This morning's commute and other commuting stories

How do you complain about bus drivers?

Vociferously.

I made a complaint recently to TfL using this page, and got an email saying they're looking into it but nothing else as yet.

It sounds like you have more of an infrastructure complaint though - which you can complain about using this page, and most likely receive a reply 2 weeks from now detailing why they're not going to do anything about the issue (like I did when I complained about the Oval bus trap (tm)).

It's really annoying because the pedestrian phase is short and the traffic phase is really long, and the bus wouldn't actually be delayed as it has to wait through 2 cycles of the next set of lights to join the Westminster bridge roundabout anyway.

I'd guess (not knowing that spot very well) that your answer may be implicit in this--the bus queues on the approach to the next junction probably get too long (quite a few bus routes use that stretch), quite possibly because they only get a green phase every two phases compared to the York Road/Lambeth Palace Road alignment (if that's the case).

You could certainly try to push this with TfL via the bus driver route, but in my experience that only works for a short while before it gets forgotten again.

The problem for bus drivers is that the bus lane ends close to the junction because there are only two approach lanes left (down from three), seemingly following recent footway widening works to accommodate a stretch of segregated cycle track on the footway. The three approach lanes were rather crammed in before (the nearside lane was most definitely sub-standard in width) and in principle it's a good thing to reduce approach lanes for motor traffic, as it reduces a junction's motor traffic capacity (and motor traffic volumes will adapt over time, which probably hasn't happened here yet), but typically such schemes have knock-on effects further down the line, which may be the case here. It's entirely possible that another scheme is in the works at that pedestrian crossing but just hasn't gone on-site yet, but it also happens that such effects are not predicted (although that would surprise me). Since the bus lane doesn't continue all the way to the next junction, a bus pre-signal scheme might work (although the space may be a little too tight to permit it).

In any case, I'm sure a note to TfL can only help in putting it on the radar, especially if other people have noticed. I wouldn't use the first page skidlidsid linked to, but the second one, or you could use this:

https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/contact-us-about-buses

There are also groups like Lambeth LCC or Living Streets that may be able to take it forward. I expect Lambeth LCC would know what's going on in that particular stretch.