Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 26 February 2021.
Keith Prince
Conservative
Will the Mayor review past taxi exclusions from bus lanes to ensure correct and lawful decisions were taken?
Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
Taxis are able to use the vast Majority of bus lanes on the Transport for London Road Network, in line with the Bus Lane policy. Exclusion is only considered because of safety concerns or significant operational issues for buses. Transport for London (TfL) has successfully worked with taxi trade bodies over the years on improved bus lanes access, which has further increased the proportion where taxi access is already allowed.
TfL is confident that past decisions have been made in accordance with the policy. The recent Judicial Review judgment did not consider the 2007 Bus Lane policy unlawful or question the criteria for allowing taxi access as set out in the policy.
TfL will keep the issue of taxi access in bus lanes under review including after the final outcome of the appeal against the Judicial Review judgement.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
