§ Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
(a) What was the average time taken for a bus to travel between Junction 4 and Junction 2 of the M.4 at weekday peak times before the introduction of the bus lane; and what is now the average time; and
(b) How many buses, coaches and taxis travel on the M.4 between Junctions 4 and 2 on an average weekday; and how that number is spread over the day. [HL3000]
§ Lord WhittyBefore the introduction of the bus lane, the average time for a vehicle joining the M.4 at Junction 4 and travelling in lane 2 before leaving at Junction 2, during the peak periods 06.30 to 09.30 and 17.30 to 20.30 hours, was calculated from measurements of vehicle speeds as 12.4 minutes. Information is not available for different classes of vehicle.
On the assumption that buses now travel in the middle lane between Junctions 4 and 3 and in the outside lane between Junctions 3 and 2, their average journey time during weekday peak times is 9.1 minutes. This represents a saving on average of over three minutes. Monitoring has shown that cars are also making savings over the same distance of one minute during the morning peak and two and half minutes during the evening peak periods. It will be some time before we can be confident this information is directly comparable with that obtained before the bus lane was opened, as it refers to measurements at different times of the year.
It is not possible to give precise figures for the number of buses, coaches or taxis on the M.4 before the bus lane opened. The numbers now using this section of the motorway can only be determined by measuring the numbers using the bus lane between Junctions 3 and 2. After the first month of operation, on average 550 buses and coaches, 100 minibuses and 3,150 taxis used the bus lane each day. About 220 taxis per hour use the bus lane in peak periods and 150 per hour at other times. Bus, 117WA coach and minibus use is relatively uniform through the day, typically about 45 per hour for buses and coaches together and 10 per hour for minibuses. There has been an increase of more than 5 per cent. in the number of vehicles using the bus lane since it was opened.