Rockets

Hmmm, you may have overlooked walking as that performs the best in regard to your metrics.

One of the challenges discussed is the reallocation of spaces dedicated to speed up buses to cycles and this has been identified as one of the causes of slowing of the buses. Congestion is also being caused by the removal of space allocated to all road vehicles. This is why the guy from Travel Watch said vehicular traffic has been consistently dropping during the same period as the slowing of buses has been getting consistently worse. Clearly roadworks are a big issue and the guy from the bus company said this was being temporarily exacerbated by the removal of alternative routes around roadworks.

I know it has always been bad around there during school drop-off and pick-up but has it got worse since the redesign of Hunts Slip?

And they were concluding that some of the interventions were squeezing traffic making less and less available roadspace even though there was less vehicular traffic on the roads. The Travel Watch person said that he could not find stats on how much of the road space had been dedicated to cycle lanes or shared usage but he did cite the example of Chiswich High Road where the bus lanes had been removed to facilitate dedicated cycle lanes (I am not sure you would consider that Central). I thought the debate was very balanced; that they acknowledged the problems caused by slowing buses, discussed all of the factors contributing to it yet acknowledged the challenges of balancing priorities but it was very clear that one of the contributing factors is the provision of cycle infrastrucutre (that they all acknowledged was needed to keep cyclists safe). Well intended changes can often have negative consequences. @Penguin68 I am going to watch the video again where they mention growing evidence that some of the roads with most interventions to aid bus flow are some of the worst performing. It seemed to be something there was consensus that needed more analysis but it wasn't clear what they meant by interventions as they mentioned bus gates which are more of an LTN thing.

Unfortunately some people don't want balance and reasonableness as it doesnt suit their personal agenda. It's clear there are problems because the approach to active travel has been anything but balanced.

"Choice of materials"....hmmm what might that be in relation too...please see other thread about people crashing their bikes in Dulwich Square? In comedy, timing is everything. It was but @malumbu clearly thinks adults and children crashing their bikes on slippery materials in Dulwich Square is fair game and perfectly reasonable "facetious" material.

That was the point of the London Assembly Transport Committee meeting, to get expert opinion on what is causing the delays to buses. TFL is being called in January to present their thoughts.

@malumbu I would not joke about the slippery Dulwich Square as it sounds like a lot of people (and children) had accidents as a result so it is no laughing matter.

Have you watched the video @malumbu? Ouch! 😉

Three of the four experts reference it and they talk about it for some time as one of the key factors in bus delays. But they are talking about bus lanes - did you hear the union member saying that sharing bus lanes with bikes is great and needed for cycle safety but buses are being delayed by bikes as they cannot overtake them? I suggest no-one listen to @Earl Aelfheah and watches ten minutes of the video from the point at about 1 hour 7 minutes. It's very, very clear what they are discussing and the expert opinion they share.

Have you watched the video yet @Earl Aelfheah? I take it you have not.... P.S. you know the good news cited about cycling was in the very same report the bad news about buses was in? That bad news was the catalyst for the Transport Committee meeting with bus experts to try and determine why buses are getting slower and slower....

Well @Earl Aelfheah I am no expert, and I am sure you're not too, but the assembled panel of experts for the London Assembly meeting to address declining bus speeds would not agree with you. They all agreed that carriageway pressure is one of the major contributing factors (along with roadworks). One specifically cited cycle lanes, LTNs, 20mph limits and public realm as key factors affecting bus speeds. Interestingly later in the discussion they talk about growing evidence that routes with interventions are some of the worst performing. The guy from Travel Watch addresses the other vehicular traffic numbers and says that the number of other vehicles has been consistently decreasing whilst buses have been consistently getting slower. Apparently for every 10% drop in speeds they lose 6% of passengers. I would recommend watching from the timestamps I shared with @malumbu. Let's be clear they all acknowledge the challenge TFL has and the fact that cycle protection is important but all agree that the provision of cycle infrastrucutre it is an issue for average bus speeds (which is down to 7mph in central London apparently). I did love the question from an assembly member who said why is it an issue if when they cycle they do 15mph and buses are doing less!

He is a very considerate cyclist - mindful of his own safety but also mindful of vehicles wishing to pass him. Do you wish more cyclists cycled like that?

oh @malumbu......you know two days ago there was a London Assembly Transport Committee meeting to discuss why London buses are continuing to get slower and slower and why people are abandoning buses as a result....a panel of experts joined to discuss it - including a bus company, London Travel Watch and two union reps. Here is the link. Scroll to 1 hour 7 minutes in and have a listen for 10 minutes or so and see what the experts conclude and let me know what you think:

@malumbu absolutely spot on and cycling growth is great but there is a growing debate about at what cost to other modes - especially to walking and buses. There are many who think the Mayor and TFL has over-indexed on cycling and neglected other forms of transport and that buses, and bus passengers, are taking the brunt of it and, looking at the data, I think that is fair criticism.