNs, and people would follow the rules associated with bus lanes to make our city a better place for all."Other bus lanes where drivers were charged include Phoenix Street where £84,276 was raised, Siddals Road where the council received £79,018, while £56,068 was accumulated in Normanton authority said surplus funds generated from bus lane PCNS were "used to improve highways and transport within the city".
CTV News
7 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Community group takes over Mayfair Theatre marquee to promote Bank Street bus lane pitch
The marquee at the Mayfair Theatre included a message about supporting bus lanes on Bank Street by the community group Strong Towns Ottawa. May 29, 2025. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa) The marquee at the Mayfair Theatre on Bank Street was not showing a movie Thursday morning, but instead a message about bus lanes. A local community group is raising awareness about their demand for dedicated bus lanes on the busy street through a campaign that includes the sign on the marquee and ads that play before movies at the local cinema. Strong Towns Ottawa says none of the options the City of Ottawa is considering for the future of Bank Street are adequate. The city is exploring ways to improve transit and active transportation on a busy corridor of Bank between the Rideau Canal and Highway 417 but says full time bus-only lanes and removing all on-street vehicle parking have been eliminated as options. Instead, the city is proposing having dedicated bus lanes only during peak traffic periods in the morning and afternoon. 'A simple change could make for a much better Bank Street: instead of only having bus lanes for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening, let's have them 24/7! The on-street parking should be moved to the plethora of options available surrounding Bank Street,' a statement on Strong Towns Ottawa's website says. Derrick Simpson, a volunteer with Strong Towns Ottawa, who also serves as the transportation board chair at the Centretown Community Association, says it's been one year since the City of Ottawa spoke to the community about the Bank Street plan. 'We were really excited by that, and we haven't heard anything since,' Simpson told CTV News Ottawa. 'We figured this was a good way to get some attention and make sure that people are still thinking about this.' The city held a public open house on its plans for Bank Street in June 2024. A second public open house is planned for June 2025, according to the city's website, but the exact date and details have not yet been announced. The plan is slated to go before the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee and Council in September. Simpson said he was disappointed by the city's rejection of 24/7 bus lanes. 'We especially think that for event days, it's very important. There's only about 1,000 parking spaces in Lansdowne and the Redblacks' stadium seats around 20,000. We need other ways for people to get there and we believe the bus is the best option,' he said. 'We know OC Transpo has been struggling a lot with reliability and we think this would help get people to work faster, get people home faster, help them get to school on time, so we really think this is about reliability. It's making sure the bus shows up on time and gets you where you need to be on time.' Two routes serve Bank Street, the 6 and the 7. The 6 has frequently dealt with cancelled trips, according to statistics provided to the transit committee. On-street parking issue Strong Towns Ottawa says on-street parking is one of the main things contributing to delays on Bank Street. 'It takes up 2 full lanes, 6.6m of the 12.6m (over 50%), road. This space could much better serve those moving through, as well as those staying in the area,' the group says on its website. Simpson said this affects buses as well. 'We've had buses stuck in traffic, we've had buses waiting behind parked cars, and we think this is a great way to make sure people can arrive on time,' he said. According to data from the City of Ottawa, parking on Bank Street accounts for seven per cent of the total supply in the area. There are 143 spaces on the street out of a total supply of 2,000 spaces, including parking garages. There are 971 parking spaces at Lansdowne and another 139 in the Second Avenue garage. Parking utilization is higher in the evenings and on weekends. According to a City of Ottawa survey, nearly a third of respondents (32 per cent) said bus lanes were the most important feature for a redesign of Bank Street, while 13 per cent cited on-street parking as their most important feature. Forty-five per cent of respondents who drive to Bank Street said they'd be willing to walk between five and 10 minutes after parking to reach a destination, and 15 per cent said they'd be fine with a longer walk. Simpson says Strong Towns Ottawa volunteers will be out near the entrance to the Second Avenue parking garage between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday to meet with community members and raise awareness about the issue. The ads at the Mayfair Theatre will run until June 15. 'The community response so far has been really, really good,' said Simpson. 'We raised the funds for this in less than two hours, so we were blown away by the community response.' Details on the Bank Street Active Transportation and Transit Priority Feasibility Study can be found on Engage Ottawa.
