West Lothian could see priority traffic signals opening the road ahead for buses on some of its busiest streets. A study is planned as part of a new funding package to improve bus services throughout the county.
Funding for Bus Improvements
Almost £400,000 has been awarded to the council from the national Bus Infrastructure Fund to improve services and public transport infrastructure in the county. The money will largely pay for infrastructure improvements including digitised bus stops, but the priority signalling, usually used in cities, could help speed up journeys through built up areas in West Lothian towns.
Councillors on the Environment and Sustainability PDSP heard that the new funding could build on research already carried out on ways of giving buses priority over other vehicles at lights.
Technical Feasibility
A report to the committee said: “The assessment confirms that bus priority has the potential to improve journey time reliability by reducing delays at traffic signals, although benefits are dependent on local conditions and may be less pronounced than in more urbanised networks.”
The report added: “A key outcome of the study is that bus priority can be technically delivered without a UTC (Urban Traffic Control) system through a ‘remote priority’ approach. Traffic lights would give priority to buses ahead of other vehicles.”
In larger city schemes an electronic network controls consecutive road signals allowing buses priority travel through the length of the route through multiple traffic lights. Such a scheme is impractical in the more rural West Lothian but several sites have been identified by drivers where a green light for buses would speed up journeys through urban centres.
Identified Sites
This would be done through a modified traffic light control system at specific junctions. The sites identified for further study include Whitburn Cross, East Calder Main Street and Blackburn Cross. The review identified that bus priority signalling is technically feasible and in some cases wider improvement around junctions would improve bus and other traffic flow.
Passenger Transport Manager Nicola Gill told the council: “The Bus Infrastructure Fund has provided a valuable opportunity to deliver targeted improvements to bus infrastructure across West Lothian during 2025/26. Available funding has been directed towards interventions that offer the greatest benefit to bus users.”
