London’s Mayor says the wide use of 20 mile per hour limits on roads across the capital is not slowing down average bus speeds, despite the fact that buses remain slightly slower than they were pre-pandemic.
Harrow Online quotes a written answer in which he says it was “unlikely” that the rising number of 20mph roads was having more than a “negligible” impact on bus speeds – as “overall journey times are largely dictated by junction delays”.
The Mayor wrote: “Due to current average speeds, it is unlikely that the lowering of speed limits from 30mph to 20mph will change existing journey times during the day.”
However the site adds that Conservatives on the London Assembly argue that the policy has caused unnecessary delays on buses, creating a “long-term cycle of decline” where buses become less attractive to Londoners because of how slow they are, and consequently less financially viable for TfL – leading to routes being cut.
It says a report by the watchdog London Travelwatch revealed in November last year that in parts of central London, bus speeds have dropped below 7mph.
(Picture – Highways News)