CBS News
19-05-2025
- CBS News
Pittsburgh Regional Transit installing new bus lanes in Downtown Pittsburgh this week
The next phase of construction on Pittsburgh Regional Transit's University Line is set to get underway and is likely to cause some headaches for Downtown Pittsburgh drivers. Changes will be coming to Downtown Pittsburgh in five different phases, with the first of those phases taking place primarily along Liberty Avenue as PRT begins installing red bus lanes. PRT says that dedicated bus lanes are a major step towards improving service and reducing congestion and say this will transform daily commutes and make public transit more reliable. Starting Monday, installation of the red bus lanes will begin with detours starting at 7 a.m. and work will start at 8 p.m. each evening. When the red bus lanes are completed in Downtown Pittsburgh, routes 61A, 61B, 61C, and 71B will each travel in the new lanes, heading inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Sixth Avenue. Work along Liberty Avenue is expected to be completed by 6 a.m. Tuesday. PRT says that buses won't stop at Liberty and Sixth and Sixth and Smithfield during the first phase of construction. The four additional phases of construction will take place through May 28.
The National
18-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Dubai unveils plan to cut congestion as public bus passenger numbers surge
Dubai is to introduce six new dedicated bus and taxi lanes this year under a major drive to ease congestion on the roads and capitalise on the growth of the emirate's public transport network. Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority set out the expansion strategy on Sunday after announcing 188 million journeys were made on public buses last year – up 8 per cent on the previous year. Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the RTA, said bus services now cover 88 per cent of the emirate, with a fleet of 1,390 buses making 11,000 trips each day which cover 333,000 kilometres. 'RTA is committed to enhancing the public bus service to encourage residents to choose public transport for their daily commutes,' Mr Al Tayer said. 'We aim to improve connectivity between residential, commercial, and industrial areas by seamlessly integrating the bus service with Dubai Metro. 'Buses serve as a vital link to other modes of transport, such as the metro, tram, and taxis. This year, RTA would implement a plan to expand dedicated bus and taxi lanes, adding six new lanes spanning 13 kilometres. 'With this expansion, the total length of dedicated lanes would reach 20 kilometres.' Mr Al Tayer said the extension of bus and taxi lanes aimed to increase passenger numbers by 10 per cent, improve bus arrival times by 42 per cent and reduce journey times by 41 per cent. Dubai public buses currently operate across 187 routes, with 64 linked to Metro stations as part of an integrated public transport plan. 'Last year, RTA launched nine express bus routes, added nine metro link routes, and introduced four new taxi routes in high-demand areas. 'Furthermore, the activation of the bus priority system at traffic signals on busy intersections has improved bus arrival times by up to 12 per cent,' he said. Bolstering Dubai's public transport network is viewed as crucial to efforts to address traffic congestion as the emirate's population increases at a rapid pace. Dubai's population stood at 3.94 million on Sunday, according to Dubai Statistic Centre's daily population clock. This figure is up from 3.73 million on the same day last year. While Dubai public bus passenger numbers show a healthy rise, the number of vehicles on the roads each day continues to increase. Salik, Dubai's Road toll operator, said this week the number of registered active vehicles, including motorcycles, increased 9.3 per cent year-on-year to 4.47 million. There was a 7.3 per cent increase in registered drivers for the same period. In its report for the first three months of 2025, the toll operator said it recorded 210.8 million trips, up 35.1 per cent year-on-year. Etihad Rail's much-anticipated passenger train service is set to launch next year, marking a significant step forward for the country's landmark infrastructure project. In a post on X, Etihad Rail said the UAE-wide line will start operations in 2026. This was confirmed on Thursday by a media relations group working for Etihad Rail. The rail scheme is viewed as critical to efforts to encourage more people to ditch their cars and embrace public transport. Etihad Rail in January said the first four passenger stations on the UAE-wide line would be in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah. The stations in Sharjah and Fujairah had been announced previously. Separately, Etihad Rail in January announced plans for an electrified high-speed passenger service between Abu Dhabi and Dubai with its own set of stations. Construction has yet to start and a date for the launch of services has yet to be revealed. Work on Etihad Rail began in 2009. Since 2016, two tracks spanning 264km have been in operation – with trains transporting granulated sulphur from gasfields in Shah and Habshan to an export point in Ruwais. When complete, the network will connect the seven emirates to the five neighbouring GCC states. The line will ultimately link the UAE and Saudi Arabia from Fujairah Port to Ghuwaifat, through Khalifa Port and Jebel Ali Port. A railway connecting the UAE with Oman is also planned.
Arabian Business
18-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
dedicated bus lane
The dedicated bus and taxi lanes will be constructed across 37km between 2023 and 2027 and will cover eight main streets in Dubai
