The crackdown will start on September 13 and include more than 100 bus lanes on the red route network in 20 boroughs, TfL 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.
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.
NOT ONLY....BUT ALSO
TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT:
Take a look below to see the affected roads:
It is time TfL and London local authorities were called out. Many of the capital’s roads are indeed gridlocked — the direct result of their covert policy over many years, not just fallout from Covid.
They have pulled off the feat of causing increased congestion, journey times and pollution with far fewer vehicles on the road, by closing more key routes.
Now they have exploited Covid by shutting off and narrowing even more roads to create extra space for cyclists and pedestrians which is hardly ever used.
TfL engineered this to justify their extension of the Congestion Charge Zone, which has deterred potential customers from coming into central London in the evening and at weekends to shop and eat out. Much of the desolation of so many businesses in the West End can be laid at the door of Sadiq Khan at City Hall.
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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