On 20 November 2025, the Government put a pause on new floating bus stops that require people to board or alight directly from or into a cycle track.

During the passage of the Bus Services Act, officials met with NFBUK who presented their views on the issue. Meetings were also held with other groups representing vision-impaired people.

Active Travel England is currently carrying out research into the safety, accessibility and suitability of floating bus stops across different contexts that will consider potential design solutions to improve accessibility.

Westminster City Council, Transport for London and the Greater London Authority are constructing a new cycleway on Millbank and Abingdon Street to replace the existing cycle lane. Black Rod’s Department and the House of Lords Estates team have been fully engaged with the external delivery team to ensure parliamentary access, security, ceremonial and safety issues are fully understood, and continue to make clear that the safety of Peers, Parliamentary staff and visitors is paramount. Cyclists are required to obey traffic signals, including pedestrian crossings, and enforcement of such offences is primarily a matter for the Metropolitan Police. Westminster City Council and Transport for London will continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police to monitor the operation of the new cycle facilities, support compliance through design and signage, and consider targeted enforcement where appropriate. The scheme will be kept under review following implementation to ensure it operates safely for all users.

The draft guidance was sent out for comment on 26 November with a response requested by 2 December. Members of Active Travel England’s Technical Oversight and Advisory Group were asked to respond by 4 December. One consultee was asked to respond by 8 December owing to a delay in sending them the draft.

No consultee requested additional time. Of 34 organisations consulted, five did not respond but did not give a reason. Five responded after the deadline and their feedback was still considered.

DPTAC was asked to provide their feedback and comments on the draft statutory guidance on floating bus stops. This request was made on 13 October. A response was requested by 27 October if possible with feedback welcome after this date as well.

As part of the wider consultation on the guidance DPTAC was asked for any further comments they may have. This request was made on 26 November with a response requested by 2 December.

The Department for Transport consulted the Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) during the development of the statutory guidance Floating Bus Stops: Provision and Design Guidance, in accordance with the requirements of the Bus Services Act 2025.

DPTAC was also invited to comment on draft versions of the guidance, and its feedback and views were considered alongside those of other stakeholders before the guidance was finalised and published on 26 January 2026.

The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee provided comments on the draft guidance as part of the consultation process established by the Bus Services Act 2025.

A list of the organisations consulted during the preparation of the statutory guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design#consultation-requirements.

Individuals with direct personal experience were included in this process but in line with data protection requirements, names or other personal data will not be released.

We cannot provide details of individual impairments.

Under the Transport Act 1985, so far as reasonably practicable, at least 50 per cent of DPTAC’s membership should be made up of people who identify as disabled, making sure that lived experience informs advice to the Department.

Responsibility for managing London’s road network is shared between Transport for London, National Highways, the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation. Abingdon Street falls under the responsibility of Westminster City Council, and the Department has had no involvement in the development or delivery of this cycling scheme.

The research that has been commissioned on floating bus stops (FBS) seeks to assess if, where and when FBS designs are appropriate in different contexts. The research has a focus on safety, accessibility and user experience and aims to improve the evidence base for FBS as well as informing future national guidance.

ATE has appointed Costain, as lead of a multi‑disciplinary consortium, to deliver the research.

The consortium includes a range of organisations with expertise in relevant fields across transport, road safety, and research. Accessibility experts are also embedded within the team. The research includes structured engagement with a wide range of users, including disabled people, through a Disability Advisory Group, ethnographic research and user testing to ensure different accessibility needs are considered throughout.

My Department has made no such assessment.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of cycling infrastructure and for considering appropriate provision for horse riders. The Highway Code is clear that cycle tracks are not intended for use by horse riders and any such assessment would be for local authorities to make.

On 9 August 2024, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) issued an advice note on floating bus stops following the publication of research by Living Streets. Officials working on the floating bus stop guidance were aware of this advice.

DfT officials met with DPTAC before the guidance was drafted, and consulted them throughout the development of the guidance.

