The role of bus shelter design in air pollution mitigation.
Request ID: FOI-0632-2021
Date published: 31 July 2020
You asked
I am writing to you to ask whether TFL have ever undertaken work on:
► The role of bus shelter design in air pollution mitigation.
► Whether air pollution is taken into account during the selection of bus shelters along public roads.
► A copy of TFL’s design policy for the selection of bus shelters on public roads.
After scouring the online materials, I could find no mention of any such work and I just wanted to confirm that no other work had been undertaken by the Department of Transport.
I appreciate your help and assistance with my request, I hope to hear from you soon.
We answered
TfL Ref: EIR-0632-2021
Thank you for your request of 16th July 2020 asking for information about the role of bus shelter design in air pollution mitigation.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy.
Your questions are answered in turn below:
The role of bus shelter design in air pollution mitigation:
The primary role of a bus shelter is to protect people from extremes of weather with lighting to help them feel more secure. Seating is provided to assist mobility impaired passengers that do not use wheelchairs. The designs that TfL use reflect this. Air pollution is not a factor in standard bus shelter design currently.
TfL has designed and installed one green roof bus shelter at Baker Street and five in Lewisham as part of a trial with intention of increasing biodiversity, which can help with air pollution in some cases. However, existing bus shelters were not originally designed to carry the additional weight of a green roof and will need to be reinforced. Through TfL’s longer term bus shelter renewal programme consideration will be given to new designs that incorporate green roofs into the structure. The results of the trial will be evaluated before a decision is made on a further roll out.
More generally, TfL has a catalogue of measures that are used across London to improve air quality. These measures are detailed here: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/air-quality
Whether air pollution is taken into account during the selection of bus shelters along public roads:
Bus Shelters across London are currently a standard design, although the size and dimensions can change with differing specs related to seating, lighting and bus information units. This means that the selection process is based on space available, accessibility and patronage.
It should be noted that they are around 1,000 bus shelters in London that are owned and maintained by the local boroughs and JCD Decaux. We do not hold information on these and they may have different designs..
A copy of TFL’s design policy for the selection of bus shelters on public roads:
The TfL bus stop design policy can be found online here http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-stop-design-guidance.pdf
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.
After scouring the online materials, I could find no mention of any such work and I just wanted to confirm that no other work had been undertaken by the Department of Transport:
We cannot comment on whether any work is being undertaken by the Department of Transport. This is a question that would need to be directed to that body.
If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.
On a more general matter, please note that the impact of current circumstances on TfL’s resources means we are not able to answer FOI/EIR requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.
Answering such requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Thomas
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
Back to top
