Will less private cars on London streets help minimize traffic congestion? Image source: Shutterstock (#588345188) shows St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s administration came up with a transit plan to gradually push out motor vehicles from the inner-city. By 2041, about 80 percent of all conducted journeys should be by public transport, bike or on foot, so the plans of the city administration. The city plans on launching Crossrail, a major new heavy rail commuter service next year. It will be a rapid transit line, connecting urban and suburban areas, proposed to gradually extend the lines until 2033. The extend of better bike infrastructure is another point on the administration’s agenda for it ‘ultra-low emission zone’. Additional to the general improvement and expansion of public infrastructure, the London administration might charge car drivers for mileage. The plan is not thought of as a congestion fee, which is already in place, but rather as a charge for private car usage across the whole municipal area. This might, despite being yet another milestone on the path to a more sustainable traffic plan, cause resentment.
Though transit patterns have changed in inner-London, away from the use of private cars, London’s Boroughs which are much more suburban and car-dependent than residents from the inner-city, might want to have a say in this ultimately. Thus, Khan’s purview might after all be limited, but the ambitious aim is worthwhile.
CityLab
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