Reducing emissions from transport

How do we know how much air pollution needs to be reduced when we do not seem to be measuring it and at least sharing that information? Perfectly clean isn't possible. What is the acceptable level in terms of public health.? And what is the benefit of any particular action? And how much will it cost? Clearly reducing emissions on buses, cabs and lorries was an obvious step forward. At the moment the taxes on residents and visitors seem more about tax collection at the expense of residents, the shops and the hospitality industry.

If cyclists can be part of ordinary traffic due to the Highway Code why not get rid of cycle lanes because some cyclists won’t use them because apparently they are dirty

• Stop the ridiculous traffic schemes like devoting priceless space on London's narrow streets to cyclists. A politically motivated, crackpot scheme that ends up causing more problems than it could ever solve. Failing to recognise that people right across the social spectrum want convenience and comfort now, is the big mistake of certain politicians.

• Stop devoting priceless space on London's narrow streets to Bus Lanes that are not needed, eg off peak or when there are few buses needing them.

• Stop traffic schemes like Speed humps that INCREASE pollution and cause damage to cars and even injuries to passengers/patients.

• Stop 'scrappage' schemes which only encourage more car production (itself a polluter) with the curse of built-in obsolescence - Ditto the ULEZ and other such zones for similar reasons.

• Stop charging to use station carparks and build more - with multi-storeys if necessary. The production of a valid travel ticket or pass should replace payment. Making public transport inviting is the ONLY way to get people out of cars and on to buses and trains. People won't be forced any more. Use the carrot, not the stick and it works!

• Reduce the insane cost of TfL travel within London. London residents and London Council Tax payers should get free travel or at worst, heavily discounted travel. (Not so outrageous as it sounds - if you're serious about cutting pollution and not simply using it as an excuse to tax by stealth.)

• Perhaps most contravertially of all, stop adding new housing in London. The city is, simply put, full, if not to say overcrowded. That actually lies at the root of these and several other problems. Too many people in too little and FINITE space.

Nothing we do in several lifetimes will damage air quality as much as the massive daily destruction of rainforests and loss of greenery - the latter being within this very city. (Thank The Good Lord for for the Green Belt or London would be like Mexico City by now!)

I believe that pollution is caused by transport being backed up due to less road space taken up by cycle lanes and bus lanes and traffic unable to use them at off peak hours that we keep traffic moving less idling cars and lorries and less polluting because no one can get anywhere

Given the number of them now, I think we should make it a legal requirement that all delivery, taxis, buses and non-emergency vehicles used by local government and emergency services are electric.

We should look at carrying Freight on TfL services in a hub and spoke model.

We should look at building Trams on roads with the most buses.

We should also allow minicabs with passengers to use Bus lanes.

Tax the taxis that aren’t electric. Tax the vans and lorries more. Reduce the over spend of bs schemes by TfL (all the corporate cr*p) and reinvest it in actually running the transport network.

I support the use of public transport. Stand on Brixton Hill and you will see a queue of public TfL buses driving up or down the hill. Most of the buses appear to run on old Diesel engines with plumes of smoke (pollution) leaving their engines. TfL need to do more to migrate these buses to electric, or better still consider more European style trams (Oslo/Lyon) that can reduced the physical number of buses using the same road. Why not join up the various bus routes into one or two trams routes. Based on the information I can find online there appears to be about 28 Eight buses that pass through Brixton Town centre. Surely these could be merged into a few tram routes that allows to transfer to other bus routes further along the route. This would then reduce both the pollution and the number of vehicles on the road system. This model could be consider in other parts of London. The European trams appear to be slightly narrower than the London buses which would allow bus lanes and other vehicles / cyclists to share more road space.
We also need to see more vehicle charging points on neighbourhoods. There aren't any in my localised area of Brixton. This will help encourage more electric vehicles.
We need to see more secure bicycle locking facilities. We need to see more action by the Met Police to ensure bicycle theft is dealt with, bicycles in my neighbourhood are stolen, almost, daily. (Again, learn from other European cities).
It is important that TfL understand that a number of 'A' roads in and out of London have had their speed limits reduced to 20mph. Journey times are getting longer to get in and out. 'A' roads need to be protected routes for fast entry and exit from London and are part of the UK Strategic Road Network. The A23, for example, is a major road linking central London to Brighton. Clearly running through built up areas is a challenge, but consideration needs to be made at how these major road links can remain exactly that.

More Low Traffic Neighbourhoods with cycle lanes on through routes.

Another pretty biased survey in terms of the questions asked. I would use public transport more if it went to where I wanted to get to. I would walk further if the places I needed (shops, leisure clubs etc) were more local or if public transport went there. Locality and public transport issues need to be solved to make it easier for people. Hammering car drivers who have no alternative is not the solution.

