To ask the Minister for Regional Development for her assessment of the impact on drivers who are blue badge holders of the enforced ban on vehicle use of bus lanes.

The recent introduction of camera enforcement of moving traffic offences in bus lanes was not accompanied by any change in access arrangements, therefore it did not have any impact on Blue Badge holders.

The purpose of the Blue Badge scheme is to allow people with severe mobility problems to park close to where they need to go. It provides generous parking concessions for Badge holders which are not available to the majority of other drivers. The scheme does not however extend to allowing Badge holders to either park or drive in operational bus lanes.

Bus lanes are mainly provided for more sustainable forms of transport such as buses and bicycles. Motorcycles are permitted access for safety reasons and because they use less road space thereby reducing congestion. Certain taxis are permitted access as they operate in a similar fashion to public transport picking up fares on-street, and because they can also accommodate wheelchairs. Both buses and permitted taxis therefore accommodate people with disabilities. The signs adjacent to the individual length of bus lane will indicate what vehicles are permitted to use the facility during its time of operation.

A full Equality Impact Assessment was carried out for the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan and this concluded that the public transport proposals contained in the Plan, including the provision of bus lanes, would provide benefits across all equality categories identified in Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.