Floating bus stops: Campaigning for better

Cllr Joanna Biddolph standing on the floating bus stop with Cllrs Ron Mushiso and Cllr Vickram Grewal, all candidates for Chiswick Gunnersbury in the May 2026 elections. The photo shows the short zebra crossing on the left and a bus on the right.

The floating bus stop on Chiswick High Road is loathed by residents. Standing sandwiched between the road and the cycle lane gives many a sense of anxiety and fear; they feel vulnerable. The short zebra crossing is unnerving; if the bus stop is full or near full, passengers worry about having enough room to let people off the arriving bus and reach the short zebra crossing, while they are queueing to get on the bus. Their anxieties are frequently mocked; their fears are decried; cycling lobbyists shriek that accidents are rare, there are more risks from cars on the road. A TfL study bullishly argued that the risks were low and that floating bus stops were safe; its report had to be withdrawn twice because it was so flawed; it then had to withdraw its claims and admit that floating bus stops are not safe. Cllr Joanna Biddolph knows that Chiswick residents are not stupid and regrets that TfL and other cycling lobbyists have lacked empathy and instead have been gaslighting them.   

Failure to comply with British Standards BS8300-1 section 6.2.2  

The floating bus stop on Chiswick High Road in Chiswick Gunnersbury ward does not comply with BS8300-1:2018 Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment Section 6.2.2 on bus stops which states: So, that's another fail for Chiswick Gunnersbury says Cllr Joanna Biddolph. 

TfL's flawed report 

  • "TfL also admitted on Monday that some data in a previous report on bus stop bypass implementation was incorrect, with 37 stops out of 121 included in error." Campaigners Criticise Government Guidance on Floating Bus Stops as ‘Shambolic’: Insight blog, Safer Highways, 28th January 2026
  • "Separately, TfL admitted on Monday that data used for "implementation dates of some of the bus stop bypasses had been recorded incorrectly". At least 37 bus stops out of 121 included in a TfL report were included in error." : Calls to withdraw fresh floating bus stop guidance: Harry Low, BBC News, 27th January 2026
  • "TfL forced to correct report claiming floating bus stops are safe but London Mayor Sadiq Khan refuses to withdraw it despite TfL admitting yet more of the study could be inaccurate and that it cannot say how much of it is inaccurate." SEJ on X, Social Environment Justice, 25th January 2026
  • "Sir Sadiq Khan accused of deception after refusing to withdraw ‘error-riddled’ safety review": TfL forced to correct ‘dodgy’ report claiming floating bus stops are safe: Steve Bird, The Telegraph, 24th January 2026

Media coverage:

News

LTNs and Streetspace: Chiswick information compendium

So much has been written, or discussed at meetings, about TfL’s controversial Streetspace scheme and low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), and about road restrictions implemented by London borough and local councils, it’s easy to lose track of important articles, surveys, consultations, resea