I would absolutely object to the congestion/ULEZ charge unless there is a proportional increase in connectivity in using public transport and reduction in the extortionate cost of public transport. There is no serious travel options to go around M25 on public transport without visiting central London or spending hours on unreliable bus services. There is a lot of talk about electric cars, but no action on putting charging points or increasing electric capacity on the grid. Further, as we are finding out - 50% of electricity is apparently generated using LNG (some of it from Russia). We can all go electric, provided 100% of the electricity is from renewable sources. Until then, we are only shifting the pollution problem from London to elsewhere in the countryside.

Also as we have seen public transport strikes. Without cars, what did the London Mayor/TFL provide to Londoners to get to work, or get about other than to say to WFH. Without a reliable and affordable public transport, the Mayors plans are out of touch with reality and the challenges faced by Londoners.

Its imperative that we take STRONG STRATEGIC FAST ACTION now to reduce the horrific air pollution that is linked to 40,000 deaths a year in the UK and is hugely contributing to climate change. Our health must come first, we urgently need huge reforms in how we get about and cars should be left for those unable to use active travel for short journeys, or those who dont have access to public transport. Most people in London are fortunate to experience a very high quality of frequent and reliable public transport. I fully support all measures to stop people using their cars. This includes scraping the highly damaging silvertown tunnel which will enable more air pollution not less.

Newham Council and The Mayor of London are doing nothing more than 'box-ticking. Unfortunately, they are ticking the wrong boxes. I live directly in front of Royal Victoria Square, E16. This used to be a quiet pocket park where the dock edge was designated for use by pedestrians and cyclists. Newham has repeatedly ignored evidence from local residents that the Sunborn Yacht now uses it 24/7 as their own personal service yard. At the Strategic Development Committee Meeting on the 4th February 2021, they 'approved' an application for permanent mooring, despite the local residents sending in a detailed 30-page document detailing the lies and misinformation included in the Sunborn planning application. 13-months later the same application is still sitting 'Awaiting decision' while local residents suffer. When asked to explain, the response provided by LBN was that "it was not in the public interest to know why planning was given in a situation where it would not ordinarily be given".

We have sent details to some newspapers asking them to investigate but were told this subject would only be of interest once the Mayor's office moves down to the dock. It does appear that all of these surveys asking for residents' views are nothing more than a pretense to care. Planning applications are based on the premise that the applicant tells the truth. However, there is no penalty for lying so applicants with money can buy misleading reports. Planning officers turn a blind eye. The whole system is wide open to corruption. Local residents pay the price. Their voices are drowned out.

The entire debacle was recorded and uploaded to YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzSak-GSPQY
The evidence shows the applicant clearly lying. The planners were clearly biased towards the applicant. There has been no investigation into errors made. It's farcical. Brown envelopes rule. Prioritizing cycling and walking is clearly way down the list of priorities for Newham and The Mayor's office.

Air pollution is the biggest problem in London, you can easily feel the polluted air burning your lungs. The boats on the canal should be banned from burning coal. It’s ridiculous to use coal in zone 1-2 London 2022. Also, Londoners shouldn’t be sacrificing more to reach zero emission, it’s on the big cooperations, factories, not us living a normal life. Mayor should understand that.

Why are we even procrastinating. Charge large vehicles even more for parking/road use/ulez/congestion unless they are zero emission. Hybrids sonewhere in-between but closer to nonzhybrids than zero emission. Just start now. Tomorrow is already 1 day too late for air quality.

Cancel the Silvertown Tunnel. It's ridiculous to push more traffic into deprived areas and encourage more cars and lorries. What is the Mayor thinking? Build a bridge for walking, cycling and public transport instead and enable more Londoners to travel safely, comfortably and sustainably. Build more protected space for all types of cycle, including those adapted for people with disabilities. Create parking standards for all types of cycle, so that local authorities require local shopping centres and other businesses, employers, places of study etc to make themselves cycle-friendly. Make cargo bikes easier to access and provide secure storage for all types of cycle. Ensure that housing standards all over London require cycle parking rather than car parking spaces for new developments. I have made a conscious effort to use the car less frequently and walk and cycle more for short journeys. We are thinking of not replacing it when it wears out, but joining a car club instead. Please create more parking spaces dedicated to car clubs and make all other parking spaces payable. We should not be subsidising free car storage on our roads. I did not use the scrappage scheme as there is a high carbon footprint to buying any new car. Our car is not ULEZ-compliant, but it is better environmentally to use it less and make it last as long as possible. Do not be seduced by the idea of electric cars. The only way they are better is at the exhaust. They cost carbon emissions to manufacture, and electricity still has to be generated. They do not tackle any of the other problems associated with car use such as obesity, diabetes, congestion, road danger or the waste of public space per person-mile.

Ridiculous of the Mayor to think people can walk to take public transport more. We need cars to get around to places where it is not suitable to get on public transport. We have children to take to activities and many more reason to take a car. By restricting access to areas and creating there cycle lanes and other barriers is causing this congestion on the roads. Roads must be made better, more underpasses or tunnels would solve a lot of the issues but there is no investment in this. The Mayor needs to change priorities or get out.