Only 4 days left to tell council your opinion on Aberdeen bus gates, just 200 people have so far

Although thousands of people have been caught out by the Aberdeen bus gates, only 200 people have officially told the council their thoughts.

By Kieran Beattie

January 19 2024, 10:06 am

The Aberdeen bus gates have been the source of plenty of controversy. Image: Joshua Pizzuto-Pomaco

You only have a few days left to make your voice officially heard in a council survey on the highly controversial Aberdeen bus gates.

On August 22 last year, the new bus gates on Bridge Street, Guild Street and Market street were switched on.

They have resulted in many months of confusion for drivers trying to navigate Aberdeen City Centre, with thousands caught out already.

Cars going through one of the bus gates in November last year. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

As well as new bus gates, a raft of other new traffic measures have been implemented over the past year, like pedestrian zones and bans on certain turns on key roads.

When it comes to carrying out such major changes to city centre infrastructure, you might imagine a proper consultation with the wider public would be carried out before the new system goes live.

You would imagine wrong.

Why wasn’t there a consultation before the bus gates and other changes?

In this case, the city council decided to opt for what’s called an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order, which Transport Scotland says is a “very rarely used” process which councils consider to offer “little benefit”.

The new system has been rolled out over the past year.

This meant that before the new bus gates were installed, only certain groups like the emergency services, bus and taxi firms had to be officially consulted.

The city council only opened its official consultation to let the wider public have their say on July 24 last year, after work to implement the bus gates and other roads changes had already started.

The schoolhill pedestrian zone in March last year, with drivers breaking the rules by taking their private cars through it. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

These other changes include a ban on right-hand turns from Union Terrace onto Rosemount Viaduct for private cars, and the pedestrian and cyclist zone on Schoolhill.

Vehicles breaking the no right turn rule on Union Terrace Garden to Rosemount Viaduct. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

That official consultation is coming to an end very shortly.

When does the bus gate consultation end, and how can I take part?

The consultation information can be found on the city councils website at this link here.

To take part, you can email trafficmanagement@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Or, you can send letters to the following address:

Traffic Management and Road Safety
Operations and Protective Services
Aberdeen City Council
Business Hub 11, Second Floor Wet
Marischal College, Broad Street,
AB10 1AB

Responses to the bus gate consultation must be sent in writing and may be used in committee meetings and published online.

Anyone objecting to the bus priority route must explain why they disagree and the problems they have faced because of the new bus gates and road restrictions.

Names, addresses, telephone numbers, and signatures will be removed from the letters when shared online and with committee members.

Crucially, all feedback for the council must be sent by January 23, meaning if you want to make your voice heard by the council, you only have a few days left.

The council installing new road markings for the bus gates in November last year. Image: DC Thomson

An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said: “The Council wants to hear as many people’s views as possible. There is still time for people to take part in the consultation and we hope people will take the time to take part.”

How many people have taken part so far?

The council says there have been “more than 200” responses so far.

In September when we asked the council the same question, they told us at that point fewer than 100 people have taken part.

While there have been only a few hundred official responses from the public so far, thousands of people have been caught out by the bus gates.

The Union Street bus gate system in November.

There were a mammoth 12,735 warning notices sent out over just 10 days in August after enforcement of the new bus gates first started on the 22nd, for example.

The ups and downs of the bus gates and other Aberdeen traffic measures

While the council’s consultation has attracted just over 200 responses, there has been other, unofficial analysis of the public’s attitudes to traffic changes in the city centre.

More than 800 people took part an unofficial poll, and 81% of respondents said they opposed the bus gate scheme.

The bus gates have also drawn the ire of those in the business community.

Image of Haigs and bus gate sign. — Haigs bosses blame bus gates for accelerating the decline of the city centre. Image: Ben Hendry and Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.

Haigs and Olive Alexanders, two city centre food businesses, have both shut in recent weeks, and both have pointed the finger at bus gates and other transport factors which they argue are driving people out of the city centre.

But for others, the bus gate changes have proven to be beneficial.

First and Stagecoach have been offering free weekend travel this month, as they are “reinvesting the savings” from the new system.

First Bus could look at lowering ticket prices if the Aberdeen bus gates are a success. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson — First Bus has benefitted from the bus gate system. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson

The bus operators say the new bus gates and associated bus priority routes are speeding up journey times for more than 600,000 people a month in Aberdeen city centre.

Last month, we revealed how PR experts have been hired to explain how the Aberdeen City Centre bus gates work, and promote their benefits.