The Department of Infrastructure does not expect bus services to be significantly affected by the rollout of more 20mph zones.
In response to a question from Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse, Minister Dr Michelle Haywood stated that “the extent and scope of the new 20mph speed limited roads is still the subject of consultation”.
She said that “until the final decisions are made it is not possible to fully quantify some impacts”.
Dr Haywood added that the DoI is “not expecting bus service availability to be significantly affected”, pointing to Welsh data showing journey time increases were “typically ≤1 minute”.
Passengers
Mr Moorhouse also asked if the controversial rollouts were expected to impact on passengers figures.
She said: “The department is not aware of any academic research, government evaluation, or transport authority report that has demonstrated a causal relationship between the introduction of 20 mph speed limits and changes in bus patronage.
“It should be noted that passenger numbers are impacted in many ways including weather related incidents and island events. The Department will continue to monitor bus passenger numbers if any changes to the current schedule are introduced.”
Emissions
Referencing a Welsh monitoring report, the minister noted it “did not reveal any material difference in nitrogen dioxide concentrations between areas inside and outside the 20 mph limit”.
However, she also cited modelling which suggested “NOx emissions were 37.8% higher at a 30 mph speed limit compared to 20 mph.”
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