Statutory consultation on use of outbound King’s Road bus lane

A statutory consultation has been launched into proposed changes to the use of a bus lane on a main route out of Reading.

The Council is advertising its plan to revise the rules about which vehicles can access the outbound bus lane on King’s Road in east Reading and is inviting comments.

The proposed changes would only allow Reading Borough Council-licensed hackney carriages and private hire vehicles to use the lane along with buses, motorcycles and bicycles. Currently, hackney carriages licensed in Reading or elsewhere can use the bus lane, but no private hire vehicles are allowed.

The Council held an informal consultation on the proposed changes in November 2023 in response to a petition from the Reading Private Hire Association.

The results were discussed at a meeting of the Traffic Management Sub-Committee on January 11 and councillors agreed for the proposals to proceed to a statutory consultation.

Members of the public can comment at: https://consult.reading.gov.uk/ . The deadline for responses is 21 February 2024.

Cllr John Ennis, Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport, said:

“The current arrangements for the outbound bus lane on King’s Road means Reading-licensed private hire vehicles are excluded while out-of-town hackney carriages have access.

“Meanwhile, the inbound King’s Road bus lane has been used by Reading council licensed private hire vehicles for 11 years without major issues.

“It makes sense to me for the rules to be made consistent on this stretch of road and for priority to be given to those private hire vehicles licensed here in Reading.

“Residents can give their views during the three-week statutory consultation which is running now.”

Any objections to the plans will be reported back to a future meeting of the Council’s Traffic Management Sub Committee.