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40 per cent of journeys still made by car
Ross Lydall, City Hall Editor3 Jan 2008
The car continues to dominate travel in London despite a continuing swing to public transport, figures show.
Almost 40 per cent of the 28 million journeys made each day in the capital last year were made by car, while 37 per cent were made either by bus, Tube, train or tram. The rest were by foot or bicycle.
Car use is particularly high in outer London, where campaigners claim as few as 13 per cent of journeys are made by public transport.
However, a record numbers of journeys are being made on the Tube (up to four million a day) and buses (around 6.5 million on weekdays). Before Mayor Ken Livingstone's election in 2000 and his investment in public transport, it accounted for 32 per cent of journeys.
Experts said today the annual London Travel Report figures showed how vital it was to invest in weakpublic transport links in outer London.
Other key findings include:
• Almost one million more journeys were made in London than in the previous year.
• Londoners spent 39 minutes a day travelling to work - almost double the 20-minute average in the rest of Britain.
• The average number of passengers on a bus rose above 15 for the first time.
• Oyster cards account for 85 per cent of bus trips and 66 per cent of Underground journeys.
• 231 people were killed and 3,715 seriously injured on the capital's roads.
• 1.1 million people enter central London between 7am and 10am on an average weekday.
The report, published by Transport for London, shows that the car's popularity is followed by walking (20 per cent), buses and trams (19 per cent), the Tube (10 per cent), rail (eight per cent) and bicycles (two per cent).
Of those who work in central London, 80 per cent travelled by public transport. Just 11 per cent used a car. In outer London 47 per cent drove to work.
Traffic speeds during the morning peak in central London have fallen from 10.6mph following the introduction of the congestion charge in 2003 to 9.3mph. But there are 36 per cent fewer cars entering the zone than before 2003.
Richard Bourn, spokesman for the Campaign for Better Transport, praised the "revolution" in the use of Oyster cards and said central London traffic speeds had decreased because of the rightful increase in space given to bus and cycle lanes and wider pavements.
But he said TfL was not being sufficiently ambitious in the suburbs, where its aim was only to reduce the rate of growth in car use rather than seeking a realterms reduction.
Mr Bourn said: "These overall figures disguise the fact that traffic is continuing to grow in some outer London boroughs. They also don't reveal that in outer London the proportion of journeys made by public transport is still remarkably low, 13 per cent according to figures we produced last year."
Passengers typically have to wait five and a half minutes for a " highfrequency" bus - services with at least five an hour - but only 78 per cent run on time.
Women aged 17 to 24 were most likely to use buses.
Reader views (16)
My 3-mile commute takes 15 minutes door-to-door, no matter what the weather. I always get a parking space which costs me nothing and the amount I spend each year on getting to and from the office is around £100. It also keeps me fit and is environmentally friendly.
That's right - I cycle!
- Austen, London, 07/01/2008 20:07
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I use my car much more nowadays as I feel safer in it. And no free ticket holder rowdy teenage gangs in my car!
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 07/01/2008 17:44
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I travel on various bus routes most days and have had to wait for packed buses up to 40 minutes. Unfortunately a small minority of bus drivers are obnoxious and drive dangerously - enough to put anyone off. All in all bus travel is pretty unpleasant and I much prefer to travel in London by car. Packed bendy buses are the worst. Rush hour travel is hell on the tube and buses.
All in all it's hardly surprising that more people get into their cars.
- C, London, 07/01/2008 17:32
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I used the Tube and sometimes buses up until a couple of years ago. But they are just too unreliable and too full. I am now a happy private car user - even with the Red Ken daily tax.
- Jonathan, Islington, London, 07/01/2008 15:59
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The buses are often packed during the rush hour and just drive past queues of passengers waiting patiently, despite the extra number of buses on the roads. Perhaps a cull of commuters might be in order?
- Squiz, Islington, 07/01/2008 13:57
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As long as London public transport keeps failing us private cars will continue to rise. Putting up "London Mayor ON" posters does not make Londoners use a poor public transportation system. It should be cheaper, cleaner, more frequent, service friendly and above all operating! Again this morning the Jubilee line was down.
- Peteo, London, 07/01/2008 13:53
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There is no viable alternative, our public transport system already cannot cope with those wishing to use it to commute to and from work. The politicians are well aware of this and happy with the status quo. Robber Brown can continue to impose rip-off fuel prices on the driving public with complete impunity. He is well aware that most of us drive because we have no choice, not because we want to.
Green taxes? Spin for the gullible!
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 07/01/2008 13:15
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Can you blame them. There is not much alternative. And my car is clean, always on time, airconditioned, light, cheaper and relatively safe.
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 04/01/2008 18:36
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I do not blame them. I just was waiting in vain for a bus to arrive in the cold, today and yesterday in the wind (shelter broken), for more than 30 minutes. Luckily the private car I found in the local minicab took me home...
The last 10 years London has become a joke for transport!
- Benny, London, 04/01/2008 16:27
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To move around London nowadays you have to walk or buy a car. The public transport does not work anymore or it is way too expensive compared to any other capital cities in the world! I think it is because way too many people do not pay the fares and so ticket prices are artificially high. Ken Livingstone has made matters worse.
- Steveo, Islington, London, 04/01/2008 12:02
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I wonder why people use cars when they can and if they can afford it? Let's look back at the last week or two: Liverpool Street closed. Victoria Line not stopping at Victoria - let's change at Green Park ... oh dear! The entire Jubilee Line is suspended. Meanwhile, if I want to get a bus to my local station rather than drive, the first one is at 7.45, trouble is I have to be at work by 7.00! I'd cycle there in the summer if there was secure parking for my bike, but that ain't gonna happen!
- Paul, London, 04/01/2008 11:46
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Georgie: Have you left London recently? Public transport in the capital is far cheaper than outside (e.g. 90p for a bus journey of any length in London; £1.50 for 15 minutes in Oxford). And tell me, is it the pensioners' free travel you want to take away or the children's? Or maybe you think that someone surviving on £90/week should pay the same for the Tube as an investment banker?
- Raoul, Peckham, London, 04/01/2008 10:20
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The big new developments like Stratford, Brent Cross and Wembley are high-density enough to have public transport as good as central London. Then people would not demand to be able to drive everywhere by car.
- D. Close, London, 03/01/2008 15:55
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I guess people are just going for what has become more reliable: private transport! Red Ken has given away too many "FREEPASS" tickets to anti-social characters and like Espen says the service and safety is gone. Finally, London public transport has also become very, VERY expensive.
- Georgie, Islington, London, 03/01/2008 15:37
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Well said, Espen. All your points about security on public transport should shame the politicians into action.
- Richard, London, England, 03/01/2008 15:19
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Many people drive because they feel unsafe on public transport, especially in the evening after dark. Every station should have staff and be well lit. There should be more police patroling stations and trains, and very high penalties for smoking and drinking on trains, and very long prison sentences for any assaults on passengers and staff.
- Espen Franck-Nielsen, Vestby, Norway, 03/01/2008 13:19
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