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Floating bus stop in Camden, LondonLondon’s cycling chief says he was “punched in the face” by cyclist he confronted for not waiting for pedestrian at floating bus stop
London’s deputy mayor for transport Seb Dance has claimed that he was “punched in the face” by a cyclist he confronted for not waiting for a pedestrian at a floating bus stop.
The former Labour MEP, whose role focuses on delivering Sadiq Khan’s transport strategy and ensuring that 80 percent of journeys in London are walked, cycled, or made using public transport by 2041, made the claim during Thursday’s Mayor’s Question Time at City Hall.
In a video published by the Daily Telegraph, Dance can be seen describing the incident to a visually impaired campaigner who attended the public meeting to oppose the installation of floating bus stops in the capital, as the National Federation of the Blind wrote to mayor Sadiq Khan calling for “urgent action” to protect pedestrians from being hit by cyclists and e-scooter users on the contested infrastructure.
“I was cycling alongside a floating bus stop, and there was someone waiting to cross,” Dance says in the video.
“I stopped, and two of my fellow cyclists didn’t. I then caught up with them and remonstrated with them. And I was punched in the face for my efforts.”
After the campaigner raised the well-trodden issue of licence plates for cyclists, the Labour politician noted that, since the alleged attacker was riding a hire bike, he could be tracked and that the incident was reported to the police.
Dance’s claim was made at the same event where Sadiq Khan promised a review of the guidance and enforcement around the use of floating bus stops, after 164 campaign groups raised safety concerns for visually impaired pedestrians on the infrastructure – but failed to provide evidence of any incident.
Floating bus stops, where a cycle lane is sandwiched between a bus stop and the pavement, have been introduced in many parts of the country to protect cyclists from being stuck behind a stationary bus or having to pull out into moving traffic.
However, blind campaigners highlighted what they claim to be the threat posed to visually impaired people by cyclists during Mayor’s Question Time on Thursday, with Khan confirming that Transport for London (TfL) was already reviewing the safety conditions of the bus stops.
“I’m more than happy to throw at this what we can to make sure these bus stop bypasses are safer than they appear to be,” he said.
A petition, penned by the president of the National Federation of the Blind UK and signed by 164 campaign groups was sent to Khan earlier this week, calling for “urgent action” to protect pedestrians from being hit by cyclists, e-bike riders, or e-scooters users.
“Expecting people who cannot see, who cannot move very fast, or who are using mobility aids to step on and into a cycle lane with speeding cyclists and people using e-devices is simply not safe,” the letter argued.
However, the campaigners admitted that they were unaware of specific incidents of blind people coming to harm — but claimed that the potential danger of colliding with a cyclist had led many blind people to avoid using buses in the first place.
> Sunday Telegraph accused of using divisive rhetoric in “death trap” floating bus stops article
The letter came just days after the Sunday Telegraph controversially quoted a spokesperson for the National Federation of the Blind who labelled floating bus stops as “death traps” – despite not providing any evidence to back up that assertion.
“Our concerns, our evidence and our accessibility needs have been ignored, diminished and ridiculed for far too long over the inherently discriminatory floating bus stop design,” Sarah Gayton, the charity’s shared space co-ordinator, told the newspaper.
“We need a complete halt on any new ones being installed, getting the ones installed in lockdown taken out, and all the others removed. It beggars belief that they’re still putting them in. This research should be a massive wake-up call. It’s crazy.”
Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, defended the infrastructure, saying: “Bus stop bypasses are a nationally recognised approach for avoiding the dangers of cyclists going around buses into oncoming traffic.
“TfL, like many cities across the country, have integrated this approach into our cycleway programme and we’ve seen a dramatic increase in [the] number of people cycling in the city. We are continually working to make all our infrastructure as safe as possible for all road users. All cyclists are required to stop for pedestrians at zebra crossings in accordance with the Highway Code.”
> “Like playing Russian roulette” – Blind people raise concerns about floating cycle lane bus stops
Nevertheless, the claim was picked up by Conservative London Assembly member Emma Best, who echoed the newspaper’s rhetoric on Thursday when she claimed the majority of cyclists refuse to stop for pedestrians, putting the safety of pensioners and young children at risk.
She asked the mayor if he would support an “awareness campaign” advising cyclists on how to behave on floating bus stops, leading Khan to reply that while TfL’s installation of the Dutch-style infrastructure was “completely consistent” with Department for Transport’s guidance, all cyclists also need to stop at zebra crossings in accordance with the Highway Code.
