TAXI drivers have called on council bosses to let them use a "redundant" bus lane being ignored by buses.

The Evening Times revealed last week how bus lanes for the £40m Fastlink Govan service are not being used due to traffic lights not giving buses priority and causing "chaos, delays and confusion".

Both Stagecoach and McGill's have stopped using the lanes with McGill's head of service delivery Colin Napier ordering drivers to ignore the lanes on "the Broomielaw, the Squinty Bridge, Pacific Drive and Govan Road at Elder Park roundabout."

He also told them to ignore the lanes inside the hospital because the main road is quicker.

McGills has also applied to the Traffic Commissioner to de-register one of its five Fastlink services, the F1, because there are too many buses servicing the route.

Stephen Flynn, vice chairman of Glasgow Taxis Ltd, said the situation was "a joke."

He said: "The situation with the bus lane at the squinty bridge is costing Glaswegians time and money.

"We understand one of the main reasons behind its construction was to ease pressure on the Kingston Bridge however it's clear the reverse is happening and people are switching back thanks to these bus-only lanes."

He said taxis were allowed to use all the other bus lanes in Glasgow, other than one in Hotspur Street and the Squinty Bridge lane.

He added: "It really is time for a rethink as our customers, whether they are residents, business people or tourists, are having to experience longer journeys and often bigger fares due to the ineffectiveness of this system.

"It doesn't look good for Glasgow and so it's in everyone's interests to sort out this mess."

Alistair Watson, the council's executive member for sustainability and transport, said he was arranging a meeting with "all parties involved so we can sort this out as soon as possible."

It is due to take place at the city chambers on Friday.

He said: "We're all in the business of getting more people to use public transport so if there are teething problems then we'll resolve them round the table."

A spokeswoman for SPT said: "We are now aware of delays to testing the optimisation of traffic signals and understand that this has caused some frustration to operators on the route.

"We are now working with Glasgow City Council to agree when a programme of works will be undertaken to resolve these issues."

McGill’s and Stagecoach planned to run services along the route every five minutes on average during weekdays and every 10 minutes during evenings and Sundays.

The route runs from Glasgow city centre to the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital via the Broomielaw, Squinty Bridge and Govan Road.