London's 20mph limits 'not making buses slower'

Twenty mile per hour speed limits on some roads in London are not responsible for slower buses, the mayor of London has claimed.

Sir Sadiq Khan said while there was "a perception of declining bus speeds following returning traffic and roadworks after the Covid-19 period", in reality buses were about as slow as they were five years ago.

In a written question the leader of City Hall Conservatives, Neil Garratt, said there was "clear evidence" that bus speeds were declining across London and asked what work had been done to determine whether lowering speed limits was a possible factor.

The mayor said the average bus speed in London in 2019-20 was 9.29mph (15km/h) and in 2023-24 it was 9.27mph.

Sir Sadiq said that was "a very small decline of 0.02".

A report by the watchdog London Travelwatch revealed in November last year that in parts of central London, bus speeds had dropped below 7mph (11km/h).

The research found that average bus speeds range from 8.1mph (13km/h) in inner London to 10.3mph (17km/h) in outer London.

Bus speeds were lower in every borough in 2023-24 compared with 10 years previously.

In the 'square mile' of the City of London, buses travel at only 6.6mph (11km/h) – and at 7.1mph in Westminster and in Camden, the report said.

In his written answer to Mr Garratt, Sir Sadiq said more than of half of London's roads now had a 20mph speed limit and 19 of the 33 London boroughs had 20mph speed limits across their roads.

The mayor said preliminary data showed a 24.9% reduction in fatal and serious injuries after the introduction of 20mph speed limits.

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