🆕OS NGD Transport Network Cycle and Bus Lanes
A Lightning Talk
Bus and Cycle Lanes
In September 2025, selected Cycle Lane and Bus Lane data was incorporated into the OS NGD Transport Network. This has been classified ‘EARLY RELEASE’, in anticipation of the completion of nationwide coverage, via a phased monthly approach, by spring 2026. .
These new datasets represent real-world areas that have been specifically designated for exclusive use by buses and/or cycles. They are primarily targeted toward ‘asset management’ usage scenarios, where they may be required for supporting infrastructure planning, policy making or supporting ‘active travel’ initiatives.
Conversely, such features tend to be fragmented and don’t, in themselves, form a cohesive network. Nor, within the current release, have they been incorporated into wider OS network products. As such, these datasets, in their current form, are not recommended for use within route finding applications.
It should also be noted that since local policy dictates exactly how bus and cycle lanes are implemented within their communities, you might expect to notice that these differences in approach will be reflected as inconsistencies within this data.
OS NGD Transport Network
The full OS NGD Transport Network Collection comprises of 20 geometry layers and 8 cross reference layers and is covered, more generally, in a separate Lightning Talk. The inclusion of bus and cycle lane data, specifically, has necessitated the addition of two new features layers – Cycle Lane and Bus Lane – alongside an update of the established Road Link and Path Link layers.
Bus Lane Features
A bus lane is defined as being a section of road that is segregated by a physical feature, or painted section of road, only for buses or for related shared usage.
OS NGD Bus Lane features are based upon line geometries that depict the approximate centreline of bus lanes. Multiple Bus Lane features may be used to represent a single physical bus lane, to enable compatibility with associated Road Link features. However, they are not topologically structured.
Bus Lane features have been collected in urban areas only. Additionally, the data does not incorporate temporal information (i.e. ‘bus lane times’).
In situations where a ‘lane’ has been created to accommodate both buses and cycles, just a Bus Lane feature is provided within OS NGD.
Cycle Lane Features
A cycle lane is defined as being a section of road or path that is designated for cyclists, either segregated by a physical feature, or identified by painted or other signage. The distinction between a cycle lane (as discussed, here) and a cycle route should be noted and understood A cycle lane, specifically, refers to designated cycle infrastructure. This is distinct from a ‘route’, which may also comprise of shared-use surfaces.
OS NGD Cycle Lane features are based upon line geometries that that depict the approximate centreline of cycle lanes. Cycle lanes only captured when they exist alongside publicly accessible road or path links.
Multiple Cycle Lane features may be used to represent a single physical cycle lane, to enable compatibility with associated Road Link and Path Link features. They are not topologically structured.
Cycle Lane features are primarily captured from aerial photography. This can work well when ground markings are present but is understandably less successful when demarcation is achieved via vertically mounted signage. In part, this limitation will be addressed via alternative ‘change intelligence’ survey methods, although these will vary in accuracy and completeness across the country. As such, at least in the short term, gaps in cycle lane coverage should be expected.
Bus/Cycle Lane Feature Attribution
The Bus Lane and Cycle Lane feature types are both supplied with an extensive set of detailed attribution. This includes standard NGD fields such as ‘OSID’, ‘versiondate’ and ‘changetype’, but also includes attributes that are more specifically related to bus or cycle lanes.
Notable attribution types include:
Description (segregation type)
Modal Width and Minimum Width
Direction of travel
A reference to the associated road or path link feature (Link ID)
Side of link / side of road
New Road Link Attribution
As part of the introduction of bus and cycle lane features, additional attribution has been added to the existing Road Link feature type.
These new attributes are prefixed with ‘Presenceofbuslane_’ and ‘Presenceofcyclelane’ respectively. Their primary purpose is to indicate the extent to which the bus/cycle lane relates to the overall road link. This is expressed by both percentage and linear measurements, but also incorporates directionality information.
Further to this, ‘evidence’ and ‘update’ dates are included, along with a description of the capture method.
Road Link attribution may reference both bus lane and cycle lane features, when these exist as separate and distinct features. In cases where dual-purpose bus and cycle lane features exist, these are represented only as bus lanes and will therefore be attributed accordingly.
New Path Link Attribution
Along with updates to Road Link feature attribution, additional attributes have also been added to the Path Link feature type. However, these relate to cycle paths only, as we offer no association between path links and bus lanes.
These new attributes are prefixed with ‘Presenceofcyclelane’. Their primary purpose is to indicate the extent to which the cycle lane relates to the overall path link. As with the road link equivalents, this is expressed by both percentage and linear measurements, but also incorporates directionality information.
Two additional attributes, specific to Path Link features, concern ‘segregated’ links. This refers to single paths that have separate marked sections for different user types. Typically, this might be a path that has separate pedestrian and cycle lanes.
Further to these, ‘evidence’ and ‘update’ dates are included, along with a description of the capture method.
Links that may be useful:
This content has been developed from what was originally a Lightning Talk PowerPoint slide set. These slides are available to PSGA members to view and download from the PSGA members area of the OS website
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