“Clearly, if it is the case that that is not happening, we need to not just raise awareness, we need to try and ensure there is enforcement as well,” the Labour mayor told the public meeting.
“We need to make sure we keep cyclists safe from the risk of pulling out into traffic when a bus is [at] a bus stop, but also that pedestrians, particularly visually impaired ones, aren’t in danger because of cyclists not following the code. It’s really important they feel safe as well.
“What I am willing to do, and what I think we must do, is look into safety concerns raised by not just those who are visually impaired but others to make sure, in the quest to make cyclists safe, we don’t inadvertently, because a minority of cyclists aren’t following the rules, endanger others.”
> Pedestrian safety fears raised over floating bus stops on new cycle lane in Bath
Floating bus stops have already come under criticism in other cities by visually impaired people, with one campaigner from Glasgow suggesting it makes using the bus “like playing Russian roulette”, and another in Bath calling the infrastructure “an accident waiting to happen”.
However, Sustrans’ detailed analysis of potential conflict between pedestrians and cyclists at two floating bus stops in Cambridge in 2016 showed that “all interactions” between road users at the location concerned reflected “safe, normal behaviour.”
The study also found that 99 percent of the cyclists who passed through the location did not have any interaction with pedestrians.
After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.
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54 comments
And that excuses behaviour of cyclists on dedicated infrastructure shared with more vulnerable users how? Another fine example of whataboutery.
Suggest you come to Chiswick and see the behaviour of a large proportion of cyclist using cycleway C9 which has these crossings and dedicated traffic signals along the route for cyclists, both routinely ignored.
Genuine question - what is "dedicated infrastructure shared with more vulnerable users"? Just these crossings at bus-stop bypasses? Or do you mean something more? In that case it's only "dedicated" in the "not for motor vehicles" sense (which also still needs more enforcement).
EDIT - better link:
That's more current UK-standard short-sighted shared use-efforts which just aren't good enough. Here's what we should be doing instead.
To anyone with an ounce of common sense it is obvious, to those who want to defend the frankly appalling behaviour of many cyclists using the infrastracture clearly not so much. Feel free to come to Chiswick and see what I mean.
The clue is in the name though, again taking Chiswick as an example. What do you think the "C" in C9 standards for? That's right "Cycleway". It is a route dedicated to cyclists, with traffic signals specifically for cyclists since they are the ones using it. It is in no way "shared use" so your first effort at window shopping random blogs to back you up fails. Your second one though highlights the situation well, as it shows numerous examples of dedicated infrastruture that runs in tandem with footpaths, with the inevitablilty that while not "shared" the two will need to interact at places as is the case with crossings on the UK/London ones and floating bus stops.
Just a question as to what "dedicated ... shared" meant - the two are contradictory!
So it sounds like you're more "what about bad cyclists?" than these bus stop bypasses specifically? ("frankly appalling behaviour of many cyclists" and "... the two will need to interact at places...")
Several people here note issues in London. I wonder if this is "but Londoners", or (more likely) because we're in a transition - cycle infra and more cyclists is recent? But perhaps the same occured in NL in 70s / early 80s? There were certainly riots and serious disturbances as they struggled to tame cars a bit. It's great now... Cold comfort if you're feeling threatened by cyclists (or embarrassed to be one), true.
In the UK you can't depend on "the clue is in the name". Particularly not when they were "cycling superhypeways" and were a very mixed bag. I don't live in London but you inspired me to have a look at least.
So not all finished yet and it seems and it's the good / bad / ugly as usual. Some actual separate cycle path but lots of this is still on-road cycle lane, with intermittent or no protection and minimal separation from traffic. (Still a long way from NL quality. Hence the links. People don't know what they don't know. If it works, it works, wouldn't you say?)
Back to bus stop bypasses. There are at least 3 different bus stop bypass arrangements. Some not so good e.g. where the zebra crossing is distant from the shelter I suspect many pedestrians will ignore it and cross more directly - so that needs improved. Having many variations is going to be confusing for everyone too.
Also same as with people in motor vehicles there does need to be enforcement and the knowledge that you can be caught.
Since the debate around policing motor scooters has had some time I think questions about e.g. stopping those on two wheels have been answered. And we have police bikes of various kinds already.
No, really it was pedantry on your part.
Not at all. I rely on the improved infrastructure through London for my commute. I can show you video comparing navigating Hammersmith roundabout last year to now by bike and it is a godsend what has been done. If I am against anything, it is against the type of cyclists who risk these improvements being rolled back by putting more vulnerable users at risk with their behaviour. The behaviour at these crossings and bus stops is one example.
