MOTORISTS have called for the London Road bus-lane to be axed following a plea by the Bucks Free Press editor - and the county’s transport supremo says it could happen.

Readers flooded the BFP with letters supporting editor Steve Cohen’s call for Transport for Buckinghamshire to ditch the “loony-lane” in his column in The Star last week.

Susan Rasala from Loudwater backed the BFP chief and believes the current road lay-out is an “accident waiting to happen”.

Driving instructor Ken Law added he is constantly explaining to learners why they are surrounded by drivers “totally ignoring the rules” he is trying to teach.

And Buckinghamshire County Council's Cabinet member for Transportation Cllr Peter Hardy said the authority would re-evaluate the bus-lane if there was a strong demand from motorists.

But TfB warned that bus services would suffer, forcing more people into their vehicles creating a “double whammy effect” of congestion and revenue loss.

Spokesman Laura-Jo Stocks added: “The removal of these bus lanes would not increase the capacity for general traffic either, as the constraints along this type of road are the junctions.

“These are being tackled by an Urban Traffic Management and Control Project which aims to maximise the flow of traffic along London Road at peak times.”

TfB said ‘intelligent traffic lights’ were replacing signals along the A40 to improve traffic flow which would potentially give opportunities to revise sections of the bus-lane in the future.

Arriva Buses sped to the defence of the bus lane, which it says is vital to provide a reliable service for the 18 buses which use the lane every hour.

Linsey Frostick, spokesman for Arriva, said: “Longer journey times would mean either more resources to provide the same level of service, which would be delivered through increased fares, or a reduced level of service along London Road which is a key corridor.”

Arriva added it was bringing in a fleet of new ‘low floor’ buses in November to make it easier and quicker for commuters to get on and off the buses.

The BFP today launches a campaign for transport big-wigs to have a rethink and send the bus-lane to the guillotine.

Mr Cohen said: “I was astonished by the response and the level of public anger - I thought I was a lone voice in the wilderness."

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