.the saga continues

You may remember from last month that I wrote to Lothian Regional transport about one of its drivers. It wasn't a major issue, but the usual pulling into an ASL cycle reservoir when the lights had been at red for a while, followed by sticking very closely to my tail as we pulled away from the lights, and then intimidating a car in front as I pulled left to let him pass, warranted more than just a shrug of the shoulders.

It seemed like that is exactly what was coming from LRT, until later in the month. A reader, Nick Jessop, informed me that often LRT will do nothing with just a registration number, and in order to progress matters you need to supply them with a fleet number for the bus. It's all a bit shifty since the registration number itself is held by only one vehicle, but since I had the video of what happened I checked it again, got the fleet number, and fired it off. A couple of weeks later I received a response from LRT who had, it appears, decided to take some 'action' (though I hesitate to call it that).

Dear Mr Robson
I have received a copy of your e-mail regarding the driver of a Service 25 on the evening of 25 February 2008.

I was concerned with the event as described by you and this matter has been investigated. We have viewed the CCTV footage from the bus involved and the images provided by the 8 onboard cameras proffer a different description to what took place than to your version of the event. However, I am fully aware of the problems that cyclists encounter on our roads on a daily basis, as is Lothian Buses. We have had campaigns highlighting the problems cyclists face, which instruct our drivers to allow for time and space when manoeuvres involve cyclists and to show them the same level of respect as they do to other road users. The driver of the vehicle involved has been interviewed and shown the video footage.