First all-day bus lane for Belfast goes into operation
The first all-day bus lane in Belfast city centre has gone into operation.
The lane in Victoria Street, alongside the Victoria Square shopping centre, runs for 12 hours a day from 0700 GMT to 1900 GMT from Monday to Saturday.
Up to 20 others are being considered for introduction as part of the 'Belfast on the move' traffic management plan.
As well as buses, the new lane is open to motorcyclists, cyclists and Belfast public-hire taxis.
Other new bus lanes in the city also opened on Monday at the Shore Road, York Road and York Street.
These are operational from 0730 GMT to 0930 GMT from Monday to Friday.
Bernard Clarke, the research and development manager at Translink, said the bus lanes would improve journey times to and from the city centre.
"There are already significant numbers of commuters on these corridors travelling by public transport and the new lanes should help to make these bus services even more attractive for new customers," he said.
"More people choosing the bus over the private car helps to free up road space for everyone and is the way forward for a better, more sustainable city."