[/quote]
Maybe so, with the number of cyclists in London even a small percentage cycling without care can present a problem. I don't live "in" London and do not see as much of an issue local to me, but then there are not as many cyclists nor the level of infrastructure. Who knows?
It is a mixed bag but better than outside of London, take Kent for example where the solution is invariably to slap a shared use sign on a pavement, that genuinely creating a "shared" route.
People will always take a more direct route. But it shouldn't be "confusing" not least to cyclists who should by all accounts from comments on road.cc be experts compared to drivers on the HC etc.
Fair enough, I would be interested in the "why?" as I think that's important if you want to address the behaviour.
Agree. Visiting Lincolnshire a bit recently and reminding myself of some of the dubious "infra" (where there is any at all). Even Edinburgh is a real patchwork.
I just look at where this does work (mostly Scandinavian places and NL - I've been to NL a few times so have at least some brief personal test experience). There "shared use" in the UK sense is rarely the case. As demand for cycling increases this stuff becomes rarer and increasingly all modes have their own clearly-marked space.
People will - so you accommodate that in the design. I can see this is all very new - indeed unfinished - on CS9. Much better to work with human nature if possible. It shouldn't be a new concept to designers as it's applied all over road design. Humans are easily overloaded; keep designs as standard as possible and avoid safety issues. (One of my bugbears has been we have road standards but cycling design "guidance" - looks like it's now required for new bids at least).
I like them.
The only issue I see is that they, like every other cycle track, aren't marked with tactile paving like other roads are.
The better ones will have a barrier between the bus stop and the track to stop people queuing/wandering into the track.
That is awful behaviour by the person on the bike.
However, I can't help thinking that there are lots of other situations where visually impaired folk have to navigate cycle paths (or roads, for that matter) and the exact same behaviour would be just as unacceptable in those situations.
The presence of the bus stop bypass feels like a bit of a red herring.
I suspect that, while the incident hasn't been invented, there is a certain amount of opportunistic political point scoring going on.
(Disclaimer: I'm getting more cynical, with age)
cool. Now can someone please do something about the people controlling two tonnes of metal who routinely go through the zebra crossings when I'm trying to cross the road with my kids on the way to nursery. Maybe I should get a high vis buggy?
Does your local police force accept video evidence from pedestrians?
If so, just film on your mobile as you approach the crossing. Anyone goes through as you're crossing and they can look forward to a nice fine and some points.
My local force(West Yorkshire) are highly inconsistent. Sometimes it is all very routine, and you submit a video and are informed a few weeks later that action has been taken. Other times they don't respond. And sometimes they blame the video submitter for doing something made-up and wrong. I guess it depends on which officer reviews the video
I've only submitted a few to Operation Snap, which covers all of Wales I believe, but they've been good so far. All have been 'actioned' but they don't tell you anymore than that.
Have managed to get action taking against builders persistently parking on zebra crossings using pedestrian video so might be worth a shot?
I'd like to know more about the preceding "confrontation" initiated by Seb Dance. There can be scant excuse for "punching someone in the face", but in other news cyclists are relieved of their bicycles by hoodlums on bikes. A lot could depend on who is telling the story.
As it was a hire bike, that excuse shouldn't work.
Yes, I see that, so the example of having your bike snatched was not the best. Phone, laptop bag, etc? I was meaning, in general, being accosted and confronted whilst cycling may well provoke alarm.
That is not to excuse not stopping for pedestrians on a crossing. I'm just wary of the juxtaposition of the two events (errant cycling, punching in face). I suspect there was more to the chain of events which is being glossed over. Maybe.
I'm always suspicious of people describing events like this for political purposes. Was the assault reported to the police?
I very much share your suspicion, but:
Does imply that it was reported, but no report on the outcome; I very much suspect the Met would not have taken this any further unless there was video evidence.
Thanks, I missed that. I hope they find the suspect, but I wouldn't want to rely on the Met.
True. I gather that the Met are very good at hunting down lone women, but their track record on street criminals isn't so good...
Anyone with such rage issues should have their bicycle taken away and be forced to drive a car where their anger management problems will be considered perfectly normal behaviour.
Assaulting someone for remonstrating with you is unacceptable behaviour, criminal in fact, and deserving of condemnation and legal sanction. As a society in general, we are too willing to accept behaviour of this kind whether it be a cyclist, a driver or just some yob in the pub.
Anger issues on the road? Downgrade 'em. Drivers lose driving privileges, cyclists can walk.
Less punishment, more health and safety basics.
Disgusting
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