Council wants to ban certain taxis from bus lanes to cut air pollution SOME taxis could be banned from using bus lanes in Southampton as city bosses try to crack down on air pollution. Taxis and private hire vehicles licensed outside of Southampton could be allowed to access bus lanes in the city only from 7am to 9.30am and from 4am to 6.30pm on weekdays and only if the vehicle was first registered on or after January 2006 if petrol and September 2015 if diesel. A public consultation on the proposals will run from January 29 to February 22 and comes after initial plans to totally ban taxis from bus lanes in the city sparked criticism.