West London Friends of the Earth

Londoners have put transport at the top of London issues. Not surprising, given how it permeates our lives and given congestion on the roads and unsatisfactory public transport.

So how is London doing? 'Transport for London' (TfL) has published its 'London Travel Report 2003'. This is a mine of information about travel in London at the end of the last financial year 2002/03 and shows trends from as far back as 1971.

We give just a handful of statistics showing in some cases trends over the last 10 and the last 3 years. We pick 10 because this is a reasonable length of time for trends to become apparant. We also pick 3 years because this represents the period since Ken Livingstone was elected Mayor of London and started to change transport policies.

The figures give an indication of how well (or how badly) we are progressing and give an idea of what needs to be done. Green represents a favourable trend, red an unfavourable trend and amber a neutral or ambiguous trend.

The Underground

Journeys in 02/03 - 942 million

up 29% from 92/93

up 2% from 99/00

Reliability in 02/03 - 91.1% of schduled kms and average 4.22 mins excess journey time

no data for 92/93

down from 97.5% and up from 3.69 mins in 99/00

Average fare (in real terms) per km in 02/03 - 15.7p

up 21% from 92/93

down 1% from 99/00

Buses

Journeys in 02/03 - 1534 million

up 38% from 92/93

up 18% from 99/00

Reliability in 02/03 - The average 'excess wait' for high frequency buses was 1.8 mins

no data for 92/93

down from 2.1 mins in 99/00

Average fare (in real terms) per km in 02/03 - 12.2p

down 11% from 92/93

down 20% from 99/00

Road traffic

Total volume of traffic in London in 2002 - 32.8 billion (yes billion!) vehicle km

up 7% from 1993

up 0% from 99/00

forecast up by 11-13% in 2011 in Hillingdon, Ealing and Hammersmith

Average traffic speeds in 2000-2003 - 15.0 mph in am peak, 15.7 mph in ev peak, 17.7 mph off peak

down from 16.5, 16.9 and 19.9 respectively in 1983-1990

down from 15.9, 16.2 and 19.9 mph respectively in 1997-2000

forecast bus speeds on Uxbridge Road down by 12% in am peak by 2011 (if no tram)

congestion up by up to 27% on Uxbridge Road by 2011 (if no tram)

Car ownership

Average car ownership per household in 1999-2001:

no car - 37%
one car - 45%
two or more cars - 18%

Modes of travel

Share of different traffic modes in 2003:

walk or cycle - 23%
bus - 16%
underground or Docklands Light Railway - 11%
national rail - 7%
car, motorcycle or taxi - 43%

What can we conclude?

The statistics above show that some progress in being made, especially on buses. But they also show that the problem of traffic - too many cars on the road - is not being successfully addressed. Traffic is increasing, congestion is getting worse and speeds are slower than 50 years ago, let alone 10. This benefits no-one (except petrol companies).

At least London is doing better than the rest of the country. As Bob Kylie, London's Transport supremo said "London is the only part of the UK to have actually delivered any of the government's transport policies". It is probably not a coincidence that the London is not run by a Labour, Conservative or LibDem mayor or assembly!

Buses

What is the answer?

There is a wide-spread agreement about the problem and what the overall aims should be. Almost everyone wants to see less congestion on the roads. Also, most people understand that the main reason for congestion is that there are too many cars on the road. Most people do not want road-building, which would wreck London. Even more importantly, many understand that providing more road space will simply generate more road traffic. People see better public transport and 'modal shift' away from cars as the way out of the dilemma.

Given this consensus, Friends of the Earth believes that decisive action should be taken now. Effecting a major shift from car to other forms of transport - trains, buses, cycling and walking - is the only way that our transport problems can be solved. It is also vital in tackling major environmental problems, such as air pollution, global warming and loss of open spaces.

We consider that full support should be given to central government, TfL and local authorities where they are trying to address these issues. But conversely, groups with narrow or short-sighted interests should not be allowed to obstruct progress. There are far too many attempts to obstruct progress, eg:

Campaign to remove bus lanes in Northolt (borough of Ealing)
Opposing the West London tram (especially in Ealing Broadway area)
Removing bus lane over Kew Bridge
Trying to keep Richmond Park as a rat-run for cars

If campaigns such as these are allowed to succeed, we will all lose out.

Transport experts agree that we need better public transport but constraint of cars is also needed. That is, the stick as well as the carrot. But all too often, we hear calls for better public transport while at the same time vitriolic opposition to car restraints. Even though the biggest reason for poor public transport is too many cars. Those who lobby in this way are at best misguided and at worst dishonest. The public who hold this view can be forgiven - after all, they are not transport experts. But the vested interests in the car lobby and the cynical and disingenuous polititians who peddle this line have no such excuse.

Links

For more information on travel in London see London Travel Report
Back to transport introduction

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