Reducing emissions from transport

Every London Council should display on its town hall its annual carbon balance. CO2 emissions vs. CO2 absorbed in the borough. The display should also show the council's carbon neutral target, and the change from the previous year. The average for London should also be displayed on City Hall. This should be a massive display - like the Unemployment figures on County Hall during the Thatcher years.

- Work with other cities to (1) help them adopt TFL-like franchising systems and (2) understand what else they are doing which could be adopted here
- Ensure that transport operators (bus operators and TFL) pay lower paid workers better and improve working conditions to ensure reduce striking
- Remove fares and use city budget (by increasing tax rates) for public transport
- Flexible transport operation on demand to provide a low cost and mass transit alternative to Über and other on-demand 'taxi' services
- Pedestrianise key parts of the city to restrict vehicles usage
- Extensive expansion of protected cycleways and routes
- Tackling pedestrian crossings over major roadways in inner London
- Greater car club coverage
- Restrictions of private parking
- Greater enforcement of cars parking in bikeways or pedestrian areas

- I use public transport and walking for 99% of my existing journey and hope to see others doing the same.

I would be very willing to walk a great deal more, but being vulnerable to Covid I can no longer risk going out - crowds of people coughing and sneezing, not wearing masks. No more shopping for me, and I cannot get to the local park because of the crowds on the streets on the way there. I have become 'locked-in' because Covid restrictions have been lifted.

It is vitally important for children's and adult's health and wellbeing to limit noisy and polluting traffic in London to daytimes and early evenings. Everyone needs to rest after work, children and young people have to do homework; adults need 8 hours per night of good quality sleep, starting before midnight, and children need longer sleep time, starting earlier. There should be London Plan policies preventing late evening and night time deliveries and servicing, that local authority planning and licensing departments would have to observe when considering development and licensing applications. Any '24-hour economy' night-life should be situated in a dedicated area, preferably off-shore! (It could include an abundance of sleep-pod accommodation for the drunken revellers).

Communities and their needs, as defined by those living in them rather than for the convenience of LA 'place-makers', should have much greater priority in town planning, traffic management, and so-called 'place-making' (this latter is now a travesty of it's original conceptions). The Mayor should surely remove that ghastly 'town centre' policy that has led to destruction of the character and attractiveness of local centres, destroyed by high rise uglies, some being profitable projects carried out by pals of the previous mayor to the detriment of the hapless localities hosting them.

Traffic from cars, vans and lorries dominate London. The city, and country as a whole, gives priority to traffic over pedestrians and cyclists. This needs to be reversed. This can be done by pedestrianising more streets permanently, pedestrianising more streets at the weekend (before and during the pandemic this seemed to happen more and more, now it doesn't seem to happen at all. Why not?), pedestrianising streets at certain times. Remove parking spaces. Extend pavements and increase cycle lanes.

Only by removing traffic completely from our busy streets will you be able to cut pollution, congestion and fatalities. This already happens in more progressive cities around the world.

People obviously love their cars and love driving but it causes a myriad of health, social and environmental problems. Essentially, despite the obvious backlash, cars need to be phased out of city centres altogether.

You need to make it safer and more pleasant to walk and cycle; however, I can't see how this can be achieved without removing cars from our streets. I often hear people say they would like to cycle but they are scared of the traffic, it's dangerous, and it is. Improved, dedicated cycle lanes will help but this won't convert the amount of people to make a real difference.

Any pedestrianisation of streets needs to consider those with disabilities, those who genuinely need a vehicle for work and access to public transport.

Stop trying to demonise and ostracise people’s cars. Cars are a perfectly normal and valid part of life for most of the population of the WORLD. Yes, please improve public transport. Yes, please install cycling infrastructure. But don’t pretend people can or should relegate cars to just an evil or extravagant luxury for only the rich to enjoy. The car was the most democratically liberating invention for the greatest number of people globally in the 20th century, but now you act like it’s some sinister, alien thing to be exterminated. The Tubes and Buses are sadly too busy and crowded to be a valid alternative most of the time. The population is too high, please stop increasing the population.

