This section provides travel information on tour buses operating in Bath & North East Somerset.

• New Restrictions
• History of Tour Buses in Bath

Tour Information - Information on specific tours can be found on the Visit Bath website.

Report your experiences - please contact our Public Transport team via the details given at the bottom of this page.

Councillor Comment

Cllr Sir Elgar Jenkins, Executive Member for Transportation & Highways, said “This is really good news for Bath.  This decision will be very well received by local residents and businesses and will reduce the environmental impact upon our historic buildings.  I wish to thank everyone who supported us in making the case to the Traffic Commissioner, in particular the many residents that have assisted us over the last few years. ”(back to top)

History of Tour Buses in Bath

Tour buses have had an environmental impact on the city of Bath for many years.  The issue peaked in 2004 when there were four tour bus operators in Bath operating a total of 25 tour buses on street at the same time, during the spring and summer.   

The average age of tour buses in 2004 was in excess of 25 years. These buses pre-dated modern exhaust emission standards and consequently the environmental impact in terms of air quality was severe.   

Since 2004 the situation has improved and there are now less tour buses and bus operators in the market. However there remains an underlining problem which will be dealt with by the restrictions imposed upon the operators by the Senior Traffic Commissioner. The restrictions will also provide a safeguard to prevent a return the problems experience in 2004. 

The Legislation -  Traffic Regulation Conditions were first introduced through the Transport Act 1985 and included powers for a Traffic Commissioner to impose restrictions on bus operators including restrictions concerning:

• the routes of bus services,
• the use of bus stops,
• the number of buses or frequency of bus service,
• reversing or turning manoeuvres.

As a result of lobbying by Bath & North East Somerset Council, the Government introduced two new categories of Traffic Regulation Conditions, in November 2004, through Statutory Instrument 2004 No.2682.  These new categories allow a Traffic Commissioner to impose restrictions on bus operators concerning:

• the exhaust emission standards of vehicles used by bus operators,
• the use of loud speakers on-board buses.

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