Boston public radio telling its listeners it’s legal to drive in bus lanes in Massachusetts is giving me such a headache.
@sofio but wait…is it?
@devincole no. City ordinances usually prevent it, and regulatory signs that say RIGHT LANE BUSES ONLY make it illegal to drive in bus lanes
@sofio ... was it a radio show for bus drivers?
@sofio wtf??? What radio station said that?
@scottsthoughts @sofio massdot employee told Jim and Margery on Boston public radio (this is the show name) 😬
@scottsthoughts @sofio they're on @gbhnews weekdays 11-2
@inliuofjoan @sofio @gbhnews …of course it’s a massdot employee. Just in case you were wondering at all about the culture at massdot.
@sofio I heard Jim asking this q (and thought he was asking tongue in cheek) but then I had to take a call from a coworker and missed the next 15 minutes or so. What happened?!
@gbhnews @sofio there was a massdot spokesperson there and they confirmed (off speaker) that there is no state law against driving in the bus lane. Jim was in shock, Margery thought that made sense. They later asked Maura Healey and she thought it was illegal and they told her it was not. Cambridge nextdoor types are spreading the word.
@inliuofjoan @gbhnews @sofio if there’s no state law, one would hope that municipalities would have laws to that end but the fact that the state doesn’t also doesn’t give me great hope!
@scottsthoughts @gbhnews @sofio they just asked Mayor Wu and she said it's not legal and it's up to the city
@inliuofjoan @scottsthoughts @gbhnews @sofio bus lanes are white diamond special lane restrictions like hov lanes, so a violation would be a 720CMR9.06 (23) failure to obey signs, signals, and markings, no?

@jwsh @inliuofjoan @scottsthoughts @sofio I was just about to come by and say Jim talked about bus lanes again!

Clips in a min

@jwsh @scottsthoughts @gbhnews @sofio I think that's what Mayor Wu was getting at - she couldn't cite that and had to promise to come back with the exact law.
@inliuofjoan @scottsthoughts @gbhnews @sofio
Bus lanes are even an example of this type of lane in the "rules of the road" drivers rmv handbook thing.