Mayor Joe Anderson’s decision to scrap bus lanes in Liverpool was “rushed”, according to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT).
The controversial nine-month trial to scrap bus lanes in the city was introduced in October last year in a bid to reduce traffic congestion, although the scheme attracted several critics.
This week the CILT said that even though the mayor’s move was commendable, permanently removing bus lanes in Liverpool could damage the city economically and socially.
Austin Birks, Chairman of the Institute’s Bus and Coach Forum, said: “The decision to suspend bus lanes appears rushed and is based on flimsy ‘evidence’ that is mainly predicated on a discredited approach.”
The institute believes that scrapping bus lanes here could have a knock-on effect nationally.
Mr Birks added: “We urge the city Council and its mayor to terminate what appears to be an ill-considered experiment before any greater damage is done to the city’s reputation as a competent local highway authority; to the city’s economy; and to the ability of local bus operators in the area to achieve the reliability required of them by their customers and by the traffic commissioners.”