An urban experiment an ocean away could affect the way motorcycles are allowed to ride through congested cities the world over.

With the capitol of Great Britain, London facing the same congestion problems as other cities around the world much has been done and tried to relieve the traffic gridlock of its inner most streets. Special access taxes have been charged as well as the promotion of using motorcycles for commuting.

To help with the last effort, motorcycles were allowed to use London’s bus lanes, which are otherwise off limits to public traffic. Now, with the experimental scheme due to end on July 5th, a British advocacy group, the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCI) has called on the Mayor and Transport for London to make the initiative a permanent feature on London’s roads.

Noting that allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes helps commuters gain easier access to areas of London without the need to mix with other traffic on certain key routes, the advocacy group points out this also helps to reduce rider vulnerability on the overall road space and improve their visibility. The scheme has led to an increase in motorcycle usage in London, with more miles travelled in 2009 compared to other years.

“Given that the July deadline is now quite close, we are surprised that the Mayor has been silent about the future of the initiative,” Steve Kenward, MCI’s Acting CEO said, “We feel that it is important to point out that allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes is a positive step towards improving transport accessibility for London citizens and in demonstrating the positive effect that motorcycling has in reducing traffic congestion and Co2 levels. “

An interim report on the initiative (Nov 2009) noted that the scheme did not impact negatively on bicycle safety and against the expectations of cycle lobbyists, a majority of cyclists were happy to share bus lanes with their motorcycling brethren.

“It is clear that allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes has been a positive step for motorcycling as a whole and a positive step for London, with increases in motorcycle use demonstrating this. However, it is now down to the Mayor and Transport for London to demonstrate that they are willing to apply a fair hand in how they regard the future of the scheme and focus on motorcycle safety education, awareness and positive ‘bill board’ publicity in the same way that they do for cycling – anything else would be both grossly unfair and demonstrate unjustifiable bias against motorcycling,” Kenward said.