'M77 bus line between Glasgow and Ayrshire considered'

Date: 8/12/2009

Proposals for a bus lane on the M77 motorway between Glasgow and Ayrshire are being considered, according to reports.

Transport Scotland is looking into whether it would be feasible to run a bus lane on the hard shoulder of one of Scotland's busiest roads.

If the plans go ahead, it is hoped the new lane would improve bus times and encourage drivers to leave their cars at home and take the bus instead, the BBC notes.

The introduction of the bus lane would be twinned with additional park-and-ride sites in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow, to help reduce congestion further.

When a similar scheme with bus priority measures and a park-and-ride facility were introduced between Fife and Edinburgh in 2000, passenger numbers increased by 20 per cent, according to Stagecoach.

A spokesperson for Transport Scotland commented: "The need to increase the people carrying as opposed to vehicle carrying capacity of our trunk road network is recognised in the National Transport Strategy and in the Strategic Transport Projects Review."