The Argus tests out the Lewes Road bus lane via car, bus and bike

Motorists? Bus passengers? Cyclists?

To find out, three reporters from The Argus took part in a Top Gear-esque challenge to see which form of transport got people quicker from A to B.

After navigating the rush-hour traffic from Brighton's Old Steine to Coldean Lane via the notoriously difficult Vogue Gyratory junction, some of you may be surprised to hear that two wheels were better than four.

A few minutes off the pace behind the cyclist came the red-faced motorist while at the rear was the slightly delayed bus passenger.

• Cyclist 20 minutes
• Car 28 minutes
• Bus 36 minutes

But, with some locals claiming the changes are hazardous, advocates of the scheme are adamant that the changes are for the best.

Ian Davey, deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “Our approach is to try to make it easier for everyone to get about.

“So this route will be better and quicker for buses and taxis and more pleasant and safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

“If you have to drive, there will be fewer cars on the route than there would otherwise be, so your journey might be better too.”

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The new wider bus and cycle lanes are part of a wider £6.2 million to bring about lasting change in the Lewes Road corridor.

The aim of the whole scheme, which has been largely funded by a £4.2 million government grant, is to get more people to ditch the car in favour of other forms of transport.

Town hall officials claim it's not just about making life easier for buses and cycles but about making it more attractive for everyone.

This is why speed limits have been reduced, new benches installed, bus shelters erected, and free incentives like bus timetables and cycle locks handed out.

The centrepiece of the project is the new £1.9 million bus and cycle lane which pushes all cars into the outside lane of the dual carriageway.

Some claim the floating bus stops with the bike route running behind makes it dangerous for pedestrians.

Others have safety raised concerns about junctions, such as Coldean Lane and Coombe Road, where cars need to cross the bus lane to turn left.

Despite this, the new lanes went live on Monday.

This means that anyone other than a bus or taxi caught on camera driving in the new wider bus lane will have to pay a £60 fine.

Officials predict bus journey times will be improved by up to 30 per cent, while faster travel could attract 25 per cent more passengers.

The number of car trips is expected to drop by about ten per cent.

Martin Harris, managing director of Brighton and Hove Bus Company, said: “It's not so much about speed, it's about certainty.

“The thing about traffic queues is that they add unpredictability to a journey. The bus lane reduces that and improves reliability “In all the surveys that we and others do, customers say that reliability is the thing they most care about - that's why we work so hard on it.

“We're disappointed to hear that The Argus had difficulties yesterday but on another day and at another time it will be a different result.”

Mr Harris said that there had been a growth in passenger numbers along the Lewes Road corridor.

This was not just due to the increasing numbers of students at the city's two universities but also due to the construction of the American Express Community Stadium at Falmer.

But users are split on whether the lane is ultimately a good idea.

Lennie Brookes, who lives in Coldean Lane, said: “I travel by car as far as The Avenue and back every day.

“It is very unclear who has the right of way when you need to cross the bus and cycle lanes and invariably I have to stop and give way, which holds up the traffic, as neither the buses, taxis or the cyclists will.

“I can't understand how Ian Davey reckons there will be fewer cars on this route so it will be better to drive.

“He must have his head in cloud cuckoo land.”

But cyclist Edu Gabriel, 29, of Franklin Street, Brighton, said the new route worked really well.

He said: “It's great. I not only get to university quicker now but I feel a lot safer.

“It will be even better when they sort out the Vogue Gyratory.”

Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby said: “I recently surveyed over 1,000 residents in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean to get their views on the recent changes to the Lewes Road and the overwhelming majority of respondents have spoken of the chaos and problems caused by the new system.

“I am still collecting responses and I will be presenting them to the chief executive of the council when I meet with her later in the month. It is clear that the council needs to listen closely to what local people are saying about this scheme.”

The original Lewes Road scheme included plans to revamp the Vogue Gyratory.

However, this was temporarily shelved due to safety concerns.

