Bus stop rethink puts segregated bike paths in peril, claim cyclists

Ministers are considering banning a standard design feature for cycle lanes, the Guardian has learned, in a move campaign groups warn could make building separated bike routes on many main roads in effect impossible, and put riders at risk.

Mark Harper, the transport secretary, is examining whether there should be a halt in the use of what are known as floating bus stops, where a segregated bike lane is routed behind a bus stop and passengers cross the cycle lane to reach it.

These allow cyclists to keep out of the way of buses that regularly pull in and out, which makes the routes safer. They are also more likely to be used by children and less confident cyclists. However, there has been criticism that some of the UK examples – especially in London – are not designed sufficiently well, and make using buses intimidating and sometimes dangerous for blind people.

The National Federation of the Blind UK (NFBUK) has campaigned for the designs, also known as bus stop bypasses, to be banned. Harper recently met the charity and is understood to be sympathetic to the idea.

The prospect of a ban has alarmed active travel groups, who say this could make it impossible to build safe bike lanes on the many main roads along which buses run. In London, which has the most floating bus stops in the UK, statistics for 2020 to 2022 showed that of 623 pedestrians injured after being struck by a bike, 0.6% of them – four in all – were hit at floating bus stops. Over the same period, 11,400 pedestrians and 15,000 cyclists were injured after being hit by motor vehicles.

A Department of Transport source said Harper took the concerns of groups such as the NFBUK very seriously, in part as he had formerly served as minister for disabled people and had held the same role as a shadow minister for three years.

The NFBUK argues that floating bus stops are “a chaotic, confusing and disorienting space” for blind and partially sighted people. The campaign group Cycling UK said that while it accepted some existing floating bus stops were not designed well enough, the solution was to improve designs and to liaise with disabled people and charities, not a ban.