M4 bus lane goes
Discussion
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316710/To...
"It was John Prescott's idea and I think that says it all."
"It was John Prescott's idea and I think that says it all."
I've never quite understood the hatred of this. The M4 HAS to go to 2 lanes before the flyover, and the vast majority of the great unwashed couldnt merge at a lane drop if their lives depended on it.
Everyone seems to forget that before the bus lane, the M4 used to back up from the merge point.
What happens now is that lane one leaves/drops off at the junction before, and the bus lane starts - so the majority of traffic doesnt have to do any merging.
Just my 2p.
Everyone seems to forget that before the bus lane, the M4 used to back up from the merge point.
What happens now is that lane one leaves/drops off at the junction before, and the bus lane starts - so the majority of traffic doesnt have to do any merging.
Just my 2p.
edo said:
I've never quite understood the hatred of this. The M4 HAS to go to 2 lanes before the flyover, and the vast majority of the great unwashed couldnt merge at a lane drop if their lives depended on it.
Everyone seems to forget that before the bus lane, the M4 used to back up from the merge point.
What happens now is that lane one leaves/drops off at the junction before, and the bus lane starts - so the majority of traffic doesnt have to do any merging.
Just my 2p.
I did that road at rush hour every day for five years.Everyone seems to forget that before the bus lane, the M4 used to back up from the merge point.
What happens now is that lane one leaves/drops off at the junction before, and the bus lane starts - so the majority of traffic doesnt have to do any merging.
Just my 2p.
The concept is sound.
The reality for some reason is different, the dynamics of the road aren't helped by there being a missing lane and you sit there, looking at it and it's annoying.
The person that really needs stringing up, is the one that decided the elevated section should only be two lanes wide.
edo said:
I've never quite understood the hatred of this. The M4 HAS to go to 2 lanes before the flyover, and the vast majority of the great unwashed couldnt merge at a lane drop if their lives depended on it.
Everyone seems to forget that before the bus lane, the M4 used to back up from the merge point.
What happens now is that lane one leaves/drops off at the junction before, and the bus lane starts - so the majority of traffic doesnt have to do any merging.
Just my 2p.
As the article alludes, the intolerable bit is when there is a problem on one of the two normal carriageways, forcing traffic to a crawl, whilst the empty bus lane sits there being used by no more than one vehicle a minute. Everyone seems to forget that before the bus lane, the M4 used to back up from the merge point.
What happens now is that lane one leaves/drops off at the junction before, and the bus lane starts - so the majority of traffic doesnt have to do any merging.
Just my 2p.
The lane's use appears to be almost exclusively for airport traffic and coaches entering London from the west. (Yes, bikers use it, but they are not vulnerable to queues.) That is to say, the bus lane is not for commuters. This lane has always been about making a political statement on the primary route into London for taxis carrying politicians and diplomats from Heathrow into the capital.
Your point about ignorance of merging principles is a fair one. How about if they put up some bloody big signs instructing people to "MERGE IN TURN"? The presence of them often seems to have a positive effect on drivers' behaviour.
flemke said:
edo said:
I've never quite understood the hatred of this. The M4 HAS to go to 2 lanes before the flyover, and the vast majority of the great unwashed couldnt merge at a lane drop if their lives depended on it.
Everyone seems to forget that before the bus lane, the M4 used to back up from the merge point.
What happens now is that lane one leaves/drops off at the junction before, and the bus lane starts - so the majority of traffic doesnt have to do any merging.
Just my 2p.
As the article alludes, the intolerable bit is when there is a problem on one of the two normal carriageways, forcing traffic to a crawl, whilst the empty bus lane sits there being used by no more than one vehicle a minute. Everyone seems to forget that before the bus lane, the M4 used to back up from the merge point.
What happens now is that lane one leaves/drops off at the junction before, and the bus lane starts - so the majority of traffic doesnt have to do any merging.
Just my 2p.
The lane's use appears to be almost exclusively for airport traffic and coaches entering London from the west. (Yes, bikers use it, but they are not vulnerable to queues.) That is to say, the bus lane is not for commuters. This lane has always been about making a political statement on the primary route into London for taxis carrying politicians and diplomats from Heathrow into the capital.
Your point about ignorance of merging principles is a fair one. How about if they put up some bloody big signs instructing people to "MERGE IN TURN"? The presence of them often seems to have a positive effect on drivers' behaviour.
Whenever I see MiT signage then guess what? people then merge as they should
obscene said:
FFS. I've just found it useful as I commute in by bike and now they want to scrap it !? It's going to be fun waiting in traffic now instead of plowing past all the idiots in cars who will no doubt be blocking every lane now. 
I have never seen motorbikes waiting in Motorway traffic. You just filter through right?I've not used it that often but I think I can count on one hand the number of coaches I've seen use it, and I could count on no hands the number of busses. It seems primarily a lane for the exclusive use of people who are too rich to use the tube from Heathrow into central London and would rather take a cab.
Good riddance.
Good riddance.
jdw1234 said:
obscene said:
FFS. I've just found it useful as I commute in by bike and now they want to scrap it !? It's going to be fun waiting in traffic now instead of plowing past all the idiots in cars who will no doubt be blocking every lane now.
I have never seen motorbikes waiting in Motorway traffic. You just filter through right?As mentioned above, when it filters down to 2 lanes it's still going to be a pain in the backside. I can't see why they've bothered to change it now to be perfectly honest even from a car point of view.
edo said:
You either sit in traffic looking at an empty lane, or sit in traffic looking at more traffic - it has to drop to 2 lanes, so there is no magic solution.
Personally I think whatever solution replaces it should not have a merging lane - dropping lanes off is the only solution.
agreed.Personally I think whatever solution replaces it should not have a merging lane - dropping lanes off is the only solution.
As someone else posted earlier too, you have to merge for the flyover, it just so happens you currently queue at the start of the bus lane, now you will just have to queue at the end of it. Save your £400,000 and do something else with it.
sleep envy said:
Plotloss said:
The person that really needs stringing up, is the one that decided the elevated section should only be two lanes wide.
who was holding the purse strings at the time?Did you know that the road surface of the elevated section is heated? I didn't...
Plotloss said:
sleep envy said:
Plotloss said:
The person that really needs stringing up, is the one that decided the elevated section should only be two lanes wide.
who was holding the purse strings at the time?Did you know that the road surface of the elevated section is heated? I didn't...
understandable for winter, wouldn't fancy seeing a HGV hitting black ice up there
ExPat2B said:
Halleluja.
I use the M4 a lot and the bus lane was a stupid embuggerance. Not like there were any buses on it, just a lot of Assison bloody Lee Taxi driving like cocks as per usual.
Why? It just means you'll be sat in 3 lanes of traffic instead of 2. You'll just get the (old) massive logjam as it goes onto the flyover.I use the M4 a lot and the bus lane was a stupid embuggerance. Not like there were any buses on it, just a lot of Assison bloody Lee Taxi driving like cocks as per usual.
Pointless exercise.
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