Buses should be exempt from the 20mph law in a bid to boost the numbers of people using public transport rather than cars, a new report has said. The study, published today, looks at the reality of a Welsh Government target for 45% of journeys to be made by public transport by 2040.
Centre for Cities recommends that buses should be exempt from the 20mph default speed limit across Wales, where safe and appropriate, increasing the benefits of building new bus lanes and making public transport competitive against car travel.
The Welsh Government wants 45% of all journeys taken by public transport and active travel by 2040. As well as looking at the long term changes needed to infrastructure and building projects, the report says councils should exempt bus lanes from the 20mph speed limit where "safe and appropriate".
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The report breaks policy suggestions down by city, but the speed limit change for buses is classed as "appropriate for all cities".
It says: "The local authorities should exempt bus lanes from the new 20mph speed limit when they find it safe and appropriate. This could make public transport more competitive against the car and increase the benefits of building new bus lanes. By restricting these speed exemptions only to bus lanes, this should not create a safety issue with other modes of transport."
In a statement issued by deputy climate change minister Lee Waters earlier this month, Mr Waters referenced concerns from bus operators about the impact the speed limit was having on services. You can read that here.
Arriva Wales said the 20mph limit, introduced in September, was making buses late. A statement said: "So far there has been an impact on punctuality as journey times have lengthened, which has been particularly noticeable on longer journeys or those journeys connecting towns. This is creating challenging operational conditions."
"Finally, I am aware that some operators have cited the impact of 20mph as part of their justification for reducing services. While we remain committed to carefully reviewing the evidence of any impact as lower speeds continue to bed in across Wales, the answer must lie in prioritising buses through traffic – not faster speeds for buses in built-up areas.
"Dedicated bus lanes and simple measures at traffic lights and at junctions help to unblock congestion and give buses an extra boost in traffic black spots, making journeys more viable and reliable. They play an important role both in helping sustain current services and creating the platform for a better and more attractive network in future. I want to see a renewed focus on bus priority measures and to support this I have made £6m available this year, and £5m available next year to encourage local authorities to bid for grant funding."
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We have been clear from the outset that we would monitor any impacts of the 20mph on bus services. We are working closely with bus operators, local authorities and TfW to tackle the challenges the industry is facing.
"Dedicated bus lanes and simple measures at traffic lights and at junctions help to unblock congestion and give buses an extra boost in traffic black spots, making journeys more viable and reliable. We have also made £6m available this year, and £5m available next year for bus priority measures."
