It have noticed that many bikers do ride in the bus lane on A13 and there are also the signs which allow bikers to do that, so can we ride on the bus lanes or not?
Haven’t seen the sign my self… but if it says it’s for motorbikes … then yes we can.
Like this :
Also note the times when the bike sign isn’t there - cagers don’t read the times - but the bus lanes effectively don’t exist out of their operational times.
Bikes can also use the bus lane on Bayswater Road going East towards Marble Arch. I am amazed at how many bikers do not use the bus lane and instead filter up the right against on-coming traffic.
In a recent study by consultants hired by TfL they analysed a number of trial sites where bikes can use bus lanes. They noted that a number of bikes did not use the lanes and instead continued to filter against on-coming traffic. Their conclusion was that bikers were happy to face on-coming traffic and so did not need to be allowed into bus lanes!
If any proof was needed that the study was a fix and deeply prejudiced against bikes then that statement is it.
I don’t encounter any bike lanes on my commute, but if I did I might be reluctant to use them in case I get trapped behind a bus at a stop with solid traffic to my right, I may prefer to filter down the outside.
But I do agree with you that is a riduculous conclusion to jump to and would prefer to be able to choose to use bus lanes.
You really can’t come to a conclusion until they allow bikes in all bus lanes (like they do taxis) then they could monitor usage, until then hardly anyone knows which they can use.
Lots of bus lanes are only 7-11am and 4-7pm,most car drivers have’nt got the nous to read them and won’t go in them.Certainly happens on the Mile End Road stretch in and out of town.Just got to watch out for the morons turning left across your nose:D
I just wish they could let us use the bus lanes. I have read a bunch of articles including an official brief from TfL and they have confirmed that during the trial bus routes have not been interrupted, but instead the number of casualties during rush hours have decreased.
So they haven’t yet concluded in the favor of the bikers? 
More info on the trial here.
Riding in bus lanes just introduces a different set of hazards.
The A23 going through brixton is a classic. Loads of side roads, so you really have to watch out for car drivers turning left across the lane without checking it’s clear. Happens loads.
Mixing it with cyclists is fun too. Loads of them swerve all over the lane without checking what’s going on behind them.
The problem is the penalty for going i nthe bus lane is so severe thet unless peopel are 1000% (not a typo) that it is OK to use them they stay out to be sure. The result is that 505 of the road is used ineffiently during the daytime. Personally I would like to see different coloured signs and standard timings so people knew what they could and could not do.
For example, bus lane signs with a band of red if they operate at all times, a band of yellow if they only operate at rush hours, and a band of green if they only operate in the morning or in the evening rush hour. Currently there is often too much info to take in whilst paying attention to the dangers of the road so people don’t try.
If I dont see a camera I sometimes use the bus lane, i see other bikes doing the same 
Now they use cameras in buses, dedicated bus lane cameras, CCTV cameras on masts, and cameras is special patrol vehicles, it can get expensive. A crack down in Lambeth the other year saw several of my colleagues get hit with fines several times in one week.
all part of the madness that is this penalty ridden city… people are so sick of getting tickets they err on the side of caution, hence the empty bus lanes in the middle of the day. If there was one standard set of times then it might be easier to manage but half the time you’ve no idea what the restrictions are!
Be careful, unless you want to get a smart picture of you on your bike, courtest of the local council (check out my avatar. Not a bad picture, but it came with a £60 penalty ticket). Two or three of those makes you a lot more wary of using bus lanes when you’re not supposed to 
Yeah I know, its rare that i do it - usually only when the road Im travelling along is gridlocked and the bus lane is empty - I check for cameras, if I dont see any I use it 
Be careful… there are a mile or two of bus lanes from approximately Limehoiuse out to where the road joins the dual carraige way at docklands that are labelled for use by motorbikes. You’ll be fine in them I use them all the time. But before you get to that point they’re not for use by bikes, although plenty do I’d stay cautious if I were you…
They’ve even got wireless cameras that climb lamp-posts and transmit to a van parked nearby.
As i recall the trial had shown up a reduction in accidents on the routes where bikes could use bus lanes, HOWEVER there was also a drop on the ‘control’ routes, i.e. there was a general reduction in bike accidents during that time which was not necessarily attributable to bikes being allowed in bus lanes. Essentially this means that unfortunatley there isn’t a particularly strong case for us to be allowed to use bus lanes on safety grounds.
Also bear in mind bikers are not the only ones who feel strongly about this decision - the majority of cyclists feel that we should NOT be allowed in, and there are also groups lobbying TfL to this effect.
personally i blame anyone who had an accident in a bus lane during the trial! 
I’d be interested to know more about this particular study - do you have details, as i might be able to do something about how it’s interpreted within TfL?
[quoteAlso bear in mind bikers are not the only ones who feel strongly about this decision - the majority of cyclists feel that we should NOT be allowed in, and there are also groups lobbying TfL to this effect.
I’d be interested to know more about this particular study - do you have details, as i might be able to do something about how it’s interpreted within TfL?
[/quote]
Correction - a survey of cyclists done by TfL showed that few had actually experienced problems with bikes in bus lanes. - in fact many more had experienced problems with buses! Most reported problems were with cars. However the cycling organisations fiercely oppose bike in bus lanes on the grounds of the danger to cyclists - which leaves me wondering exactly who do they claim to represent? The logical consulsion of this piece of work is that buses should be banned from bus lanes as they present a bigger danger to cyclists!On the issue of the TfL study, both of them are published on their website - dates from about a year ago and was done by a firm of consultants claiming to specialise in transport. I am a management consultant and I thought the work looked a very poor standard - I suspect these ‘experts’ in transport are actually an anti-road group that do some consulting on the side.
How the hell did they know it was you from that shot??