The questionnaire seems to imply that cycling more will help with climate change. If these are additional trips or just substitute for public transport, that is a dubious proposition. Most inner Londoners don’t own cars, so can we do away with the presumption that a cycling trip is one less “non-car” trip, as this is climate impact double-counting.

Walking for further than 10 minutes in an urban environment is perhaps too much to ask of most people. Why would they do that, in a brutal environment full of resident car parking? Instead, focus on making walking trips up to 10 minutes more appealing, including by creating more direct walking routes rather than the eternal right angles walkers currently have to navigate.

On net zero, this is simply a con and compliance exercise. Reducing emissions & impact is important, but we are already seeing greenwash with LTNs, meaning a severe divergence between reporting and reality of impact. Expect further such divergence up to 2030.

I walk my baby to nursery through traffic fumes, its awful!. And I'd love to cycle more. our roads are used as cut-through for morning traffic, with long tailbacks of waiting traffic - of work vans and single people in cars. We have amazing public transport links here. Can you do more to encourage companies to use cargo cycles, and somehow get more people out of their cars!

I have already made lifestyle changes to try to help tackle emissions in London. Changing jobs had the most impact, finding a job closer to home, made the change possible.
I also change my car, which was difficult as I still got a petrol vehicle, knowing that it would still impact the environment, but could not afford an electric vehicle. it's not used as often anymore but is on occasions and I check for traffic before leaving out.
Fair rises I believe is counterintuitive, as more people will use their cars rather than busses as it is still, cheaper to use a car than an overground train ride! I spent £8 to go 3 stops on the train recently. My car is still more economical to use when you look at this figure.
If more people felt that they could use the trains and buses and for it to be more cost-efficient for them and their families, regardless of the pandemic they would consider it.
Petrol prices have gone up since the war, but this has not deterred people from getting into their cars. The decision to end mask-wearing also affected how safe people felt on public transport.
The ULEZ's have been good at stopping some of the polluting vehicles, but it has not stopped people from getting into their cars/vans on a day to day basis.
Slowing down vehicles would also help people feel a little more confident cycling on the roads.
The new changes to the Highway Code should be part of TfL's message too.

Please close Park Lane southbound to motor vehicles and convert it into a cafe-lined promenade from Marble Arch to Hyde Park Corner. Allocate the northbound lane to all motor vehicles by creating bus lanes in both directions. Provide one lane also in each direction for cars and vans. Shift the cycle tracks, which I often use, onto the parkside of the southbound lane.

Change Hyde Park Corner to resemble Trafalgar Square with two way traffic and bus lanes in both directions.

Cycling has to be the way forward for both health and environmental benefits.

The biggest issue is the lack of dedicated cycle lanes. They differ so vastly from one borough to the next. To effectively encourage people to cycle, cars need to become 2nd place

I had not heard a word about the scrappage scheme, so it was obviously not well-publicised. I am retired and although I am a car owner/driver, I already walk to as many destinations as I am able and if I cannot, then I take public transport. However, the problem of transport emissions could be tackled by getting rid of the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. Not only do these LTNs drive more traffic onto the main roads, they also lead to an increase in traffic congestion and pollution on those roads. Main roads have a higher proportion of pedestrians than side roads and the increased amount of traffic thereby increases the risk of respiratory problems for those pedestrians. The entire LTN scheme needs a complete re-think.

Ive just filled in one of your questionnaires which was completely designed to achieve the results the mayor wants .

