Mayor of London sets out vision to cut 3m daily car journeys

The Mayor of London has published his first draft Transport Strategy, setting out ‘ambitious’ plans to reduce car use across the Capital.

Published today (21 June) the strategy aims to reduce dependency on the car by transforming the experience of walking, cycling and public transport in London over the next 25 years.

Areas of focus include creating a London-wide network of cycle routes, ‘high quality’ public realms and more vehicle free-zones. The plan also explores the next generation of road user charging and restricting car parking provision within new developments.

Sadiq Khan says not having to use a car must be the ‘affordable, safest and most convenient option for Londoners’, and his target is (by 2041) for 80% of journeys to be made by public transport, walking or cycling – reducing daily car journeys in London by three million.

Among other targets set out today is for 70% of Londoners to live within 400 metres of a ‘high quality, safe’ cycle route.

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The draft Transport Strategy includes plans to: 

• Create London-wide network of cycle routes, with new routes and improved infrastructure to tackle barriers to cycling.
• Create high quality public realms across London, including ‘Liveable Neighbourhoods’ to improve the experience of walking and cycling.
• Create more vehicle-free zones, where traffic is physically prevented from using specific streets, and more car-free days.   
• Restrict car parking provision within new developments, with those most accessible to public transport expected to be car free.
• ‘Unprecedented’ investment to improve station environments, interchanges, and local walking and cycling networks.
• Support the provision of car clubs for residents, enabling more Londoners to give up their cars.
• Keep existing and planned road user charging schemes, including the Congestion Charge, under review to ensure they tackle the congestion challenges London faces.
• Explore the next generation of road user charging that could harness new technology to better reflect distance, time, emissions, road danger and other factors in an integrated way.
• Develop local traffic demand management measures, for example exploring local road charging or workplace parking schemes, as part of traffic reduction strategies.
• Transform the quality of bus services to offer a faster, more reliable, and convenient alternative to car use.

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Sadiq Khan said: “In launching my first Transport Strategy today, I’ll be setting out wide-ranging plans for making cycling and walking safe and accessible in every neighbourhood, transforming our bus network, and ensuring new housing is built not around car use, but designed directly around access to public transport links instead.

“We have to make not using your car the affordable, safest and most convenient option for Londoners going about their daily lives. This is not only essential for dealing with congestion as London grows, but crucial for reducing our toxic air pollution, and improving the health of all Londoners.”