Doncaster Quality Bus Corridor

Doncaster is currently having a quality bus corridor fitted on two approaches into the town centre. On one of these approaches a dual carriageway is being reduced to one lane and this Sunday (normally a quiet day) I encountered very bad traffic. Of course this will all be worth it if traffic levels are reduced and everyone uses the bus. I asked the mayors office what the traffic reduction and bus passenger increases they were hoping for and how much the scheme would cost. They said

I would advise that the major scheme business case that secured funding of £15.3 million from the Department of Transport, is based upon achieving a 5% increase in bus patronage in the opening year, and an annual increase of 1.5% thereafter.

That's it. £15 million to increase bus passenger levels by just 5% and no targets for traffic reduction. 5% more people using the bus will cut congestion a bit but the bus lanes themselves will create much more congestion than they ease.

I would also like to know if taxi cabs are to be allowed to use the bus lanes. A taxi is a private commercial vehicle and they should not be allowed to use the priority traffic lights to the delay of everyone else. This is where the main congestion comes from; the priority lights. Each time a vehicle passes down the bus lane toward the lights the main body of traffic is halted. In the town centre we have priority lights which cause chaos. We also have priority bus lanes into the bus station which the buses do not use because people prefer to be dropped off in the town centre. However, we haven't been able to gauge the effects of the priority lights in the new bus corridor yet because the buses are not running in any numbers. Why? Because they haven't built the park and ride yet.

You heard me correct. We have bus lanes built and empty because they haven't built the park and ride yet. Why didn't they build it first?