Saw this interesting graphic from tfl and thought I'd share. So many needless car journeys that could be better met with an expansion of bus and possibly even tubes / train services.

Or even expanded cycle infrastructure, how many people are scared to take up cycling because of the lack of infrastructure and aggressiveness of drivers?

by sabdotzed

9 comments

  1. I’d expect most of these trips to be zone 4 and outwards where you need a car to be able to do anything that doesn’t involve going into town.

  2. I’m in zone 4 and a lot of the amenities and shops that I need to go to are sideways from me. I.e. I have to get on the bloody ring road. The super loop buses are useless as they get stuck on the same trafficky stretch of road that I’m on.

  3. 3kms is nearly 2 miles. If you’re doing a there and back trip it’s going to be over an hour if you walk it. Is a big difference between 3km and 1.5km, which would be a better cut off.

    I do a 2.6km there and back car trip 4 times a week with a load of sports gear. It gives me an extra hour in my day than if I walked it.

  4. Outer London isn’t that different to the rest of the country, in terms of shorter trips that could be done without a car (like the school run or smaller grocery shops) typically being done by car anyway. So it’s not that surprising really. The thing that pushes people towards walking / cycling / use public transport for these sorts of trips is if driving is less convenient than alternatives, or if they don’t have access to a car at all.

  5. I love how you Londoners decide other people’s journeys are needless. You all remind me of Americans with how myopic you are.

  6. Don’t underestimate how many school runs take place.

    Should parents use a car for short journeys is another issue

  7. It’s weird to call them needless car journeys that could be replaced with better trains or tubes etc.

    If there is no suitable train or tube, are they needless? Try lugging 3 young kids 3km to school on a push bike, bus or train…

    Then do it with kids of different age groups that go to different schools. I.e primary and secondary.

  8. Yeah I drive to Lidl. It’s not that it’s far away; it’s the walking back with 6 bags that’s I don’t fancy.

  9. 41 minutes to walk to my parents 1.8 miles away, 27 minutes on the bus, or 7 minutes in the car.

    Of course I’m going to take the car if it means I can spend an extra 34-68 minutes with family or friends every time I see them.

    As an added bonus, I don’t get rained on, and I get to not have to listen to members of the public playing their shitty TikTok’s to the entire bus.

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