As set out in the guidance for public authorities on the Public Sector Equality Duty, the general duty involves consciously thinking about the equality aims while making decisions. There is no prescribed process for doing or recording this.

Due regard for the Public Sector Equality Duty was exercised throughout the development of the guidance including during the policy design, consultation, and drafting stages. As I set out in my response to question no. 121404, ahead of publishing the guidance I had due regard to impacts on people with protected characteristics, particularly disabled people, in making decisions regarding the guidance. This was supported by engagement with organisations representing disabled people and input from the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, the statutory advisory body on disability transport issues, and a statutory consultee for this guidance under the Bus Services Act 2025. This shows a proportionate, evidence based consideration for the Duty.

Delivery of floating bus stops, and use of the guidance in doing so, is a local authority responsibility. The guidance clearly states that accessibility requirements and the Public Sector Equality Duty apply to all measures within the document. Local authorities are therefore best placed to carry out such an assessment on the provision and design of floating bus stops in their area. The guidance is statutory, and local authorities must have regard to it.

The statutory guidance on the provision and design of floating bus stops is a joint publication between the Department and Active Travel England (ATE). Stakeholder engagement on the development of the guidance was undertaken by officials from both organisations. As part of this process, an external body Transport for All was commissioned to run workshops with a range of disability and road user groups and individuals with lived experience of disability to ensure the recommendations reflect their needs. The groups represented included:

• Age UK
• All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking
• Bikeability Trust
• Campaign for Better Transport
• Confederation for Passenger Transport
• Cycling UK
• Guide Dogs
• Mencap
• Motability Foundation
• Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety
• Policy Connect
• Transport for All
• Transport for All members
• Wheels for Wellbeing
• Walk Wheel Cycle Trust

The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee were consulted. The Department and ATE also sought feedback from the Urban Transport Group, Living Streets, Guide Dogs, RNIB, Transport for London, and ATE’s Technical Oversight and Advisory Group.

Three workshops were held on the floating bus stop guidance, one in-person (17 November 2025) and two online (18 and 24 November 2025). All three workshops were facilitated by Transport for All and attended by officials from the Department and ATE. They consisted of facilitated discussions about the draft guidance.

The groups attending and representing the interests of disabled people were Guide Dogs, Mencap, Motability Foundation, Transport for All and Wheels for Wellbeing. Age UK represented issues affecting older people, including mobility and accessibility. Seventeen disabled people with lived experience attended, representing eight different impairment types and using 12 types of mobility aids. Other groups represented included the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling and Walking, Bikeability Trust, Campaign for Better Transport, Confederation of Passenger Transport, Cycling UK, Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, Policy Connect, and Walk Wheel Cycle Trust.

Officials from the department held meetings online to discuss the guidance with representatives from the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) on 9 June 2025 and 19 January 2026, with Guide Dogs on 17 October 2025, and with Living Streets on 22 October 2025.

All of the above organisations and the Royal National Institute of Blind People, were asked to comment on the draft guidance, circulated via email, from 26 November to 2 December 2025. The department and ATE also sought feedback from the Urban Transport Group, Transport for London, and ATE’s Technical Oversight and Advisory Group.

A full list of those involved in the consultation process is included in the guidance: www.gov.uk/government/publications/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design#consultation-requirements.

Three workshops were held on the floating bus stop guidance, facilitated by Transport for All (TfA). The participants included organisations representing disabled people and TfA members with lived experience of disability. The department also circulated the draft guidance for comment to a range of groups from 26 November to 2 December 2025. A list of those involved is included in the guidance at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design

A range of comments and representations were received from seven organisations representing the needs of disabled people. For example these included the need for consistent design approaches; the need to prioritise accessibility; the role of behaviour change and enforcement alongside design; concerns about shared-use bus boarders; and many comments on detailed design points.

This information was used to inform the final version of the guidance which was cleared through my office in the usual way.