Boris Johnson Nonsense

Anyone heard that he's suggesting that motorbikes be allowed in bus lanes? something that they now get fined £120 for being in at the moment but potentially us lot will be dealing with never mind the sh*t from bendies an the like....

I'd say motorcyclists are the least of our worries.

If I was back in Basingstoke, I'd say that. But here in London there are too many muppets on scooters, who don't know how to ride properly. Most proper motorcyclists are fine, a lot of my mates ride and so do their parents, and they and the people they ride with are really keen on road safety.

Bendy buses - the areas I ride in mostly don't seem to be served by them so I haven't really encountered them. Nevertheless, still don't see what the big deal is.

too many muppets on pushbikes.

no licence, no brakes, no helmet, no stopping at red lights, no stopping for lollipop ladies, no indicating, no lights at night, no insurance, no hi viz, no MOT, no plates.

fucking pushbikes.

I hear one of them is running for Mayor of London lol

lpg too many muppets on pushbikes.

no licence, no brakes, no helmet, no stopping at red lights, no stopping for lollipop ladies, no indicating, no lights at night, no insurance, no hi viz, no MOT, no plates.

fucking pushbikes.

It aint funny lpg before all ya johnny come lately cyclist turned up you could get away with fucking murder

Now everytime I pull a stunt I have sactimonious twats in flouro & lycra self rightiously pointing at the go-slow cycle lane

buddha = the O.G.

daddy buddha

+1 and whats with 'if i was in basinstoke' and you live in london but bendy buses you 'haven't really encountered them' you sure your in london?

er yeah, pretty unavoidable... As for motorcyclists, i get undertaken/overtaken/run over by them on a daily basis already, can't see them being alowed in bus lanes making it any worse for me. Might make for more bendy-bus related carnage though... :S

the-smiling-buddha before all ya johnny come lately cyclist turned up you could get away with fucking murder

Now everytime I pull a stunt I have sactimonious twats in flouro & lycra self rightiously pointing at the go-slow cycle lane

it wasn't that long ago either, maybe five years?

I remember the good old days, when red lights and fakengers didn't exist..

and I like motorcycle in the bus lane because then I get to race them

I didn't realise motorbikes weren't allowed in bus lanes!? I've NEVER seen that one being enforced...
Buses I can cope with, it's the suited morons on scooters undertaking and narrowly missing me at 40mph that give me the shits... :/

Motorbikes should be allowed in bus lanes. No doubt about it, but at 20mph tops.

I find motorcyclists have the most courteous attitude towards cyclists, probably cos they respect the dangers we face.

Sorry. this does not extend to scooters though. they shouldn't be allowed on the road at all. Twats

motor bikes are fine, scooters are frequently twats but you can hear the two stroke engine buzzing away for miles so you can deal with them.

mikec I find motorcyclists have the most courteous attitude towards cyclists, probably cos they respect the dangers we face.

Exactly, they see it from our point of view.

Simpson79 whats with 'if i was in basinstoke' and you live in london but bendy buses you 'haven't really encountered them' you sure your in london?

I've never been on the road with a bendy bus, simple as that. My commute to South Kensington for uni - no bendy buses, all double deckers. When I ride west towards Putney for drinking/cinema/whatever, no bendy buses. Ride to Sheperd's Bush for Morrisons - no bendy buses. The only time I ever see them is round Piccadilly, and I never ride there, always on the bus because I'm heading out for an evening. So, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm in London. Either that or I'm on one fucking massive trip.

No one has answered why they're such a pain in the arse though.

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/sep/16/london.media:

'We should, on day one, act one, scene one, hold a competition to get rid of the bendy bus,' he [Boris] told the hustings last week, adding that there were 'many cyclists killed every year' by them. Interesting for a couple of reasons: first, as the Livingstone camp was swift to point out, no cyclists have been thus killed; but, as at other times in the life of Boris, the actual facts can matter less than perception, and simplicity; by telling it, with verve and playful directness, like it is. Even when, actually, it isn't.

As far as I can find online, no cyclists have yet been killed by bendy buses. (The article wasn't that recent, so I checked briefly)

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6729963.stm:

Pedestrians in London are twice as likely to be hit by a bendy bus than any other bus, the Liberal Democrats have claimed. The Transport for London (TfL) statistics also showed that cyclists were almost three times as likely to be injured by a bendy bus.

As TfL spokesperson points out, by definition, bendy buses are larger and encounter more road users. So it's hardly surprising. They only operate in the busiest areas too.

She [TfL spokesperson] added that the figures relating to cyclists' injuries were not broken down to show the severity of the incident.

But Mr Pope said: "We have had claims from cyclists that they have been terrified to find themselves crowded against safety barriers by bendy buses making left turns.

"Both pedestrians and cyclists find it hard to judge the line the bus is going to take."

What the hell are they doing down the left hand side of the bus anyway?! You should do that to a moving car with barriers on your left, let alone a lorry or bus. I just think people don't like them because they want a reason to bash Ken.

