"FINE BUS OPERATORS FOR RUNNING LATE" CALL

03-01-2007

Birmingham's bus watchdog has called for fines for bus companies who consistently run late or who miss out services altogether.

Martin Mullaney, who chairs the city's transport scrutiny committee makes the proposal in a new report to be presented to his council colleagues next Tuesday.

He warns that tough decisions will have to be taken to tackle falling bus use in the West Midlands, including action against inefficient operators.

“I think there's a strong case for fines for bus firms who regularly run late, but we've got to do it in partnership. If we just introduce a system like this without their consent, the operators will just reduce the number of buses.

“What we should say to them is that here is a decent network of bus lanes that they can use, but only if they sign up to the rest of the package - which would involve penalties.”

Mullaney's plan involves the extension of bus lanes, a measure which is sure to be controversial with city leaders who have been reluctant to extend their use - the A38 Tyburn Road bus lane has been suspended for months leading to a decline in bus numbers on the routes affected.

Other plans include providing more dedicated police officers for buses - there are currently 30 in the city funded by the council and Centro - and the introduction of bus marshalls to manage queues.

“The report shows that it is possible to turn around the falling use of buses”, argues Mullaney.

In contrast to Birmingham and the West Midlands having falling bus use he points out that “other towns such as Nottingham, Telford and Brighton have achieved dramatic increases.”

Mullaney's dedication to the cause was demontrated recently when he challenged other councillors to travel to the next council meeting by bus or face a £10 fine - not surprisngly, his plan was rejected.

Is providing more bus lanes and fining operators who are unreliable the way to increase bus use? Leave your comments on the messageboard. And you can read the full report here

http://www.martinmullaney.co.uk/images-transport/building-bus-use-executive-summary.pdf