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  • ""Ward Councillor Michael Johnson said the lane had definitely led to an improvement on bus times."

    The idea seems to be that surgeon sits in traffic in his Jag while the pensioner gets to buy a stamp a couple of minutes earlier - really clever scheme this, makes you wonder why councils up and down the country aren't adopting it?"
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Police vow to get tough on drivers abusing car share lane on Bradford's busiest road

9:10am Saturday 19th May 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Jo Winrow , City Hall Reporter

Police are to crack down on motorists abusing a car share lane on Bradford’s most congested road during the next month.

It follows the introduction in March of a high-occupancy vehicle lane on the A650 Wakefield Road southbound route on the approach to Tong Street.

So far, officers have mainly been offering advice to those drivers caught using the lane without any passengers in their vehicle. As a result, three fixed penalty tickets have been issued since it opened. But officers will shortly be undertaking enforcement action.

The 2+ lane operates Monday to Friday, between 7am and 10am, as well as from 4pm to 7pm, and was designed to speed up journeys for the thousands of bus passengers using the A650 and for those with two or more people in their vehicle. Its introduction also aims to encourage people to car share or use public transport.

The scheme is subject to a six-month trial period, but indications so far show that bus journeys are quicker.

Ward Councillor Michael Johnson said the lane had definitely led to an improvement on bus times. He added that it was the most congested route in Bradford and that the long-term solution was to widen it.

Bradford Roads Policing Inspector Dorian James said: “We have been approached by the Council to undertake some dedicated enforcement work, which is planned to take place during the next month.

“As the high-occupancy lane has only been in place for a short period of time, officers have initially offered verbal advice to motorists and therefore only a small number of fixed penalty tickets have so far been issued.”

Chris Bedford, principal engineer at the Council, said: “We are aware some vehicles are using the high-occupancy lane when they only contain a driver, and police will be carrying out enforcement action. The trial is in place for six months. There is currently no funding in place to widen the road.”

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