Urban clearways
An urban clearway keeps a busy road clear during the morning and evening rush hours. The sign shows the days and the two time periods when it applies.
During those times you must not stop, except for as long as it takes to pick up or set down passengers. You cannot park, wait or load. The restriction covers both sides of the road, including the pavements and verges.
Urban clearways have no road markings: the signs are placed at the start of the clearway and after each side road, and a sign marks where it ends.
Blue Badge holders have no exemption: they can pick up or drop off passengers, but must not park. Outside the times shown, the normal rules for the road apply.
Other clearways are different:
- A clearway sign with no times (a red cross on a blue background) means no stopping on the main road at any time, not even to pick up or set down passengers. It is used mainly on rural main roads, and you can still stop in lay-bys.
- Red routes, mostly in London, use red lines and signs to ban stopping. Some red route clearways have no red lines at all.
- Bus stop clearways are yellow boxes marked "BUS STOP". Apart from a few exceptions, such as a taxi briefly picking up or setting down a passenger, other vehicles must not stop in them during the times on the nearby sign, or at any time if it shows none.
This page was checked against the law in England and Wales on 22 October 2026. It is general guidance, not legal advice: see the legal disclaimer.