No car lanes or bus lanes: which gives public transport the better priority? An evaluation of priority lanes in Tyne and Wear

Bus priority covers a wide range of measures intended to speed up the progress of buses and avoid congestion, especially in urban areas. The implementation of No Car Lanes as a method of allocating space on the highway differs from conventional bus priority measures since No Car Lanes give priority not just to buses but to other vehicles, facilitating the movement of goods as well as people in congested urban areas. This paper compares the impact of the different eligibility requirements of ‘warrants’ on the different classes of traffic using the road network in the single location of Tyne and Wear in the north-east of England, UK and reports quantification of benefits and disadvantages to give an improved understanding of the contribution of No Car Lanes within the more general context of bus priority measures. The motivation for the study was to give an evidence based approach to the development of conurbation-wide policy. The paper concludes that the balance of evidence suggests No Car Lanes are preferable for all motorised modes (car, HGV, taxi and bus). From a practical point of view having many short lengths of priority lane (of whatever form) lowers the benefit arising from priority as well as having an adverse effect on user and non-user attitudes towards priority lanes. The modelling suggests that the impact on the environment is less negative from No Car Lanes. Against this is the less positive evidence for No Car Lanes in terms of road safety and enforcement.