Motorcyclists bus lane victory

A cycling pressure group has been forced by MCN to listen to pedestrians and cyclists who back motorcycles in bus lanes.

The London Cycling Campaign had been collecting opinions only from those against the move, until the underhand tactic was discovered my MCN.

The group had claimed to be representing cyclists and pedestrians by asking them to fill in a ‘comments’ form.

But the start of the form had already been written and urged the Mayor of London to kick us out of bus lanes. It said: ‘Dear Boris Johnson, I do not want the trial of motorbikes in bus lanes to be made permanent.’

Anyone who disagreed was effectively excluded. 

The statement has now been removed from the form following pressure from MCN.

A headline on LCC’s  website still asks only for ‘objections’ – but the one-sided campaign could backfire spectacularly if thousands use the online form to say they support motorcycles in bus lanes.

One MCN reader who did so said: “It will be interesting to see if that message actually gets sent or if LCC edit the data supplied to the Mayor’s Office.”

LCC communications officer Mike Cavenett put the phone down when asked why the form had been changed.

It comes after MCN showed how out of touch the group is even with those it claims to represent.

We randomly spoke to pedestrians and cyclists at a London bus route and found overwhelming levels of support for the 18-month trial of letting motorcycles in.

The trial, which started on January 5, gives motorcyclists access to red route bus lanes already used by cyclists and taxis.

Motorcycling groups say we’ll get the same across the UK if the move is seen as a success. 

Use LCC’s form to show your support: www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1250