"Taxis using bus lanes only serve to endanger cyclists": Cycling campaigners slam "hidden" consultation to extend "dangerous" and controversial trial

Cycling campaigners in Belfast have criticised a "hidden" consultation that would extend access for taxis to use some bus lanes in the city, the controversial measure brought in to fight congestion before Christmas but heavily criticised by cyclists for "making things even worse" and ending "bus lanes as a 'safer' space for cyclists on the roads".

We reported news of the trial in December, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) allowing taxi drivers to use some bus lanes in the city at certain times, the government department proposing the measure would help tackle congestion as local newspapers, politicians and retailers bemoaned "traffic chaos" ahead of the festive period. However, cycling campaigners told us allowing taxis access to bus lanes put cyclists at "increased risk" and would mean "clogging up" bus lanes, all while having a negligible effect on congestion.

Now, BelfastLive has reported the Temporary Traffic Regulation may be replaced with an Experimental Traffic Control scheme which would allow Class A and Class C taxis continued use of the bus lanes beyond the initial Christmas trial. The consultation for this ran from January 14 to February 5, campaigners accusing the department of hiding it and running it for the shortest time period required to keep opposition to a minimum.

Etain O'Kane from the Belfast Cycle Campaign said allowing taxi access would be "the end of bus lanes as a 'safer' space for cyclists on the roads", and that due to the city's lack of proper cycling infrastructure the bus lanes have been an important option.

"We have such little safe infrastructure in the city which makes cycling very dangerous and scary," she told the Belfast news website. "Quite often we think of young Lycra-clad men as being cyclists, but I'm a 50-year-old woman with a 10-year-old child on the back of my bike. So for me, safety is a massive concern.

"I don't feel safe allowing my child to ride his bike on his own because it's so scary out there. Over the last 20 years, cars have doubled in size and have become much more powerful. But legislation in terms of the Highway Code and commitment to building safer infrastructure has not moved with the times.

"I live in North Belfast, which is chronically under-resourced in terms of cycling infrastructure. I work beside Queen's and don't plan my cycling route on the quickest way to get there, but on the safety element. By the time I get to work, my heart rate is through the roof, not because I'm exerting myself, but because I'm actually scared.

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"We're not anti-car, most of us who ride bikes also drive cars, but there has to be an acknowledgement that increasing car use with private taxis is not a solution to creating a safer and healthier infrastructure for Belfast, where everyone can get around safely."

The campaign group believes "it is clear DfI were hoping it would pass without note or objections" and suggested that once taxis are allowed that will "become the status quo which is a really retrospective step in terms of promoting active travel, promoting public transport".

Etain continued: "If we're trying to encourage more people to be active and get out and about, this is just the complete opposite. What happens is if there are more taxis in the bus lanes I use to get to work safely, I'm going to replace my cycling journeys with driving in my car, which is actually increasing congestion. I would have to go through the city centre during rush hour, which is exactly at the time that we're finding congestion at its worst."

Cycling UK called the scheme a "huge step backwards" for active travel in Belfast and Meg Hoyt, the Belfast Cycle Campaign's founder, told us that the underlying concern is that cyclists will be put "at increased risk" without the measures "providing any noticeable reduction in congestion".

"Bus lanes are one of the most efficient ways of moving people around the city, and clogging them with cars reduces their effectiveness," she explained.

Green Party councillor Brian Smyth has also criticised the traffic policy, which he branded "an act of desperation with little regard for the wider consequences".

"Only last week the minister was encouraging people to get the bus into the city centre, yet now he has given the go-ahead to bus lanes being swamped by private taxis," Smyth said before Christmas.

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And raising concerns about the lack of advertisement of the consultation, Alliance MLA's Peter McReynolds explained how it had been put out for "the shortest possible time the department can consult on it" and with "next to no publicity".

"Taxis being able to use bus lanes only serve to endanger cyclists and cause confusion for motorists, while discouraging the use of public transport," he said. "I would strongly urge the Minister to reverse the scheme, and encourage everyone to complete the consultation to state that."

That consultation has now closed, the DfI insisting that "it was always planned" for the initial arrangement to be replaced by an Experimental Traffic Control scheme.

A spokesperson told Belfast Live: "In line with legislation the consultation period lasted for 22 days and closed on 5 February 2025. The Department received a number of representations on the draft scheme and a submission on the way forward is being prepared for consideration by Minister Kimmins.

"The purpose of the Experimental Traffic Control scheme is to gather data to help inform future policy decisions by evaluating the benefits and impacts of allowing additional taxis access to certain bus lanes."

Prior to the trial beginning there was some support, notably from retail representatives who described the move as a "welcome measure" that will enable Christmas shoppers to "travel in a timely and hassle-free manner", though the Licensed Taxi Operators Association branded the decision as "too little, too late".

Such was the severity of December traffic in Belfast, the DfI produce a series of social media videos encouraging commuters and shoppers to ditch the car and use public transport – and their bike – instead.

"Travelling into work doesn't always have to involve congestion," read the caption for one of the government body's cycling-themed videos. "Cycling past the queues of traffic and through the park means Sinead can enjoy her Belfast commute on the way to the office."

However, the videos came in for criticism after one scene showed a cyclist forced to ride on the road because the adjacent cycle lane was filled with parked cars and vans.

Beyond misguided social media films, the DfI has long faced criticism for its apparent inaction when it comes to active travel.

In recent years, cyclists have argued that the ongoing lack of a joined-up cycling network in Belfast, as well as non-existent efforts to tackle bike lane parking and evidence that cycling appears to be an afterthought during the design of other big transport projects, have left Northern Ireland's cycling culture lagging far behind the rest of the UK.

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In 2023, Belfast City councillors pointed out that, despite the implementation of the Belfast Cycling Network Delivery Plan in 2021, only 2.8km of cycle lanes were installed in two years, a lack of delivery branded "incredibly frustrating" and "ridiculous".

And at the end of November, the tragic death of a cyclist in the city sparked renewed calls for improved cycling infrastructure from campaigners, as SDLP leader Claire Hanna pointed out that the "dire situation of underinvestment" needs to change and that some drivers have "irrational attitudes" towards people travelling by bike.