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An advance sign to
warn there is a bus lane ahead and give you time to change lanes. This should
be cited 30m in advance of the taper where the speed limit is 30mph and 45m in
advance where it is over 30mph (see
below1) | |
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A sign at the start
of the lane (ie the commencement of the thick white line) |
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Repeater signs at
regular intervals (approximately every 300m) and after every
side road. | |
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If you enter the road
with the bus lane from a side road you may see one of these signs. Ensure the
hours of operation (if any) are the same as those on the main road. |
3. Roadmarkings
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A bus lane should be
commenced by a diagonal taper in the form of a dashed line approximately 30m
long to give drivers time to change lane (see
below2) |
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It must be denoted
by a thick solid white line. | |
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The words ‘Bus Lane’
should be written at the start of the lane and at at regular intervals (approximately
every 300m) and/or at the commencement of every side road. |
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4. The Design of Signs
The
start and repeater bus lane signs should look like one of these pictures. The
word ‘taxi’ may be added and the bus symbol should show either a full bus or a
bus with the word ‘local’ written in it. Any other variation is invalid unless
it has specific DfT approval. Hours of operation can be added underneath. The
same rules apply to the advance bus lane sign. |
 
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5. Traffic Order
Each
bus lane must be covered by a Traffic
Order which stipulates the exact location of the lane and its hours
of operation and this must match the signs.
No
traffic order means the bus lane cannot be enforced and is grounds for appeal.
Any difference between the hours or days of operation on the traffic order compared
to the signs is also grounds for appeal. Traffic orders are public documents and
can be viewed by contacting the relevant local authority.
Summary
of the Regulations
Click
on the diagram below to see a summary of the signing and roadmarking requirements
of a bus lane. To produce this summary the sign details have been taken from the
Traffic
Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) 2002
and the general layout from
Chapter 3 (for signs) and
Chapter 5
(for roadmarkings) of
the Traffic Signs Manual. Please note though
that the latter documents are guidance only.
You
can cross a bus lane to enter into a private access. However you may not drive
up a bus lane to turn left, even for a short distance. You can only enter the
lane to turn left into a side road where the solid white line ends.
Click
on Image for larger picture
Bus Only Streets
In
London bus only streets must be enforced under a
different act (London
Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003).
Ensure your ticket has been issued under this act (check
the top of the ticket) and click
here to ensure it complies with
the law. Outside London they can be enforced under the same act
as normal bus lanes.
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A
bus only street, denoted with the words "Bus Only" on the road, should be accompanied by one of the sign
combinations shown below. Click each sign for a link to the
diagram in the TSRGD outlining its regulations, permitted
variants etc. This picture shows invalid wording in Bodiam Way,
Brent - "Buses" only instead of Bus. |
A
bus and cycle only street should be accompanied by the following
sign:
In accordance with
Direction 8 from the TSRGD,
the above signs should be on both sides of the road except where:
(i) traffic proceeding on another road on which it is
permitted to proceed only in one direction turns into the
relevant road; or
(ii) the carriageway of the relevant road is less than 5
metres wide and the sign is so placed that its centre is
within 2 metres of the edge of the carriageway.
It
is essential that adequate advance warning is given for a bus
only street to prevent motorists inadvertently entering it. More
information about the signing of bus only streets and bus gates
can be found on page 140 of the DfT guidance
document
Chapter 3 of the Traffic Signs Manual.
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