Motorbikes, mopeds and scooters are travelling in the bus lane along one major route into Sheffield, as part of a year-long trial aimed at reducing congestion and road accidents.

Since Monday 12 May, powered two-wheelers have been using the A621 ‘Abbeydale Road Corridor’ following the results of a survey by Sheffield City Council of around 450 riders. Most motorcyclists responded by saying that allowing them to travel in bus lanes would make the greatest difference to their journeys.

Sheffield City Council is among a number of local authorities allowing motorcyclists to use bus lanes, a measure which is consistently resulting in fewer accidents for riders.

Terry Fox, Cabinet Adviser for Transport, said: “This scheme will benefit all road users by reducing congestion and the number of road accidents.

“Given that motorcyclists make up less than one per cent of road traffic but suffer 14 per cent of all deaths and serious injuries as a result of road accidents, any measure that promotes their safety should be given serious consideration.

“We will be monitoring the pilot scheme carefully with a view to expanding it to other bus lanes across the city if successful. We ask motorcyclists who take advantage of this scheme to ride in a considerate and safe manner because ultimately, the expansion of this scheme will depend on them.”

Motorcyclists should note that, under the pilot scheme, they can only use the bus lanes on the A621 and riding in any other Sheffield bus lane remains an offence.

This scheme is part of the ‘PLAN4 Transport in Sheffield’ strategy. For more information please visit http://www.citymatters.co.uk