On Sun, 03 Oct 2004 13:10:08 +0100, Dave Arquati
wrote:

New TfL policy has been to fill in bus lay-bys so that buses aren't held
up waiting for traffic to let them out when they leave a bus stop.

So, instead, one of the following happens;
1) The cars behind execute dangerous overtaking manoeuvres, or;
2) The cars have to wait while fares are taken.

I personally don't see that the way to attract people to public
transport is to do things like this that make it more resented. What
we need is...

1) More sensible positioning of bus stops. It's worth considering
things like putting stops right up against traffic lights with some
sort of priority control so the bus can request the lights to change
in its favour when it's finished at the stop. I've seen this sort of
thing in a few places in Germany.

2) Off-bus ticketing, loss of the requirement to show passes or the
return of conductors. Buses can only be allowed to block traffic if
fares do not need to be collected at stops, as at a busy stop the cars
could be waiting a number of minutes. This is not conducive to
effective traffic flow.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
To e-mail use neil at the above domain