There are two separate issues this letter covers; firstly your direction for Addison Lee drivers to illegally use the bus lanes and secondly your article in Add Lib regarding cyclists. Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the Highway Code which you may wish to refer to in future and we'd recommend familiarising yourself with it before heading out onto the public highways.
Further, the High Court injunction brought by TfL has now been granted so we trust that you will now refrain from instructing your drivers to use the bus lane and offer to indemnify them against action for doing so.Regarding your 'article' in Add Lib. It's clear from your recent comments that you're still rather confused as to why people have taken issue with the content of this article and you claim you simply wished to start a debate. This is either particularly disingenuous or deeply ignorant of the actual issues. Had you really wished to start a debate you could have easily contacted any of the London cycling organisations or ask what you, as a company, are able to do. You also claim that cyclists didn't really understand what you were trying to say but this is not the case. The content of your article is something that directly affects cyclists who are all too familiar with the type of ill-founded and ignorant statements you printed. People would not react if they didn't feel moved to do so by their own experiences; these are people that are directly affected by your actions. If you truly weren't aware that publishing an opinion piece like this in transport company literature wasn't appropriate then maybe you've since reconsidered this?To cover a couple of points: As you should know 'road tax' does not exist. The use of this phrase, along with your other comments, is used by many to elevate the rights or abilities of drivers over cyclists. Cyclists also pay for roads out of general taxation as does everybody regardless of how often they use them. Vehicles pay Vehicle Excise Duty which is based on emissions; which your fleet produces in large amounts. Furthermore pedestrians and cyclists use the road by right of way, motorists do so under license.Your statement that 'should a motorist fail to observe a granny wobbling to avoid a pothole or a rain drain' displays a woeful lack of understanding of sensible and safe driving. Highway Code Rule 213 explicitly states that vehicles must give plenty of room and pay particular attention to any sudden change of direction cyclists may have to make. Your article also does no cover any details that according to a Department for Transport study 75% of accidents are the fault of the driver and that the perceived 'risky' behaviour you have subsequently commented upon is a very small contributing factor. Nor did you mention that 82% of cyclists in Britain also use a vehicle. This would suggest that cyclists are indeed trained yet this can not protect against poor driving. Although I'm sure that we could argue back and forth about the rights and legalities of cyclists and motorists but the fact still remains that there is not one person in London with as many vehicles to their name that is acting with such an utter disregard for other road-users; it would be difficult to find a person acting as irresponsibly. Rather than taking cheap shots at other road-users it would be a much better use of your time to accept responsibility for your part in road-safety and instead of instructing your drivers to break the law, instruct them to drive with a real respect of other people on the roads. At what point do you stand back and say just how much money is enough? At what point is encouraging the breaking of the law and jeopardising of life worth the extra profit?The London Cycling Campaign has kindly agreed to be your escort on a bicycle ride around London where they will be able to explain the issues facing cyclists on the roads to you first-hand. Please email info@lcc.org.uk to arrange your guided cycle. If you do not have a bicycle you can use I'm sure they will be able to find one you can borrow.You are the chairman of a transport company so it'd be advisable to accept your responsibilities and act like one.