Bus speeds have fallen below 7mph in parts of central London, a report by the capital’s travel watchdog has revealed.
London TravelWatch said the Transport for London bus network needs “urgent improvement” to tackle a long-term decline in passengers and delays to journeys resulting from a city-wide speed of 9mph.
Average bus speeds range from 8.1mph in inner London to 10.3mph in outer London. Bus speeds were lower in every borough in 2023/24 compared with 10 years ago.
In the City of London “square mile” financial district, buses travel at only 6.6mph – and at 7.1mph in Westminster and in Camden.
Bus speeds in Merton have fallen by 10 per cent over the last decade, and by more than nine per cent in Greenwich.
Buses are the most commonly used form of public transport in London, with an average of 4.6m journeys a day.
The report by London TravelWatch, published on Thursday, said that slow journey times, a lack of journey information and a poor “on-board experience” discouraged passengers from using the bus.
It called for more bus lanes and stronger enforcement of existing lanes – meaning more drivers who park in bus lanes get £160 penalty fines.
Research by London TravelWatch - involving a survey of more than 1,500 Londoners - found that slow journey times were the most frequent barrier to Londoners using buses more regularly.
Dirty buses and overcrowding were also deterrents.
However, the survey found that passengers were more satisfied with buses than any other form of public transport in London, though the 68 per cent satisfaction rating was only one point ahead of the ratings for the Tube and the London Overground.
More than a third of respondents – 37 per cent – said there was too much anti-social behaviour on buses.
TravelWatch said widespread improvements were needed to win back passengers to have any hope of hitting Mayor Sadiq Khan’s target of 80 per cent of journeys being walked, cycled or made by public transport by 2041.
The most recent figure from Transport for London recorded the so-called “modal share” at 64.2 per cent.
Modal share latest: 64.2% of journeys in London last year were made by walking, cycling or public transport.@TfL says this is up an "encouraging" amount from 62.3% in 2022, and higher than the 2019 (pre-pandemic) figure of 63.6%.
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) July 30, 2024
TfL has claimed that more than 15 per cent of the 10 million car trips made daily in London could easily be made by bus.
Protecting passengers from fare increases – the current £1.75 bus fare is the lowest in the country – was also important, the report said.
Michael Roberts, chief executive of London TravelWatch, said: “Buses are a lifeline to many in the capital, particularly among those for whom affordability and accessibility are priorities. .
“But with average speeds barely over 9mph, they are simply not getting passengers to where they need to be quickly enough and, while ridership is increasing post-Covid, it is still below that of a decade ago.
“If there is to be any chance of meeting the Mayor’s target for 80 percent of all trips in London to be made on foot, by bike or public transport by 2041, then bus services need urgent improvement. Just taking one extra bus trip each month would make a significant difference.
“We want to see TfL working more closely with London boroughs to speed up the roll out of bus priority measures, thus improving journey times and protecting this vital service.”
Last week The Standard revealed that TfL issued more than 460,000 parking tickets in 2023/24, mostly for parking or stopping on Red Routes.
TravelWatch said TfL should publish a full list of ideas to improve bus services, and encourage innovation.
It backed plans for more Superloop routes. Mr Khan has promised a “Superloop 2” network including “Bakerloop” services in the part of south-east London awaiting the Bakerloo line Tube extension.
TfL is half-way through its target of adding an additional 25km (15.5 miles) of bus lanes by March 2025.
Lanes have recently been added on Uxbridge Road in Ealing and Bowes Road in Enfield – a key Superloop corridor.
Lorna Murphy, TfL's Director of Buses, said: “London's bus network plays a vital role in enabling people to travel sustainably and affordably and we're working hard to make it even better. This includes investment in new bus lanes, our pioneering Lane Rental scheme using fees from utility companies to minimise the impact of roadworks on Londoners and other measures to give buses priority on the roads.
“We are also developing more zero emission buses with innovative features to improve customer experience and continuing work to make the network safer through our comprehensive bus safety programme. We welcome this report from London TravelWatch and are carefully examining its findings.”
