— Legally speaking, bus lanes will remain “strictly limited” to buses, cyclists, e-scooter users, emergency vehicles and taxis carrying a fare-paying passenger.
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien this week is the latest in a line of ministers to rule out allowing electric vehicles in bus lanes.
People who want Dublin’s bus lanes opened to electric car drivers often use Norway as an example of a country which allows electric cars in bus lanes, but the Norwegian Public Roads Administration banned electric vehicles in public transport lanes on national highways in Oslo and Akershus in May 2024.
The idea is a regularly flagged one to promote the take-up of electric cars. In 2021, the Dublin Commuters, a campaign group, said: “Electric cars in bus lanes? Nope. Absolutely not. Encouraging electric car purchases by slowing down public transport is one of the silliest ideas that gets brought up every year.”
“Bus lanes are the safest place for people on bikes because of a lack of safe cycling infrastructure. The last thing we should be doing is adding more vehicles to that lane,” the group said.
Dublin Commuters added: “Electric cars have a place in decarbonisation but, more importantly, we need to reduce car usage and encourage modal shift to more sustainable modes. You don’t do that by making sustainable modes less attractive.”
The response from Minister O’Brien this week was prompted by a parliamentary question asked by independent TD Paul Gogarty about “permitting private vehicles or full EVs with at least four people” to use bus lanes.
The west-Dublin based TD Gogarty asked: “To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the recent studies, if any, carried out in Ireland, the UK or EU in relation to the benefits and or challenges of permitting private vehicles or full EVs with at least four people being transported to use bus lanes, with the appropriate signage and licensing structure, in an effort to discourage individual car use and reduce carbon and other emissions; whether this issue has been discussed with between the Minister and agencies in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter.”
A written response from Minister O’Brien said: “The policy of my Department is that access to the bus lane network be strictly limited to buses, cyclists, e-scooter users, emergency vehicles and taxis carrying a fare-paying passenger. The purpose of bus lanes is to allow buses to travel faster and more efficiently and thus to encourage as many passengers as possible to travel by bus rather than in private cars.”
“Permitting additional vehicles to use these lanes would lead to greater congestion which, in turn, would lead to delay and frustration for bus passengers and undermine the purpose of installing the bus lane network in the first place. It would also compromise the safety of vulnerable road users accessing the network,” he said.
He added: “Accordingly I, as Minister for Transport, in line with my predecessors, do not intend to extend current bus lane access.”
In a separate question, Deputy Gogarty further asked: “To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the changes to legislation that would be required in what sections to facilitate private motor vehicles or EVs with four or more passengers being permitted to use bus lanes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.’
Minister O’Brien said: “The rules on bus lane access are set out in Regulation 32 of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 (as amended). My Department has no intention of relaxing these restrictions to accommodate private cars with multiple passengers.”,
“Bus lanes were created – at significant expense – to provide on-street priority for bus-based public transport. Their goal is to make bus transport faster and more reliable, encouraging more people to switch from private cars to public transport. This achieves the twin goals of reducing congestion and reducing pollution,” the Minister said.
“In addition to buses, bus lanes may also be used by pedal cycles and electric scooters, who, as vulnerable road users, are safer in bus lanes than in general traffic. The lanes may also, of course, be used by the emergency services.”
“After the lanes were introduced, it was decided to allow taxis to use them. This concession was because taxis are a form of public transport available for on-street hire, like buses but unlike private hire limousines,” said Minister O’Brien.
He added: “There have been many requests to allow other classes of traffic to use bus lanes. These have included requests on behalf of motorcyclists, electric vehicles, hired limousines, hackneys and animal ambulances. Such requests have been rejected. Any addition to the categories of vehicle permitted to use the lanes would reduce their efficiency in prioritising bus-based public transport. This would reduce the quality and level of service for commuters travelling by bus and significantly compromise the safety of vulnerable cyclists and scooter users.”
As it is taxis without passengers are rarely stopped. Interesting to see legislation was changed to allow e scooters but not e bikes yet e bikes use dublins shared bus lanes daily.
This was new to me: “taxis carrying a fare-paying passenger”.
Is the Minister correct on this? If he is why is there no Garda enforcement?
In his listing of permitted vehicles he forgot to mention government ministerial cars and that of the AG.
How the response is phrased is ambiguous. Sadly, the NTA view of use of bus lanes is far wider and ultimately a free-rein for taxi drivers to use the lanes as their private race track:
“A taxi can use a normal (with-flow) bus lane only while it is operating as an SPSV – carrying a passenger, on the way to pick up a pre-booked customer, or plying for hire.” i.e. pretty much any time, regardless if they have a fare-paying passenger.
Hence why we will never see a garda stopping a taxi driver for using a bus lane.
I take the Swords road regularly to get to/from work. I see the speed camera van there regularly trying to catch speeders in bumper to bumper traffic. I don’t recall the last time I saw the gardai enforcing the bus lane. I appreciate that is just a snapshot as I cycle in and out but it has been at least a year when I’ve seen the van every few weeks. Surely the camera van could be tasked with bus lane enforcement too? It would probably require legislation but it’s not much of stretch.
Glad to hear the idea of EVs in bus lanes being shut down. Many of the bus lanes are seriously clogged with taxis. Adding more low occupancy vehicles would be a disaster.
It is hard to see why taxis are allowed to use bus lanes. They are a private business and don’t deserve any more special treatment than other private businesses such as plumbers, electricians etc (and if you have a major leak you’d probably prefer that your plumber could use the bus lane to get to you quickly, so if they can’t use it, it is hard to see what is so urgent that justifies taxis using bus lanes)