Good news for pedestrians, cyclists and city dwellers!

Graeme Paton, Transport Correspondent Times 13/03/21 writes:


Hundreds of new bus lanes will be created in towns and cities across
England under government plans to promote public transport as an
alternative to the car.

A strategy being published next week will provide cash incentives for
local authorities to develop bus priority routes, allowing services to
beat congestion and speed up journey times.

The long-awaited plan, commissioned by Boris Johnson, will require
councils to put the lanes on any congested road with a frequent bus
service, if there is sufficient space. Buses will also have priority at
traffic lights. Councils will be expected to sign up to the measures in
partnership with bus operators in return for a share of a new £3 billion
central government bus fund.

The strategy will require them to draw up an improvement plan by April
next year. It will make it easier for buses to negotiate congested urban
streets.

However, it will anger many motorists who will inevitably see their own
journey times being lengthened. It also risks a rise in fines of between
£50 and £130 for driving in bus lanes. In 2019 the penalties totalled
almost £60 million. The strategy will also hand councils outside London
powers to fine drivers for a series of traffic offences for the first
time. These include stopping in yellow box junctions, ignoring banned
left or right-hand turns, driving in cycle lanes and driving outside
schools at drop-off and pick-up times. The powers, which already exist
in the capital, will be introduced from the start of October.


Other measures include a commitment to phase out the sale of new diesel
buses in favour of thousands of new battery and hydrogen-powered models.
Ministers will consult on the next steps without naming a specific date
but the restrictions could be introduced to coincide with the ban on the
sale of new combustion engine cars and vans in 2030. Journeys have
fallen by 65 per cent compared with the height of bus use in the mid-1950s.

Meanwhile, motorists have been paid to give up their car for the first
time as part of plans to cut private vehicle use by up to a fifth.
Drivers in Coventry surrendered their petrol or diesel car this week for
£3,000 of credits that can be used on public transport, cycling, taxis,
car clubs or electric scooters.

It forms part of a campaign in the West Midlands to convince drivers to
give up private cars. Andy Street, the mayor, told The Times that
targets had been drawn up to reduce journeys by private car by a fifth,
from about 63 per cent a year now to 50 per cent. Mohammed Fasiuddin,
34, a mechanical engineer, was one of the first volunteers. His 2006
diesel Citroen C1 was towed away on Monday. He said he would work from
home for three or four days a week while using public transport to make
the 18-mile journey to his office in Hinckley, Leicestershire, at other
times. The journey will take about 45 minutes by bus and train, he said.

“I was a little sad to see the car go, but I haven’t been using it much
as I used to before Covid,� he said. “And I no longer need to worry
about the car breaking down or failing the MOT and a huge repair bill at
the garage.�

On Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 12:17:54 PM UTC, colwyn wrote:

Meanwhile, motorists have been paid to give up their car for the first
time as part of plans to cut private vehicle use by up to a fifth.
Drivers in Coventry surrendered their petrol or diesel car this week for
£3,000 of credits that can be used on public transport, cycling, taxis,
car clubs or electric scooters.

You could buy a banger for £200 and cash it in for £3000.

On 13/03/2021 12:28 pm, wrote:

On Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 12:17:54 PM UTC, colwyn wrote:

Meanwhile, motorists have been paid to give up their car for the first
time as part of plans to cut private vehicle use by up to a fifth.
Drivers in Coventry surrendered their petrol or diesel car this week for
£3,000 of credits that can be used on public transport, cycling, taxis,
car clubs or electric scooters.

You could buy a banger for £200 and cash it in for £3000.

The first thing that occurs to Mason is how to commit a fraud against
the taxpayer.