As it is the Vogue remains perhaps the most troublesome area with motorists yesterday reporting it took nine minutes to get around the roundabout.

A council spokeswoman said: “A revised plan for the Vogue Gyratory, based on the comments received as part of the previous consultation, is currently being prepared.

“This will be made public shortly.

“A report will be taken to environment, transport and sustainability committee on November 26 for consideration.”

The motorist - Tim Ridgway

As a regular bus user and a keen cyclist, it's not often I find myself behind the wheel of a car. But there I was, cast as a petrolhead - the “Jeremy Clarkson” of this Top Gear-esque challenge.

The aim: to get from Old Steine to Coldean Lane via the new Lewes Road layout as quickly and safely as possible.

In any other city than Brighton you'd back the car to put up a reasonable fight.

But not our city and not that stretch of road where I'd heard horror stories of two miles of crawling traffic during rush hour.

As it was, I set off from our meeting spot at 8.45am with trepidation motoring through, but not really obeying, the 20mph limits in the city centre.

Remaining alert to i-pod listening j-walkers, wobbling cyclists and buses pulling out, it was hardly a relaxed journey into work And then I reached the Vogue Gyratroy.

Traffic remained at a standstill for what felt like a lifetime (six minutes to be exact).

Red mist was steaming out of people's ears - not a pleasant sight, especially from the woman in a green Rover who cut me up (while you didn't see me, I saw you!).

It was a relief to get on Lewes Road proper, even if it was a crawl among hundreds of vehicles, most of which only had one person in them.

And then when I reached my destination there was a small matter of finding a parking space.

I was just glad that I made it there in second place, 28 minutes after we set off.

It made me realise the car will always have a place on our roads.

But hopefully the Lewes Road scheme will make some of those individuals using their cars realise that there are other forms of getting from A to B.

The cyclist - Finn Scott-Delany

At the risk of sounding like a smug cyclist I was confident of victory in our three-horse race. Predictably enough I sailed past standing traffic between The Level and the Vogue Gyratory and ended up beating my nearest competitor by a clear ten minutes - and without running a single red light.

But what about the journey itself? As a regular cyclist the improvements are a welcome addition to cycle infrastructure.

Lewes Road has always been a hairy ride with streams of student cyclists vying for space with hoards of big buses.

The vulnerability you feel when a hulking wall of metal swooshes past inches away and threatens to pull you into its slipstream is no joke.

Overall the new lane is much better, giving cyclists more space and protection from a sometimes intimidating barrage of traffic.

The floating bus-stops are a novel solution to the everyday territorial skirmishes between cycles and buses - a battle a cyclist is never going to win.

The only problem is marooned passengers are liable to step straight off the bus and into the cycle lane, requiring extra vigilance.

While the improvements are great, terrifying junctions such the Vogue Gyratory need urgent attention to make the entire journey safer for cyclist and motorists.

The bus passenger - Gareth Davies

It was a disaster from start to finish. As I stood at the Old Steine bus stop at 8.47am with the lying electronic reading “25 Universities - due”, the bendy bus eventually turned up at 9.06am.

I received a Jeremy Clarkson-esque phone call from Tim Ridgway, who was on his hands-free in the car, who taunted me as he hung up by saying: “Eat my dust.”

Already angry, the journey was painfully slow through as we passed The Level, but it did give me a chance to watch the skateboarders. It was a nice, nostalgic trip back to the 1990s.

We crawled through the southern-most single-carriageway section of Lewes Road and then as we hit the new bus lane - the journey changed.

Such was the change of speed, a standing man reading a Kindle backed his way onto my lap and with his buttocks resting firmly against my knee we soared northbound.

I kept looking at my clock and trying to spot my opponents. I needn't have bothered.

They'd been waiting at the Coldean Lane bus stop for ten minutes, and when I pressed the stop button the driver put the icing on the cake by completely ignoring my request and driving up to the next stop.

I faced a seven minute walk back to my giggling colleagues.

The verdict? Bus lane - good; buses - bad.