Conservatives pledge to scrap 24-hour bus lanes

The Conservatives are promising to end 24-hour bus lanes in areas where they control councils following May's local elections in England.

The policy of "bus lanes that make sense" is part of a six-point plan for drivers announced by the Conservatives ahead of the polls.

The party says the councils it runs will only allow bus lanes if there is a "genuine requirement".

The Conservatives also said, if they were in government, they would end 24/7 bus lanes except with the specific written permission of a minister.

"Councils across the country have turned bus lanes into 24/7 enforcement traps," a Conservative spokesperson said.

"Conservatives will restore a common-sense approach to how road space is used."

Bus lanes are sections of roads reserved for public buses and authorised vehicles, such as taxis.

They are controlled by councils and often operational at specific times - indicated by blue signs - or 24/7.

The coverage of 24-hour bus lanes varies in council areas across the UK.

In 2021, Transport for London said about 50 miles (85km) of bus lanes in the city would permanently operate 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

In the same year, West Northamptonshire Council - when it was controlled by the Conservatives - scrapped a 24/7 bus lane and reduced its operating times.

But the Conservative-run Norfolk County Council installed a 24/7 bus lane in 2021.

The Conservative Party's proposals on bus lanes are part of its wider plan to "restore common sense for car owners to get Britain moving again".

The plan involves reversing a fuel duty hike due in September, spending £100m on pothole repairs, ending blanket 20mph schemes, clearing driving test backlogs, and scrapping the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars.

Labour said the Conservatives "had left our roads riddled with potholes and the driving test system in chaos" during their previous 14-year stint in power.

The party said it was freezing fuel duty, doubling investment to fix potholes, approving new road projects across England and increasing driving test capacity.

The Liberal Democrats said motorists were "paying the price for Trump's illegal war in Iran as fuel costs continue to soar".

"That's why Liberal Democrats are demanding an immediate 10p cut to fuel duty, and slashing VAT for public electric car charging," a party spokesperson said.

Reform UK accused Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch of copying its policies, including its plans to reverse the planned 5p rise in fuel duty.

"It's all very well announcing a policy to clear driving test backlogs when it was created under their government," a Reform UK spokesperson said.

The Green Party of England and Wales said the Conservative plan "sounds like Jeremy Clarkson's wildest dream, but for most communities, these policies would be a living nightmare".

"If recent events have taught us anything, it's that we need to stop forcing people to drive just to get around in their daily lives," a Green spokesperson said.