The Bus Services Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 were made on 14 July 2026 and signed by Simon Lightwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport. The instrument is the second set of commencement regulations made under the Bus Services Act 2025 and activates a further group of provisions on 5 August 2026. From that date, parts of the 2025 Act move from enabling legislation to live administrative duties. The commencement package covers inspectors, byelaws for local bus services, safety and accessibility guidance for stopping places, information duties to the Secretary of State, and workforce training on crime, anti-social behaviour and disability.
Regulation 2 brings into force section 27, so far as not already in force, on powers of inspectors; sections 28 and 29 on byelaws; section 30 on safety and accessibility of stopping places; section 32, so far as not already in force, on information to the Secretary of State; and sections 34 to 36 on training duties, again so far as any parts were not already in force. The Explanatory Note presents this as a coordinated commencement rather than a narrow technical update. Inspector-related provision on public service vehicles, local rule-making powers, accessibility governance and staff standards all move on the same operational date of 5 August 2026.
Sections 28 and 29 are especially important for transport authorities because they switch on statutory provision for byelaws covering local bus services in England, with separate treatment for services outside London and services with one or more stopping places in London. The regulations do not themselves draft those byelaws, but they allow the relevant powers under the 2025 Act to be used. Section 30 comes into force on the same date and enables the Secretary of State to issue guidance on safety and accessibility in relation to local bus stopping places and facilities in the vicinity of those stopping places. For authorities responsible for bus infrastructure, that widens policy attention from service delivery to the condition, layout and usability of stops and nearby access points.
Section 32 adds a reporting duty alongside that guidance power. Under the Act, authorities must provide information to the Secretary of State about compliance with the duty to have regard to guidance issued under sections 30 and 31, and the Secretary of State may publish that information. In practical terms, this means the new accessibility and safety guidance is linked to a disclosure mechanism. Authorities are likely to need clear records showing how guidance has been considered, what decisions were taken, and how compliance has been assessed if publication by the Secretary of State becomes routine.
Sections 34 to 36 bring workforce training into force as a formal legal requirement. The commenced provisions deal with training on crime and anti-social behaviour, disability awareness and the assistance to be provided to disabled passengers. The regulations define "relevant training" by reference to new section 144F(2) of the Transport Act 2000, inserted by section 34 of the 2025 Act, and to Article 16 and Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 181/2011, as amended by section 35 of the 2025 Act. That drafting connects the new domestic duties to the passenger-rights rules already used in bus and coach transport.
Regulation 3 creates the first transitional rule and applies to anyone required to complete relevant training because they were employed into the relevant role before 5 August 2026. For that group, during the period from 5 August 2026 to 31 December 2029, the statutory wording that would ordinarily require training "within the past five years" is to be read instead as requiring completion "by 31 December 2029". The practical effect is a fixed catch-up window for existing staff. Instead of applying a rolling five-year look-back immediately on commencement, the regulations create a single backstop date at the end of 2029 for workers already in post.
Regulation 4 sets a different timetable for people employed into a relevant role on or after 5 August 2026. For that cohort, during the period from 5 August 2026 to 31 December 2028, the same statutory wording is to be read as "by 31 December 2028" rather than "within the past five years". This gives new entrants a shorter transitional period than existing staff. The distinction points to a staged compliance model in which employers are expected to build the new training standard into recruitment and induction arrangements more quickly for staff taken on after commencement.
The Explanatory Note also records that this instrument builds on earlier commencement steps. Sections 27, 34 and 36 were already in force on the day the 2025 Act was passed, but only for the purpose of making regulations. Section 32 was partly commenced earlier by S.I. 2026/46, which took effect on 26 January 2026 for authorities subject to the duty under section 31(7). For local transport authorities, Transport for London and bus operators, the immediate task is operational rather than symbolic. By 5 August 2026, governance arrangements for byelaws, evidence trails for guidance compliance and training schedules for staff all need to be in place. The impact assessment published with the 2025 Act provides the broader policy case, but this instrument is the point at which several of those duties acquire firm dates.