M8 motorway bus lanes: EIR release

Information requested

a) Any schematics, drawings or plans that show what work has been done in planning the location ofwhere motorway bus lanes around Glasgow could be situated, together with the preferred options.

b) Any assessments that have been done on the suitability of the hard shoulder M8 west boundbetween the slips at Junction 13, as a bus lane;

c) The most relevant Transport Scotland Board or Management papers that set out the latest proposedtime line to implementation of motorway bus lanes around Glasgow;

d) Any papers that set out how the success of the motorway bus lane at the eastern (Edinburgh) end ofthe M8 has been assessed, and what the assessment is.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test.’ Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response to your request

a) While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 10(4)(d) (unfinished or incomplete information), of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

b) The answer to your question is:

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), published in 2022, recommends that bus priority interventions are implemented within Scotland’s cities and towns where congestion is highest. This recommendation seeks to implement schemes targeted at delivering faster and more reliable journey times for bus passengers. In the case of the trunk road and motorway network, Transport Scotland will build on the current work progressing plans for the M8, M77 and M80. This work remains under development, in particular, considering the changes in travel patterns post COVID and wider policy priorities. Further details with respect to STPR2 Recommendation 14 can be found here: recommendation-14-provision-of-strategic-bus-priority-measures.pdf (transport.gov.scot)

c) While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 10(4)(a) (information not held), of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why that exception(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

d) The answer to your question is:

The Actively Managed Hard Shoulder (AMHS) for buses was implemented to encourage bus travel and to directly support our involvement in Project CAVForth, a globally significant demonstration of UK autonomous bus capability along a 14-mile route between Fife and Edinburgh on the Forth Road Bridge, M90, M9 and M8 motorways.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.