A complaint has been made that bus drivers are not using dedicated lanes on a major road into and out of Reading.
The A33 is a major road running north and south between the town centre and Junction 11 of the M4.
The route has had bus lanes for several years to speed up journeys.
These bus lanes form part of the South Reading Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme, which has been designed to allow buses on the A33 to avoid current pinch points and help to further improve bus services to Kennet Island, Green Park and the Mereoak park and ride.
However, a claim has been made that bus drivers are not using the lanes that are being provided to them along to
The claim was made by a retired woman at a meeting of Reading Borough Council's Older Persons Working Group, a forum for retired residents to voice their concerns.
She said: "Why don't the buses use their new lanes?
"They don't use it, it's a waste of money."
Her complaint was acknowledged by Sam Shean, the council's highways and traffic services manager.
He said: "They [drivers] use them when traffic levels are high, I will raise it with the transport team. It's visible and it creates unease."
Mr Shean replied to the woman during a presentation he gave to the group on the work of the council's highways team, which includes managing roadworks.
A lane closure has lasted for more than a year on the A33 between its junctions with Kennet Island and Rose Kiln Lane.
According to the website One Network the lane closure began on April 1, 2024 and will continue until Saturday, May 31.
Mr Shean stated that resurfacing projects are often swift when they are required on major roads.
He said: "We plan as best we can, they are trying their best. The A33 is an anomaly."
The claim was made at the group meeting on Friday, February 7.
It is not the first time a complaint has been made that drivers are failing to use the A33 bus lanes.
Last June, Asif Rashid, the chairman of the Reading Taxi Association made a similar claim.
He said: “We use that [the A33] frequently.
“I know they [bus lanes] are there for the buses but there’s hardly any buses using it.
“Most of the time they are empty."
Mr Rashid made the comment while submitting a petition calling for hackney carriage taxi drivers to be allowed to use the bus lanes, which was ultimately rejected last December.
A spokesperson for Reading Buses said: "Our buses use the A33 bus lanes when it is appropriate for them to do so. There are several locations along the A33 that some bus routes turn off to serve, whilst other routes continue the whole way along. If the bus route turns right, for example greenwave 50 from Reading to Green Park, the bus will need to move out of the bus lane across into the outside lane as it is not possible to turn right from the inside lane. The driver will do this when there is a convenient gap in the traffic flow rather than waiting until the absolute last minute, for the benefit of all concerned.
"The bus lanes also accommodate the bus stops along the A33, some of which attract a lot of passengers, where otherwise the bus would be blocking the main traffic flow. Additional stops are going to be added as more sections of bus lane are added over time. "
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