Arriva has welcomed the findings of a review into the effectiveness bus lanes in use across Leicester, which found they had been successful in improving journey times and reliability for bus users.
The investigation, which was conducted by the Bus Lanes Task Group, found that the introduction of the bus lanes was having major benefits for bus passengers and other road users in Leicester, resulting in an increase in bus patronage and improved safety conditions for the city’s cyclists.
Arriva also noted that the support of its local authority partners had enabled greater investment into its Leicester network. These initiatives include the upgrade of the X3 route to become a high-specification Sapphire service in 2015, new vehicles launched on routes 47/48, a higher frequency on routes 58/58A, and a major marketing campaign to highlight the benefits of using the bus in and around Leicester.
The operator said further investment plans are due to be announced later this year.
Simon Mathieson, Area Managing Director for Arriva Midlands East, said: “Over recent years, congestion has been increasing at a rapid rate across the city, which is having a detrimental effect not only on road users, but also on the environment.
“At Arriva, we constantly strive to provide cleaner, greener, more efficient services which give people greater choice when making decisions about transport.
“We firmly believe that the introduction of the bus lanes in Leicester has helped make those decisions even easier, positioning public transport as a more attractive journey choice by cutting congestion by encouraging more people out of their cars.
“The findings of this review not only back our sentiments on the issue, but give us a platform from which we can work with our partners at the council to continue building on this initial success.”
