[Skip to Content]
What recent innovations would improve your daily commute?
Help spread the word. Encourage other Angeleno's to participate!
Share
Share
Bike/Bus Lanes not a good idea in practice
Updated: Nov 21, 2011 Mark B1
35
4
3
Bike/Bus Lanes not a good idea in practice
IMAGE
1

It sounds like a great idea, but in reality it creates problems for both users of a lane. The average speed of both bicyclists and buses are roughly the same. But, whereas bicyclists maintain a constant speed, buses have a pattern of stopping and starting. On the street, bicyclists pass the bus at bus stops, and between stops, the bus passes the bicyclist. Having encountered this countless times, it is not only frustrating, but it creates potential safety problems (when bus drivers inevitably get tired of it and cut off or push a bicyclist into adjacent traffic). If the bike/bus lane is only 11-12 feet wide, passing requires merging into the adjacent lane, which defeats the concept of a shared lane.

In planning bus lanes, bicyclists should be considered separately. For example, a full-time bus lane of 11-12 feet should have a bike lane adjacent to it (not between buses and the curb, but between buses and traffic).

3 Comments
This project is made possible by the Mobility Element and You.
logo logo logo Idea Collaboration by  MindMixer