The future of road congestion in London

This report highlights that managing the conflicting demands for London’s road network will require new and varied approaches in order to accommodate more people and more economic activity.

More than 10 million journeys are made by private motor vehicle in the capital each day, nearly 7,000 buses cover around 700 routes, and almost 90 per cent of London’s freight is transported by road.

As the population increases and new jobs are created, the amount of traffic is predicted to continue to grow significantly and current plans may not keep pace.

The report calls on the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to set out how they will manage congestion in the short and longer-term, and fully assess schemes like the lane rental pilot for roadworks and the expansion of car clubs.

The report calls on the Mayor and TfL to:

• Update projections for future growth and how this will affect congestion.
• Set detailed benchmarks for measuring congestion
• Look at further expanding car clubs
• Consider changes to freight delivery practices
• Assess the pilot lane rental scheme for road works
• Assess the pros and cons of any new river crossings

See TfL's response to our recommendations below.

A majority of Members (see Appendix 2 of the report) also want the Mayor to reinstate the road user hierarchy to give sustainable modes like walking, cycling, and public transport - and economically important traffic such as freight - more priority than private cars.

The Mayor should also identify at what point he would look at introducing more controversial approaches like road user charging, which is mentioned in his Transport Strategy. Members have different views on the approach to road user charging (see Appendix 2 of the report).