Judge grants Transport for London injunction in Addison Lee bus lane dispute

The High Court has granted Transport for London an injunction preventing minicab company Addison Lee from instructing or encouraging its drivers to drive in bus lanes.

TfL took legal action after Addison Lee’s chairman, John Griffin, wrote to its drivers earlier this month suggesting they should use bus lanes. He argued that the current bus lanes legislation was anticompetitive and discriminated against minicab drivers.

The ruling from Mr Justice Eder means that the company will have to remove a statement on its website instructing drivers to use bus lanes.

The judge also declared as “void” an indemnity offered by Addison Lee to pay the fines and costs of drivers prosecuted for breaching traffic regulations. 

Mr Justice Eder said that, in the light of the more limited reform sought by TfL (it abandoned its original application requiring the defendants to withdraw the notice in a letter from Addison Lee’s chairman to its drivers) and the circumstances of the case, the junction sought was:

• Necessary within the meaning of Article 10 ECHR (the right to freedom of expression) in particular for the prevention of crime and to proted the rights and freedoms of others; and
• In the exercise of his discretion, just and convenient.

The interim injunction is to remain in place until judicial review proceedings in relation to the bus lanes legislation take place later this year. Mr Justice Eder said the case should be expedited so that the hearing takes place before the Olympic Games.

Leon Daniels, TfL's Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: "Today's judgment prevents Addison Lee from instructing or encouraging its drivers to drive in bus lanes in London. The court felt compelled to grant an injunction because of the substantial risk of Addison Lee taking action that could result in the law being broken. 

"We maintain that Addison Lee's instruction to its drivers was irresponsible and at odds with its position as a private hire operator. Bus lanes enable buses to move around the capital efficiently carrying more than six million passengers a day. We maintain that allowing tens of thousands of Private Hire Vehicles to drive in bus lanes would impact on the reliability of our bus services, and risks inconveniencing our customers."

TfL also claimed that the vast majority of drivers had obeyed the law and not driven in bus lanes.

But Addison Lee suggested that TfL had failed in its bid to “silence” the company.

In a statement, the company said: “Transport for London has been forced to abandon its application for a mandatory injunction requiring Addison Lee and its chairman John Griffin to withdraw their letter to drivers stating that they are entitled to drive in London bus lanes and to send out a further letter instructing them not to do so.

“Mr Justice Eder…. has instead confirmed that it is for drivers to choose whether or not they drive in bus lanes pending the resolution of Addison Lee’s legal challenge to the validity of the bus lane legislation.”

Addison Lee also pointed out that the judge had confirmed that it would be entirely lawful for the company to decide, after any fine had been imposed on a driver for driving in a bus lane, to reimburse that driver in respect of the fine should it wish to do so. 

John Griffin said: “This is a great start to our campaign to challenge the unfair bus lane legislation. We hope to fully overturn the legislation to offer faster journey times to our customers and to offer a competitive transport service during the Olympic Games.”