Bus drivers and cyclists safety debate

6:43pm Wednesday 11th June 2008

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City cyclists could be given the chance to get behind the wheel of a bus in an ongoing drive to make Oxford's roads less dangerous.

More than 50 cyclists and bus drivers debated road safety issues at The Regal, in Cowley Road, Oxford, on Tuesday evening.

The get-together marked the launch of Bikes and Buses - a DVD commissioned by cycling campaign group Cyclox aimed at making cyclists and bus drivers more aware of each other.

Representatives from Oxford Bus Company, Stagecoach, Thames Travel and Cyclox fielded questions and watched clips from the film.

Stagecoach has already been using the film - available to view on the Oxford Mail's website - for training purposes and Oxford Brookes University and Oxford City Council have also shown interest in promoting its message.

For bus drivers, complaints included cyclists using mobile phones, going through red lights and failing to indicate.

For cyclists, there was concern over the size and number of buses in the city, and the dangers of buses cutting in front of them at stops.

Cyclist Jeremy Smith, features editor at the Oxford Mail, chaired the evening.

He said: "There's a lot of misunderstanding and anxiety and I think that gets in the way of cyclists and bus companies communicating.

"We must work out how to get the message across to those cyclists who drive us all up the wall with sheer blind stupidity.

"I don't know the answer, but I think Bikes and Buses is a cracking film and also an extraordinarily fair film."

Louisa Weeks, operations manager at Oxford Bus Company, said: "Ninety per cent of cyclists are excellent. It's the 10 per cent that give them a bad name. I think it's the same with bus drivers."

She added: "The evening was very positive and we will be using the DVD.

"We are happy to work with cyclists - we share their concerns. All we want is to move people across Oxford as quickly and safely as possible."

The companies agreed in principle to cyclists visiting bus depots to meet drivers and sit behind the wheel of a bus.

At the next meeting between the bus companies and cyclists, Cyclox chairman James Styring said he would invite the police and county council road safety representatives.