{"id":723270,"date":"2026-01-27T03:11:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T03:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/723270\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T03:11:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T03:11:20","slug":"traffic-congestion-worsened-by-ltns-and-bus-lanes-in-some-parts-of-london-tfl-admits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/723270\/","title":{"rendered":"Traffic congestion worsened by LTNs and bus lanes in some parts of London, TfL admits"},"content":{"rendered":"

TfL streets boss still insists \u201cnearly all\u201d low-traffic neighbourhoods \u201chave been huge successes\u201d, reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"CarlCarl Eddleston, director of streets and network operations at TfL<\/p>\n

Extra bus lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) have increased congestion for cars on some of London\u2019s streets, Transport for London (TfL) officials have admitted.<\/p>\n

The transport body has been shifting policy away from accommodating private vehicle use as part of an overall aim to ensure 80% of journeys made in the capital by 2041 are by walking, cycling or public transport.<\/p>\n

This has involved carving off some road space for extra bus lanes and implementing around one hundred LTNs across London.<\/p>\n

Measures such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) levy and the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) are also part of City Hall\u2019s drive to reduce reliance on cars within the capital.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s pathway to achieving net zero emissions by 2030 relies on a 27% reduction in kilometres travelled by car.<\/p>\n

Officials say that increased use of buses, trains and cycle lanes are far more efficient than private cars and will, overall, lead to less congestion and more importantly, faster journeys for those who rely on a private vehicle for business or accessibility reasons.<\/p>\n

However, with bus speeds falling and London today topping the list of the world\u2019s slowest driving capitals, the effectiveness of the measures have been questioned.<\/p>\n

Last week TfL officials admitted to the London Assembly\u2019s transport committee that the implementation of LTNs has increased congestions in some areas.<\/p>\n

Carl Eddleston, director of streets and network operations, said: \u201cThere are around 100 LTNs, mostly installed during the Covid period.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey provide significant safety and active travel benefits. Most of them are on borough roads, so they\u2019re not a TfL decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some locations they have added congestion to the local area, but nearly all of them have been huge successes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do need to continue to actively review them \u2013 there\u2019s been a huge amount of listening to communities and tweaks to LTNs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddleston also suggested that some instances where cycleways have been installed have ended up reducing bus speeds, however, forcing TfL to \u201cclaw that back\u201d through imposing further bus priority lanes elsewhere.<\/p>\n

However, officials insisted that various policy decisions taken to shift the balance towards active travel and public transport would, in the long term, reduce congestion.<\/p>\n

Separately, last week a High Court judge overturned Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman\u2019s decision to scrap three LTNs in Bethnal Green after a multi-year legal battle<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At City Hall Christina Calderato, director of transport strategy and policy at TfL, acknowledged that one in every five trips made in London will still need to be made in a car, van or lorry, and that the network was working to ensure those journeys remained as efficient as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything we\u2019re doing in shifting people towards more sustainable modes is aimed at traffic reduction,\u201d she told assembly members.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a functioning and effective road network for freights, taxis, private car trips \u2013 but we need to make sure that most of the time for most people, there is an attractive alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calderato also said London\u2019s growing population meant that every bit of road space, especially towards the centre of the capital, needed to be used efficiently.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen car use and traffic continuing to decrease, but a change in the types vehicles used on the network. In a growing city, to accommodate more people and move them efficiently, we need to consider how best we use that road space.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of that means reallocating that space towards more space-efficient modes such as buses. That does reduce the amount of space for general traffic in some locations where appropriate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are still managing to move many more people through that corridor in the same amount of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it means we can accommodate greater people moving through the area, we\u2019re for more people having a smoother, more reliable journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

She referred to TfL reallocating road space so that the maximum number of \u201cswitchable trips\u201d that could be taken by car or public transport are done via the latter mode.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are trips that weren\u2019t switchable before but there are now \u2013 our job is to keep doing that, if we create a new bus service, put a new Superloop in, we can reach that 80% target,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

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