A 300 metre bus lane has been scrapped at a cost of £60,000, just 21 days after it was introduced, because it was discovered to be tripling the length of community journeys.
The Tregolls Road bus lane in Truro, Cornwall has been suspended this week by Cornwall Council, even though it was only introduced back in November 2.
This decision came when it was established that since the bus lane’s introduction, the average peak time journey into the small city had increased from seven minutes to 21 minutes.
The bus lane introduced on the inbound stretch of the A39 came as part of a wider £12 million scheme of road improvements for Truro.
Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for transport, Bert Biscoe, explained that the authority would pay £30,000 to remove the red road surface installed for the bus lane. This comes on top of the estimate £30,000 paid for the bus lane’s original installation, meaning the scrapped bus lane has cost £60,000 in total. Biscoe added that the road scheme’s contingency budget would cover the cost of removal.
While the bus lane is no longer in use, the legal process required to permanently remove the lane is not expected to be completed until January.
Biscoe commented: “The council's engineers have gathered data from cameras and sensors as well as from road users. The delays caused by the bus lane are counter-productive.
“We are not achieving a better balanced flow or offering bus users any benefit. On this basis it is clear that this final part of a complex scheme needs to go.”
Biscoe concluded: “Cornwall Council is learning its lessons - one of which is, when one tries to 'marry' engineering and psychology, it's important to respect both disciplines.”
