Oxfordshire County Council have recently announced that new traffic filters will be implemented, but that motorcycles will be exempt.
The traffic filters that will be implemented in Oxford are designed to speed up the travel times for bus journeys, and there was some concern that motorcycles could - as usual - be lumped in with cars and other four-wheelers in having to abide by the new filters.
However, Oxfordshire County Council have confirmed that motorcycles and mopeds will not be forced to adhere to the new filters, and will in fact be exempt.
The filters will not be implemented until the summer of 2023, and then will be on a six-month trial.
The UK’s Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) says “The exemption for motorcycles is a direct consequence of work by MAG to convince Oxfordshire County Council that motorcycles need separate consideration from other motorised vehicles.”
MAG’s Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, Colin Brown, said: “It is reassuring to see that the efforts we put into getting this seemingly innocuous recognition written into the County’s local transport plan paying dividends.
“Motorcycles are rarely mentioned as a separate mode in key transport policy documents and, as a consequence, simply suffer the same results as cars. Here we see that when they are considered separately the outcome for riders is very different.
“Motorcycles are finally being recognised as part of a solution rather than as part of the problem. We hope that other councils will sit up and take note.”
Cherwell District Councillor John Broad, who has worked with MAG on promoting motorcycles and their benefits, said: “By many motorcyclists in Oxfordshire keeping up the pressure on officers producing the County and City transport plans, results do eventually occur.
“The relatively small inconvenience to local motorcyclists of having to respond to consultations can have big gains for the future use of motorcycles as a recognised part of the transport system.”
Lead image, "20-056 Oxford Bus Company Wright Streetdeck No. 666 (SK66 HTZ)" by Clive G', is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
