{"id":1032323,"date":"2026-06-17T12:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T12:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1032323\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T12:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T12:11:16","slug":"slow-buses-big-cities-should-take-note-of-tfls-answer-to-london-bus-speeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1032323\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow buses: Big cities should take note of TfL\u2019s answer to London bus speeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

London buses are slowing down.\u00a0The\u00a0latest\u00a0peak-time\u00a0average\u00a0bus\u00a0speed across the capital was\u00a0just\u00a08.3\u00a0miles per hour<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0roughly the\u00a0speed of\u00a0a horse and cart.\u00a0This is down from\u00a0more\u00a09 miles per hour a decade ago, interrupted by\u00a0a peak\u00a0of over\u00a012 miles per hour during\u00a0the\u00a0pandemic.\u00a0As a result, bus ridership in the capital is on a slow decline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Transport for London\u2019s\u00a0\u2018London on the Move<\/a>\u2019\u00a0sets out a five-year plan\u00a0to\u00a0bring London buses back up to speed, with lessons for\u00a0other city regions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

TfL\u2019s three-pronged street strategy\u00a0will increase bus speeds\u00a0by using road powers<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is not through targeting\u00a0bus services or operators. Rather, TfL\u00a0is\u00a0concentrating on road\u00a0powers, devolved to the\u00a0Mayor,\u00a0to\u00a0get bus speeds up.\u00a0The\u00a0action plan has three components.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First\u00a0is TfL\u2019s lane rental scheme. This is dynamic pricing for roadworks,\u00a0implementing charges for\u00a0carrying out work on the busiest roads\u00a0at the busiest times to\u00a0minimise disruption.\u00a0Already in use on TfL-controlled routes, the\u00a0future plan\u00a0is to\u00a0roll it out on\u00a0roads that the boroughs look after. This\u00a0is well\u00a0targeted: boroughs\u00a0are\u00a0responsible for\u00a070 per cent of\u00a0the\u00a0London roads most important to buses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Second is \u2018bus sense\u2019 \u2013 greater coordination between TfL and London boroughs on roadworks\u00a0applications, including sharing data and\u00a0expertise. This level of collaboration is expected to\u00a0cover all London boroughs by 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Third\u00a0is a technology upgrade for the\u00a0more than 4,000\u00a0traffic signals that TfL\u00a0operates. The new tech allows for\u00a0optimisation for specific modes (such as buses)\u00a0and\u00a0captures\u00a0data for\u00a0evaluating signal changes. This full\u00a0overhaul is expected by 2031.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In TfL\u2019s most conservative estimates, these three changes would lead to\u00a0a 13 per cent improvement in journey times\u00a0by 2030. This would\u00a0beat TfL\u2019s\u00a010 per cent target<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0a reminder that\u00a0better buses\u00a0in big cities\u00a0require the stick alongside the carrot<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prioritising buses and modal shift are core components of\u00a0TfL\u2019s\u00a0strategy. Big cities face the largest transport congestion costs, so\u00a0focusing on\u00a0public transport\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the\u00a0most\u00a0efficient mode\u00a0for getting people around, particularly in city centres\u00a0\u2013 makes sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it shows that\u00a0improving buses in big cities\u00a0needs\u00a0a carrot-and-stick approach.\u00a0So far,\u00a0much has been made of the carrot.\u00a0Better bus frequency\u00a0and reliability\u00a0have been successes\u00a0of Manchester\u2019s Bee Network,\u00a0with the South Yorkshire People\u2019s Network aiming for\u00a0similar results\u00a0in Sheffield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0Centre for Cities\u2019 modelling shows the price of\u00a0ignoring the stick.\u00a0Even with\u00a0improvements such as more frequent buses and multimodal ticketing,\u00a0more than half of\u00a0the\u00a0residents\u00a0who would be\u00a0better connected\u00a0in Sheffield as a result\u00a0would still find it easier to drive\u00a0(Figure 1).\u00a0The same applies in Leeds,\u00a0where\u00a0similar plans for a \u2018Weaver Network\u2019\u00a0are taking shape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Figure 1: Driving is still a better\u00a0option\u00a0for half of\u00a0Sheffield\u2019s residents\u00a0who would be better connected under an integrated\u00a0public transport\u00a0network<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Birmingham,\u00a0prioritising bus journeys\u00a0alone\u00a0could\u00a0better connect 80,000\u00a0more\u00a0residents<\/a>\u00a0to its city centre \u2013 more than any other individual intervention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These measures\u00a0can\u00a0benefit\u00a0private road users too.\u00a0This is how TfL presents\u00a0their strategy: by\u00a0bringing bus ridership up and encouraging modal shift,\u00a0the\u00a0aim\u00a0is\u00a0to\u00a0increase speeds for all traffic,\u00a0particularly in outer London where freight\u00a0routes are\u00a0a key consideration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the same road powers, metro mayors should follow TfL\u2019s lead to keep their buses moving<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The good news:\u00a0as part of the Devolution Bill, metro mayors\u00a0in\u00a0big\u00a0cities\u00a0will gain\u00a0London\u2019s road\u00a0powers to take similar\u00a0approaches.\u00a0But\u00a0if\u00a0some measures are seen\u00a0as politically unpalatable,\u00a0they may be reluctant\u00a0to use them to prioritise public transport.\u00a0Manchester\u2019s attempt to introduce a congestion charge\u00a020 years ago may loom large in some minds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

London\u2019s example offers a lesson.\u00a0Even with the best integrated transport network in the country,\u00a0the capital still needs measures\u00a0to\u00a0tip the balance in favour of public transport over private\u00a0vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other big cities are the\u00a0next most congested places<\/a>\u00a0in the country.\u00a0Though\u00a0the \u2018stick\u2019 may be smaller and more centrally\u00a0focused than\u00a0in\u00a0the capital,\u00a0it will still be a key part of their future integrated transport systems.\u00a0Even buses in the best version of the Bee Network will still get stuck in\u00a0rush-hour\u00a0traffic without\u00a0interventions on Manchester\u2019s roads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s different today\u00a0is that\u00a0priority measures can be sold as a package alongside genuine improvements in public transport.\u00a0Improving\u00a0public transport options\u00a0may sweeten the deal\u00a0when it comes to\u00a0restrictions on cars, including\u00a0a compelling case that such moves would\u00a0benefit\u00a0remaining road users.\u00a0Avoiding\u00a0the question would be to dampen the economic benefits of\u00a0future improvements to\u00a0big city transport.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London buses are slowing down.\u00a0The\u00a0latest\u00a0peak-time\u00a0average\u00a0bus\u00a0speed across the capital was\u00a0just\u00a08.3\u00a0miles per hour\u00a0\u2013\u00a0roughly the\u00a0speed of\u00a0a horse and cart.\u00a0This is down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1032324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,214392,393,4884,257,1263,16,15],"class_list":["post-1032323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-britain","tag-congestion","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-london","tag-transport","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116765385767635768","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1032323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1032324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1032323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1032323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1032323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}