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A guide to registering and operating local bus services in England and Wales - updated

21 Mar 2025

An overview of the process for registering and operating local bus services in England and Wales has been updated to include the addition of worked examples to guidance on when notice periods start and end. Advice to operators on retaining disruption reports and making them available on request.

Please note this guidance is primarily for local bus services registered with a traffic commissioner. Changes in legislation has resulted in an increase in the number of bodies responsible for the registration of local bus services. However, much of this guide will be relevant for those areas which have different registration authorities. 

Services that operate in franchised areas or in some areas covered by enhanced partnership schemes will be subject to different procedures. Further information on these different scheme types can be found in this guide and Annexes.

This guidance is intended to help the operators of local bus services to understand the requirements for registering a local bus service. It will advise on how to register services with a traffic commissioner and describes how the local bus service registration system works in England and Wales.

Further information:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/a-guide-to-registering-and-operating-local-bus-services-in-england-and-wales?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=def9b9b5-6b78-4b27-a4cd-5ea9a5b3d37b&utm_content=immediately#full-publication-update-history