TAXIS in Darlington could be allowed to use bus lanes in the town within the next few weeks.

Drivers have spoken of their relief after finding out a safety survey into the use of bus lanes by taxis has now been completed.

There had been fears, which proved to be unfounded, the survey could take up to 18 months to complete.

Cabbies now hope the remaining paperwork will be completed shortly and they will be able to begin using the bus lanes in the near future.

Taxi drivers had asked to be allowed to use the bus lanes as part of the Pedestrian Heart project.

They said this was a privilege afforded to cabbies in other parts of the country and was driving trade away from the town.

Although there were objections from the police and bus companies, in January the council agreed to let taxis use bus lanes for a trial period of six months, subject to a safety audit.

Now this has been completed, the drivers must agree to a voluntary code of conduct if they are to use the lanes.

Cabbie Tom Bolam, who represents Darlington on the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said: "I'm quite surprised this has come through so soon.

"It makes life a lot easier for us and will be cheaper for our customers.

"It can be very frustrating if you're stuck behind the traffic."

The bus lanes will only be open to the red Hackney carriages in the town.

The code of conduct is likely to consist of a voluntary 20mph for taxis using the bus lanes.

A pickup/drop off spot for taxi passengers will be also be made available in Queen Street.

A Darlington Borough Council spokesman said: "We have had a very encouraging report back from our consultants on the safety audit, but there are still some issues that need to be resolved before we can move forward.

"One of those will be setting up a voluntary code of conduct, just as we have with the bus operators, to deal with issues like speed limits.

"Once the issues are resolved, we will look at implementing the experimental order."