Personal views as follows:
1) If I am the cyclist, I would give way to the bus. But if I am
driving the bus, I would let the cyclist go first.
2) Should not. They are not the 'intended beneficiaries'.
Imagine people 'rushing for time', speed into the bus bay then
expect others to give way and speed out...
3) It is indeed difficult. I will also have problem remembering.
Or just keep to the second lane then...
4) The bus bay scheme is to speed up time leaving the bus
bay.
5) Emergency vehicles will always have the right of way.
After this mandatory scheme of giving way have been implemented,
indeed there are some dangerous situations, like buses which obey
the rule and take the right, but cars just don't give way.
There are many times when I took a bus that leaves bus stops
along lower BB East Ave 3 (services 77, 106, 189, Exp 506, 963)
stops which has those schemes) and cars approach so quickly that
they could not stop in time but the bus is already in the box and
going out, they brake hard to a stop. Sometimes the bus cuts out
into the lane but you can see from the car and its driver, they are
not going to stop, whatever it takes! In the latter situation the
bus captain would not care about the smaller fella, while the car
is rushing to god-knows-where.