What a waste of time . You do not want our opinions you just want a tool to back up your actions

I am genuinely concerned about the plans to further restrict car usage in and around London. I understand that changes need to be made to reduce pollution but I honestly don't know what the answer is.
I HAVE to use a car for work, I am self-employed and need to travel to various different places all the time, most of them not easy or convenient to reach by train/underground and definitely not possible to walk or cycle to. I also have to carry equipment with me to do my job. I try to use public transport whenever I can, especially when traveling into Central London and I don't use my car much at weekends. I am doing what I can to reduce my carbon footprint, I have already bought a hybrid low emissions car to comply with the ULEZ, luckily I was able to afford to do this but I know many who can't.
I worry that further changes will make it very difficult to continue to do my job.

i haven't driven in London for 40 years because i have excellent access to public transport where i live. We need to continue to improve London transport services, especially overground / rail and to reduce the cost to passengers while increasing the cost of parking and driving in London. All roads should have physically separated cycle lanes, even if it means making many one way and secure cycle parking should be available everywhere. Schools should have car exclusion zones, with schemes to encourage walking and cycling to school. Further schemes are needed to encourage switching to small electric vehicles (including sharing schemes) from large polluting petrol and diesel cars and vans

I strongly agree that there needs to be a big shift from private cars to walking cycling and public transport. There’s just not enough space in London for more cars. If you look at a a queue of traffic, a queue of 30 cars with only 1-2 people in each can take up loads of space - the same amount as several buses which can carry hundreds.

Public transport, not just in London, but around the world, should be treated like a public good rather than a commercial service. The benefits it brings are more than just monetary - it allows for better use of space and lower emissions.

simple solution - make public transport cost effective, reliable and efficient; not like (current stupid policy by tfl) high costs, regular strikes, poor service, ... without these simple tasks you can forget any kind of improvement

Since the first lockdown I was hardly driving, having retired, so I no longer have a car. I and my family mostly walk, and use the train for longer journeys. My daughter gets the train to school and walks home. I plan journeys so that I can use National Rail or the Overground, rather than bus or tube, as, having a lung condition, I am still worried about catching Covid-19, and I aim to travel at less busy times.
With a bit of planning I have no problem doing the family shopping by train. I find not having a car liberating, and it is saving me a lot of money. I occasionally hire a car or van if I have to.
As well as other changes, I think that people should be encouraged to reduce the number of journeys that they make and to plan carefully to make the most of the journeys they do take. I haven't flown for over 20 years, and I don't travel much within the UK; when you live in the greatest city in the world why go anywhere else? I've lived in London for over 60 years and I'm nowhere near running out of places to go, people to see and things to do.

I've lived in London since 2008 and never owned a car. I've always lived in zone 2, and never felt the need. Initially I used public transport or walked. I started cycling in 2017 and have never looked back - I now cycle for most of my journeys, especially those that can be cycled in under 40 minutes, and I've found myself fitter, happier, and saving money.

To encourage more people to ditch their cars and, especially, start cycling, I'd like to see London:

- Increase the amount of on-road parking space for bikes, with secure bike hangers. This is important for households that lack somewhere to store bikes - especially lower income households, and rental properties that ban tenants from storing bikes inside. Waiting lists for the secure bike parking are absurd and the 'ThisIsAwkward' campaign has highlighted how difficult it is for many who already ride bikes to store them. Some people have been ordered to remove bike parking sheds from front gardens when parking a car there is allowed. I'm certain bike storage issues hold back many would-be cyclists. Storage should on-road wherever possible (not pavements), and be cheaper than on-street car-parking charges.

- Make on-road parking charges mandatory. Car-parking space is the most undervalued land in London. It is crazy that someone who chooses to use a car is allowed to park it for free on our roads, especially given other uses that provide more benefits to more people. Too many boroughs have free car parking. It might discourage some from buying a car in the first place (once you've invested in a car your incentive is to use it).

- Run campaigns to counter the idea that cycling is elitist - it's for everyone. Cycling is only elitist when its so dangerous that only lycra-clad cyclists will do it. Bikes are far cheaper than cars and cycling is the cheapest way to get around after walking - car-focussed policies disproportionately benefit wealthier households.

- And of course, protected and joined up cycle networks.