They overtake you and cut in to a bus stop forgetting their length.

I have also had a very close call from a bendy bus that was heading back to the garage / depot and suddenly started to over take me going round a roundabout (I was not flying along but I was not poodaling either). I was now all of a sudden on his left as he was swinging into the left hand lane being squished into a barrier (I was stationary by this point) six inches further forward and I would have need to don some diving over the barrier.

Bendy buses work in cities with lotts of large wide roads. Christopher Wren may have submitted a design like that but it was not used. Bend buses suck. In Londons narrow streets.

fck em all. cnt on scooter went by me at full pelt while i was in the middle of a buslane. dickhead was so close i felt the warmth of his fckn engine on my leg. they try to squeeze through gaps at lights when they know all they'll acheive is block us cyclists...so fckn inconsiderate. they occupy all the ASL's and the cycle lane on the side and as a result puts me in danger in between cars, buses and trucks. i get into an arguement almost every morning for each moped blockin my way to an ASL. if only i could trackstand...id be trackstanding across to block at least 3 or 4 moped at each ASL.

re motorbikes on buslanes, wouldnt that only encourage them to go fast, ie even past the speed limit cos that would serve as an 'overtaking' lane. i reckon this puts us cyclists in danger. imagine it, this would make swerving to avoid potholes/manhole covers/drains even harder with fckn mopeds occupying the buslane

I don't like bendy buses because they are an attempt to replace an iconic symbol of london the double decker with something that is clearly unnecessay unwanted and unloved, on my manor in West London the bendy bus is sometimes called 'The free bus' because everyone jumps on and off through the middle doors without paying, which pretty much proves my point

TheBrick(Tommy) They overtake you and cut in to a bus stop forgetting their length.

I have also had a very close call from a bendy bus that was heading back to the garage / depot and suddenly started to over take me going round a roundabout (I was not flying along but I was not poodaling either). I was now all of a sudden on his left as he was swinging into the left hand lane being squished into a barrier (I was stationary by this point) six inches further forward and I would have need to don some diving over the barrier.

Bendy buses work in cities with lotts of large wide roads. Christopher Wren may have submitted a design like that but it was not used. Bend buses suck. In Londons narrow streets.

I see, points taken.

the-smiling-buddha I don't like bendy buses because they are an attempt to replace an iconic symbol of london the double decker with something that is clearly unnecessay unwanted and unloved, on my manor in West London the bendy bus is sometimes called 'The free bus' because everyone jumps on and off through the middle doors without paying, which pretty much proves my point

It doesn't really prove that people don't like it because they evade the fare, I think people will evade fairs wherever they can regardless. Seems like the drivers are partially to blame for exacerbating the dangers of the extra length. Half of them do seem to be like cavemen, when you talk to them. One of my mates puts his uni ID card in his oyster card wallet, so that it's between the oyster and the reader. The ID card has RFID technology in it as well, so it interferes with the reader and oyster, and crashes the machine. Driver grunts/shrugs. Gets on the bus for free.

TheBrick(Tommy) They overtake you and cut in to a bus stop forgetting their length.

I have also had a very close call from a bendy bus that was heading back to the garage / depot and suddenly started to over take me going round a roundabout (I was not flying along but I was not poodaling either). I was now all of a sudden on his left as he was swinging into the left hand lane being squished into a barrier (I was stationary by this point) six inches further forward and I would have need to don some diving over the barrier.

Bendy buses work in cities with lotts of large wide roads. Christopher Wren may have submitted a design like that but it was not used. Bend buses suck. In Londons narrow streets.

Completely agree, completely pointless and dangerous overtaking seems to be the bendy bus's signature manouvre... Most of the drivers are complete dicktards that haven't got an effin' clue so I stay well away at all times...

Bendy buses are mobile accidents. They should have a mandatory paramedic on board so when they take out cyclists there is someone there to help. They aren't just a danger to cyclists though. All the little bastards where I used to live I Dalston/Hackney used to use them as gettaway vehicles after some robbery or whatever.

The problem with them is that they are just too long for some of the roads they go down. They are ok(ish) on main roads with proper bus lanes but the 38, for example on Rosebury Avenue can be a bit of a nightmare. Narrow, bendy roads with a slight incline were not designed for these things. Most of the drivers dont know how to drive them either if you ask me.

Bring back the rote masters

eeeeehhhh, no evading fairs doesn't prove that people don't like them it proves that as well as people not liking them they are crap

Nonsense??

No no, this is Nonse Sense: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UcnQDYnGtS8

Motorcycles are fine with me, I don't mind if they use the bus lane. I always find motorcyclists to be polite and respectful on the road, especially the couriers, and always reverse to let me squeeze into a gap they can't get through. They are also quite fun to race.

Cyclists ..come on ..we take the piss so much. Maybe not us, on this forum, but don't forget we are not representative of London cyclists as a whole, only a very small minority.