“They treat disabled people with contempt”: Disability charity criticise government’s ‘floating’ bus lanes after ministers accused of ‘underplaying’ evidence of danger; Punchy finale without fans at wildfire-affected Tour de France + more on the live blog
Floating bus stops under fire once again
Floating bus stops are, admittedly, slightly odd things. A solution to maintaining the flow of cyclists and scooter users whilst allowing pedestrians to reach the bus. Earlier this year, we reported on the criticism of a single zebra stripe that appeared to be connecting a pavement to a bus stop, although that criticism came from a group of motorists who appeared irritated at the thought of any cycle infrastructure at all…
In 2024, the then Conservative Transport Secretary Mark Harper was reportedly considering a ban on them altogether, a proposal which drew a swift backlash from cycling campaigners and active travel commissioners alike.
> Warning government considering ban on floating bus stops “could stop new protected cycle lanes”
Now, the Daily Mail have got in on the ‘debate’ and are accusing the government of ‘ignoring’ its own advice. It should be said the Mail’s take on floating bus stops should be taken with a pinch of salt, particularly when the angle taken is that Labour are “pandering to the cycling lobby.”
The substance of their story is a report by the Government’s disabled persons transport advisory committee (DPTAC), which the ‘paper has seen following a freedom of information request. It accuses the government of ‘underplaying’ concerns raised by disabled and vulnerable people about floating bus stops.
The report called for the installation of floating bus stops to be “paused until further research is complete” with more emphasis recommended on the “suitable calming measures to alert cyclists of the need for a change in behaviour, to slow down and give way to pedestrians.”
The key element of the story is the conflation of two different types of infrastructure, a “shared use bus stop boarder” which sees pedestrians boarding and disembarking the bus from the cycle lane itself, and a “bus stop bypass” which sees the bus stop ‘float’ on an island accessible across a cycle lane by a small zebra crossing.
The pavement, cycle lane, and island are typically segregated by a combination of kerbs, different paint colours, and surfaces. The former was banned last year, whilst the latter remains a standard design in active travel policy.
But that’s not enough for some campaigners.
Sarah Gayton, from the National Federation of the Blind of the UK, speculates that the ministerial code might have been broken by the government knowingly misleading Parliament. She added, “This is supposed to be the Labour Party but they treat disabled people with contempt.”
The Mail also quoted the Guide Dogs charity which found their dogs are “predisposed” to avoiding the floating bus stops as they didn’t perceive them as safe.
In response, the Department for Transport said “further research” was being carried out, and that they wanted accessibility “at the heart of these designs” and would make funding available to local authorities to modify their floating bus stops where necessary.
It unfortunately seems like this debate won’t be resolved easily…
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You forgot to include giving yourself a dose of heatstroke by riding all day in mid-40s temperatures.
@eburtthebike Sorry to hear that. I had a very worried wife who saw me being a goldfish. I kept going round the same loop of 4 statements. My shoulder really hurts, what happened? My watch is broken, I suppose the bike is fu***d? Apparently I did that for about 2 hours. I eventually came back to near normality about 5-6 hours later. I was on the phone to my wife and I suddenly realised I had cold feet. I looked at them and they were bare as were my legs, I said Bear this is a bit embarrassing I haven't got any trousers on, er nor a shirt what the hell is going on? She said you have been in an accident and you are at hospital. The bike had fingernail marks in the bar tape, a scuff to the back of the front mudguard, and a broken quill pedal. now all repaired. Somehow I managed to stop the bike but not me. The Helmet was cracked right through. I had a broken tooth a bust rib and a lot of bruising. Someone came out of a house and put me in the recovery position in the road until I came round. For me not remembering what happened is really quite frustrating. I have bought a go-pro clone to go on the bike but I haven't actually fitted it yet. It would be sensible to just to have a bit of evidence if the same should ever happen again. After all there aren't always Londis shops with CCTV in just the right position are there?
@timscottellis given the "anarchic by design" organising principle what Critical mass is "for" will vary (even between participants). I believe part of the original idea was to be "critical" - direct activism against motorists by reclaiming space. Whether it's a good idea to annoy people who mostly will have no clue why you're doing that is a question of course. It certainly serves a community building and awareness raising function. And for some (perhaps like yourself?) showing them that they *can* ride on the streets. Albeit some would never do so outside of such an event.
Money's *always* tight - or rather it's always tight for active travel because in the UK that is very low on the priority list *. The vast majority of money goes on apparently unrelated stuff - health and adult social care. But I think active travel could make a minor but positive contribution here. And a large amount of that money compared to active travel spend goes on things that overall have a negative impact there (indeed are a net cost) - providing for the level of motoring we have. Including repeatedly pouring money into (pot-) holes in the ground. Could we reallocate some of that? * For some parties - maybe even governments - it's actually something they're against. If only because they're more keen on motoring which will effectively work against it.
I don't understand why the police can't crack down on those bloody idiots forcing the riders to inhale the smoke from powder flares, not as if it's a sort of guerrilla action, interfering with the riders then disappearing back into the crowd, they couldn't be any easier to spot as they stand there holding them but I don't think I've ever seen police, authorities or other fans intervening to stop them in a road race. Seen the police doing a good job stopping them at cyclocross, obviously on a long road stage it's not as easy to have an officer on the spot at the right time but yesterday's flareup (sorry) was on the finishing circuit, there must have been a few coppers in the vicinity who could have dealt with it.
Bit confused now Tom, you said that "AFAIK nobody said he’s going to ride to win the GC", I gave you an example of Seixas himself talking about going for GC, now you're saying there you are, there is evidence that he's talking about the GC? I know that, it was me who shared the quote.
Couldn't have a much more perfect example for a certain poster of how cycling continues to feel the full force of climate change...
@Rendel Harris Oh, and by the way. "But I will not take risks for something other than the GC." - this could just as well be read as "I won't take any risks unless it's really, really worth it." They're not even talking about snatching the maillot jaune for a day, but about the GC. Who wouldn't, if they had a opportune shot at that?
Here's a photo I took on Alpe d'Huez at TdF 1991. L to R: Gianni Bugno, Miguel Indurain, Luc Leblanc. They would finish the stage in that order, Bugno winning. Yes, colour film was available in 1991 but that day I chose to use black and white knowing that many years hence it would look epic.
Riding a bike is green. Pro cycling is not. Don't greenwash us by confusing one with the other.