Mayor’s plan to transform London’s transport network

Sadiq Khan has disclosed his long-term ambition to make the capital a ’fairer, greener, healthier and more prosperous’ city for Londoners.

Khan’s Transport Strategy aims to reduce the capital’s dependency on the car by increasing the proportion of people walking, cycling and taking public transport. At present, 64 per cent of people use these alternative methods of transport, but by 2041 Khan wants that figure to rise to 80, meaning there will be an average of 3 million fewer car journeys in London each day. Since London’s population is set to expand from 8.7 million to 10.5 million over the next 25 years, more than five million additional trips will be generated each day across the transport network. The Mayor has said it is vital that action is taken to avoid growing congestion, overcrowding, pollution and ill health.

The Mayor also wants to make improvements to the Tube, DLR, rail, tram and bus services in order to tackle overcrowding and transform the experience of passengers. There will be new Tube trains offering more reliable services, the opening of the Elizabeth line, new green buses and taxis, and the transformation of London’s streets to make walking, cycling and public transport ‘the most appealing and practical’ choices for Londoners.

Khan has also pledged to make the entire transport system zero emission by 2050, and says that new public transport services will be vital in creating the 1.2 million new jobs and more than one million new homes the city needs by 2041.

He said: “It has been an incredibly difficult few weeks for London, but we must carry on as a city and that means pushing forward our work to keep Londoners moving around our city. London is the greatest city in the world and as it continues to grow it is vital that we take a bold approach to ensure our transport network works for all. We simply cannot afford to take the same old approach to travel as our growing population puts increasing pressure on our network. That’s why today I’m setting out a new long-term vision for our capital – one that puts walking, cycling and zero-emission public transport right at the heart of our day-to-day lives. So while we are delivering affordable, reliable and accessible transport through the improved services and new infrastructure that we need, we’re also changing the whole way we look at transport as a whole. Only by focusing on active travel, providing efficient zero-emission transport and reducing our dependency on cars, can we improve the health of Londoners, support economic growth, deliver homes and jobs, and make our city an even better place to live.”

Mike Brown, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “This ambitious strategy for the next 25 years sets out how we will invest in modernising and improving our services so that people have excellent transport connections no matter where they are in the city. A key focus of the strategy is the Mayor’s Healthy Streets Approach, creating a fairer, greener, healthier and more prosperous city, where Londoners are encouraged to do at least 20 minutes of active travel each day that they need to stay healthy. We will also make sure that our network impacts our environment much less, with plans in place to reduce and then eliminate emissions from the transport fleet. Through this, and with help from the government, we can support growth, jobs, homes and make London an even better place.”