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Buses

Bus lanes

Bus lanes are sections of road reserved for buses, whether public or private. Taxis and bicycles may also use some bus lanes.

Where there is a bus lane, you will see an upright blue and white sign on the side of the road on a pole and on the roadway there will be markings of a continuous white line and the words "Lána Bus". You must obey the road marking and the sign. The white plate shows when the section of road is meant only for the buses shown. Normally bus lanes operate from 7am to 7pm or during peak hours. Outside these times, all traffic may use them. You should check the information plate to confirm the time limits that apply.

Image showing buslane flowing same direction as trafficBus Lane

Image shows buslane along same road as traffic but in opposite directionContra Flow Bus Lane

There are two types of bus lane:

A with-flow near-side bus lane, shown below, runs in the same direction as the traffic beside it. It can be used by bicycles and taxis as well as buses and is normally reserved during the periods shown on information signs at the start of the lane.

Advance information sign for with-flow bus laneWith-flow bus lane on left (near-side)Advance information sign for off-side bus laneWith-flow bus lane on right (off-side)Information plate

Contra-flow bus lane

A contra-flow bus lane runs in the opposite direction to the traffic beside it. It is reserved only for buses, which means that no other traffic may use it, day or night.

Blue roadsign showing contra flow bus lane

If a 'yield' sign appears at the end of the bus lane, the bus must give way to other vehicles as it merges back into normal traffic.

Bus-only streets

As their name suggests, these streets are intended only for buses. Other traffic may use them only to get access to a building or side road.

Image showing no-through-way except buses

The Parking section covers the rules on parking in bus lanes.