Guidance

Creating and managing a bus network accessibility plan (Bus NAP)

Setting up a bus network accessibility plan to support independent, safe and comfortable travel for disabled people.

• From: Department for Transport
• Published: 28 August 2026

Applies to England

Documents

Creating and managing a bus network accessibility plan

HTML

Bus NAP template

MS Word Document, 33 KB

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Details

All local transport authorities (LTAs) in England must publish a bus network accessibility plan (Bus NAP) by 1 April 2027.

A Bus NAP covers any services with at least one stop in an LTA’s area and must:

• describe existing features of the bus network which support disabled people to use local bus services
• assess the extent to which features of the network enable disabled people to travel independently, safely and in reasonable comfort
• describe any action that the authority plans to take to improve the accessibility of bus services in their area

This guidance:

• explains what LTAs must do to comply with their legal requirements
• provides advice on the key principles to support LTAs throughout the development lifecycle of a Bus NAP

LTAs should use the Bus NAP template provided with this guidance as the basis for their Bus NAP.

Published 28 August 2026