A group representing taxi drivers in Northern Ireland has said they are disappointed their drivers will not be permitted to use bus lanes in the lead up to the festive season, despite claims they could help an additional 2,000 passengers amid ongoing traffic congestion.
In a statement, the Licensed Taxi Operators Association (LTOA) hit out at the Department of Infrastructure after the Infrastructure Minister said the initiative would not be considered until after Christmas.
The group said they would be able to help facilitate thousands more passengers a week to help ease the ongoing traffic congestion in Belfast which regularly occurs each night around rush hour.
They said that while larger projects to address ongoing traffic issues in Belfast would require “significant operational and financial investment” improving taxi efficiency “could be delivered quickly and with little cost to the public purse”.
“At present, congestion in the city centre is reducing the number of journeys that taxi drivers can complete – one Belfast based operator commented that if taxi journey efficiency was returned to pre current congestion levels, it would allow them to offer an additional 2,000 bookings per week, and that’s just one operator,” the LTOA said.
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“Even 2,000 bookings, with an average of 2.5 passengers per booking would mean that 5,000 extra passengers could be assisted – whether that’s getting to work, the pub, the hospital appointment, or to the supermarket.
“All of these additional journeys will help improve the fortunes of the hospitality and retail sectors and surely will help reduce specific time related delays around missed hospital and doctors’ appointments.”
Earlier this year, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd said he would consider allowing taxis to use bus lanes to help address traffic concerns, however the initiative has still not be implemented.
The LTOA has asked the Minister to clarify his position – and to allow Class A taxis the use of all city centre bus lanes for a period of twelve months, starting as soon as possible.
“We suggest that Class C taxis should not be included in this initiative. Class C taxis do not have any external signage and allowing them into the bus lanes will complicate the enforcement of the same as they are harder to identify and distinguish from a private car.
“Furthermore, as many look like standard private vehicles, their inclusion will only cause confusion with private drivers assuming “if its alright for them, it must be alright for me” and subsequently being penalised for this.”
The group has also suggested allowing southbound Great Victoria Street traffic to turn right from GVS onto Hope Street and onwards south through Sandy Row, therefore creating an second outbound route from the city centre as another proposal to address traffic congestion.
They also called for reviews of the traffic lanes on Dublin Road and Bedford Street.
“Traffic congestion in Greater Belfast appears that it is here to stay,” the statement added.
“While Great Victoria Street is a particular hotspot at present, this is only partly due to the opening of Grand Central Station and the closure of Durham Street.
“There is no guarantee that traffic flow will improve and congestion will ease once works are complete.
“It is clear that congestion on main arterial routes such as the Westlink and the Sydenham bypass, roads not directly influenced by the opening of the station, is also a major problem.
“The worrying prospect is that this is not a problem for just the next year, rather that congestion will remain a permanent problem without intervention.”
The Department for Infrastructure has been contacted for comment.