50 miles of London bus lanes to be banned to cars 24/7

Ross Lydall @RossLydall4 September 2020

Fifty miles of bus lanes on London’s main roads are to be enforced on a 24/7 basis to discourage a car-led recovery from coronavirus.

The crackdown will start on September 13 and include more than 100 bus lanes on the red route network in 20 boroughs, Transport for London announced today.

Drivers who enter the lanes will face £130 fines round the clock. The aim is to prevent buses getting stuck in increasing levels of gridlock and respond to greater demand for off-peak travel.

Roads affected include approach routes to Thames bridges such as Vauxhall Bridge Road, Tower Bridge Road, Battersea Bridge Road, Albert Embankment, Farringdon Road and Millbank.

50 miles of London bus lanes will be banned to cars
Reuters

This could increase fury from Londoners who are choosing to drive instead of using public transport, and whose journeys have been lengthened by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge and repairs to Vauxhall Bridge and London Bridge.

TfL says the changes, which will be trialled for up to 18 months, will benefit millions of bus passengers and will ensure that bus journeys take roughly the same time regardless of the time of day.

It says it is responding to an increase in off-peak travel as Londoners adopt different working hours, including to promote social distancing, in response to the easing of the pandemic.

TfL said the aim was "not to generate revenue but to keep traffic moving, improve bus reliability and avoid a car-led recovery".

It also expects the move to deliver safety improvements for cyclists, who are allowed to ride in the lanes.

Motorbikes and taxis will continue to be allowed to use the lanes if permitted to do so at present. Cars, vans and lorries are currently banned from the lanes at peak hours.

About 400,000 penalty charge notices are issued by TfL and the 33 boroughs each year and the expansion of operating hours is virtually certain to boost TfL’s income. Fines are reduced to £65 if paid within a fortnight.

Claire Mann, director of bus operations at TfL, said: “We look forward to engaging with groups, organisations and individuals to gather their feedback.

This will help shape ensure that any permanent changes we make to bus lanes are beneficial to the majority.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan told the Standard that he was determined that one health crisis, coronavirus, should not be replaced by another — toxic air. He said: “What we can’t afford to have is a car-led recovery. What we don’t want is one health crisis being turned into another health crisis: bad air quality.

The AA said that traffic levels were set to be “unpredictable” for some months, due to the impact of the extended hours of the congestion charge, the reluctance of some travellers to use public transport and localised “pop up” traffic calming schemes.

Take a look below to see the affected roads:

Affected roads by borough

BROMLEY

Bromley Common

CAMDEN

Camden High Street

Camden Road

Camden Street

Farringdon Road

Finchley Road

Gray’s Inn Road

CITY OF LONDON

Bishopsgate

CROYDON

London Road

Stafford Road

Streatham High Road

ENFIELD

Bowes Road (North Circular Road)

Great Cambridge Road

North Circular Road

GREENWICH

Academy Road

Eltham Road

Well Hall Road

HACKNEY

City Road

Clapton Common

Kingsland High Street

Kingsland Road

Lower Clapton Road

Old Street

Rectory Road

Seven Sisters Road

Stamford Hill

Stoke Newington High Street

Stoke Newington Road

Upper Clapton Road

HARINGEY

Archway Road

Great Cambridge Road

High Road

Seven Sisters Road

HOUNSLOW

Harlington Road West

ISLINGTON

Camden Road

City Road

Holloway Road

Isledon Road

Parkhurst Road

Seven Sisters Road

Tollington Road

Upper Street

White Lion Street

KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA

Brompton Road

LAMBETH

Albert Embankment

Brixton Hill

Brixton Road

Camberwell New Road

Clapham High Street

Clapham Road

Kennington Oval

Kennington Park Road

Kennington Road

Lambeth Palace Road

South Lambeth Road

Streatham High Road

Streatham Hill

Tooting Bec Gardens

LEWISHAM

Amersham Road

Bromley Road

Eltham Road

Lee High Road

Lewisham Way

London Road

New Cross Road

Parkfield Road

Queen’s Road

Stanstead Road

Waldram Park Road

MERTON

London Road

Morden Road

St Helier Avenue

SOUTHWARK

Borough High Street

Camberwell Church Street

Camberwell New Road

Denmark Hill

Elephant and Castle

London Road

Lordship Lane

Newington Butts

Old Kent Road

Peckham High Street

Queen’s Road

St. George’s Road

Tooley Street

Tower Bridge Road

SUTTON

St. Helier Avenue

TOWER HAMLETS

Burdett Road

Commercial Road

East India Dock Road

Mile End Road

Whitechapel Road

WANDSWORTH

Balham High Road

Balham Hill

Battersea Bridge Road

Battersea Park Road

Battersea Rise

East Hill

Huguenot Place

Nine Elms Lane

Roehampton Lane

Tooting Bec Road

Tooting High Street

Upper Richmond Road

Wandsworth High Street

York Road

WESTMINSTER

Edgware Road

Finchley Road

Knightsbridge

Millbank

Park Lane

Vauxhall Bridge Road

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