ANGRY residents have branded the Fastlink bus route a waste of money after it emerged bus drivers are being told to ignore their lanes.

The Evening Times reported yesterday how both McGill and Stagecoach drivers are not using the Govan Fastlink bus lanes because they are too slow.

Problems with the traffic lights mean buses are not given priority, adding extra time to bus journeys.

McGill's head of service delivery, Colin Napier, has ordered drivers to ignore the lanes on the Broomielaw, the Squinty Bridge, Pacific Drive and Govan Road at Elder Park roundabout, as well as the lanes inside the hospital because the main road is quicker.

He said problems with the lights were causing "chaos, delays and confusion."

Stagecoach said they had stopped using the lanes last week.

Tommy Campbell, who lives in the South Side, branded the route "an absolute waste of money."

He said: "The disruption caused is ridiculous.

"It should have been ready for the hospital opening instead of starting the work when it was due to open.

"McGills will never get a better excuse to withdraw the Fastlink service. The route is an absolute waste of money."

Sam McKeown said it was "always going to be a big waste of money."

He added: "Govan has been torn to bits installing it.

"It was never going to be used enough to justify the expenditure."

McGills has also applied to the Traffic Commissioner to de-register the F1 service, one of its five Fastlink routes, because they had too many buses using it.

Evening Times reader Alan Hall suggested the buses should be fitted with transponder units to give drivers control of the traffic lights.

He said: "The transponder units, which are fitted on trams in Blackpool and Manchester, are operated by the driver on the bus so as to change the lights in favor of the bus and will stop all other road traffic.

"Every bus using the Fastlink route will have to be fitted with the transponders and also the traffic lights will need to be fitted with receivers to receive the signal from the transponders on the buses. Simple but effective."

The F1 Fastlink service is due to end on November 16.

A spokeswoman for SPT said they were aware of the delays. She said: "We understand that this has caused some frustration to operators on the route.

"We are now working with Glasgow City Council to agree a programme of works to resolve the issues."

The city council confirmed it was aware of "teething problems to traffic signals along the Fastlink route."

A spokeswoman said they were working with SPT and the bus operators.