Decision details

Councillor Ellcome wished to state that there was a need for more groups to co-operate and it was regrettable that there had been heightened tensions due to exchanges on social media.  He stressed that that would not influence his judgement at the meeting.  Mark Griffin, the Assistant Head of Transport & Environment presented a report which had been in response to the petition by private hire vehicles in June 2014 that had attracted 1,830 signatures.  He also reported comments made by the City Development Manager regarding the importance of transport to the economic development links in the city.

A deputation was made by Pete Stothers as the organiser of the petition which had collected over 1800 signatures within seven weeks whose points included that there had been overwhelming support by residents; the private hire vehicles were public transport and offered an important service to the elderly and disabled; 32 councils allowed PHVs within bus lanes including Southampton and the government recognised PHVs as part of the public transport system.  They also enable people to get to school and hospital appointments on time.  It would help attract businesses to Portsmouth when the road system was at breaking point.  If people used the PHVs more there would be less cars on the road and less parking problems.

A deputation was then made by Clive Carse also speaking on behalf of PHV drivers whose points included that in licensing terms PHVs were included with taxis as seen in the recent increase in charges; they gave better coverage than the buses running 24 hours; PHVs were treated unfairly as the Tipner bus lane was not for Portsmouth people and the buses were heavily subsidised.  On Saturdays there was gridlock in the city with Gunwharf and football traffic meaning it was hard for PHV drivers to make a living.

A deputation was then made by Jon Spencer of the Portsmouth Cycle Forum whose points included there was a poor safety record of PHVs so it would be dangerous for them to be allowed to share bus lanes with cyclists; PHVs charged hourly so they needed to move fast; PHV drivers were distracted by electronic devices in their vehicles; the Department of Transport advice is against PHVs in bus lanes; the city council were announcing support of cycling.  He was concerned that any trial of shared use of bus lanes would be using live subjects without their consent and he felt the best way to improve traffic conditions in Portsmouth was to encourage alternatives to private car use.

A deputation was then made by Eric DeGreef a co-author of the cycling strategy for Portsmouth who spoke about his own experience with his family of cycling on the roads which required the patience of other drivers and he was concerned that there would be a reduction in safety for cyclists; members of the Portsmouth Cycle Forum had been subject to abuse which he did not want replicated on the roads. 

A deputation was then made by Dervla Mackay, General Manager of First Bus outlining their concerns which included safety aspects with some weaving in and out of lanes by drivers of PHVs with a concern that other traffic may follow suit and the danger if there was stopping in the bus lanes to pick up/let passengers alight.  First Bus were concerned that the frequency of the service will be affected and there could be a resource implication to the detriment of the service and there may be a need to ask the council for a subsidy in extraordinary circumstances.  Whilst there was some experience of shared lanes in Southampton they did not have the same amount of bus lanes there and they welcomed Portsmouth giving public transport priority.  The bus services were in approximately 20 hours a day (although not all routes).  There had been a significant investment in the bus lanes and the company did not wish their services to be affected by the shared use.

Councillor Sanders had discussed the item with Councillor Stagg their group spokesperson and their preference was now not for PHVs to use bus lanes.  He also made reference to the proposal to shorten the bus lane at Mile End Road and officers responded that this paper was being developed for discussion at the special meeting on 19 February.

Simon Moon, the Head of Transport & Environment responded to the mention of the proposals to alter to the Mile End bus lane and pointed out that this would be discussed at a separate meeting on 19 February so the implications of this were not yet known.  The report had also set out alternative sites for trials of shared use.  Detail would be needed on a code of practice if a trial went forward. 

Councillor Ken Ferrett then spoke as a group spokesperson stressing that whilst he shared the aim to reduce the potential for gridlock within the city he had concerns on safety grounds for the cyclists due to the poor record in Portsmouth for accidents caused by other vehicles.  He was therefore against a trial and supported the officer's recommendation. 

Councillor Stuart Potter then spoke as a group spokesperson who was in favour of a trial for PHV use of bus lanes which should be accompanied by education for safe cycling. 

Councillor Ellcome as the Cabinet Member for Traffic & Transportation he was familiar with all the groups represented in these discussions who had different views.  He was aware that the bus companies had previously indicated they would be interested in a trial but their subsequent objections made this more difficult.  He was concerned regarding the safety issues and driving standards which had been discussed at the Licensing Committee.  He had sympathy with the PHV drivers who were trying to make a living and who were seeing taxis sharing lanes with cyclists.  However he felt that there was a need to identify the PHVs if there was a trial and unfortunately the camera enforcement was not yet in place to enable this.  Therefore whilst he was in principle supportive of a trial in the use of PHVs in bus lanes he wished to defer a decision until the necessary measures could be put in place for enforcement and identification of trade vehicles before this could be considered further.  This would also enable the implications of shortening the bus lane in Mile End should it be agreed to be taken into consideration.  The report back would need to be made to the Cabinet Member for Traffic & Transportation when the accompanying measures were in place.

DECISIONS:

(1)          That a decision on public hire vehicles using bus lanes be deferred.

(2)          The Cabinet Member asked that officers bring forward a further report to give consideration to a trial of PHVs using bus lanes within parameters when the necessary measures for enforcement, public safety and identification of vehicles can be put in place.