MAG Ireland poll: 95% want bikes in bus lanes

MAG Ireland is pleased to announce the results of our online poll about bikes in bus lanes. More than five hundred of you responded, and it should come as no surprise that over 95% of you voted in favour of granting Irish motorcyclists legal access to the country’s bus lanes.

We asked “Motorcycles in Bus Lanes, what do you think?” and here’s how you responded.

Bus Lane Poll Results

Bus Lane Poll Results (Click to Enlarge)

 

  • 483 of you voted Yes, make it legal for bikes to use bus lanes. That’s 95.5% in favour of MAG Ireland’s position on this issue. We think it’s common sense, you’ve confirmed that.
  • 16 said No, bikes should sit in traffic like cars. That’s 3.2% of people who think motorcycles in bus lanes is a bad idea. We’d love to know why, given all the evidence to the contrary.
  • 7 people responded Don’t know/Undecided which is 1.4% and consistent with what our researcher expected.

Total Votes cast: 506

MAG Ireland would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part. Strange as it may seem, nobody in the RSA or the National Transport Authority has ever bothered to ask what we as riders think. We in MAG Ireland knew there was a large majority in favour, but we didn’t have any specific figures to back up our position. Now, thanks to you, we do.

Back in December 2011, we reported that London motorcyclists were granted permanent access to bus lanes in the UK capital, and this just a month after we reported that Belfast bikers got increased bus lane access.

This raises an obvious question; If it’s better for all road users in Belfast and London that motorcyclists have legal access to bus lanes, why is it that the Irish transport authorities can’t see the benefits?

 

Can it be that they refuse to do so? If so why? What is the motivation behind our continued exclusion in the face of so much evidence and experience to the contrary?

These are questions MAG Ireland will continue to put to the relevant authorities on your behalf.
When organisations like the National Transport Authority say they “do not support the use of bus lanes by motorbikes for reasons of cyclist and pedestrian safety and perceptions of safety” we’ll continue to point out the fact that the evidence – and the experience of our nearest neighbours – says otherwise.


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