ROAD MADNESS
LONDON’S 20MPH LIMITS DEVASTATING FOR TAXI DRIVERS CITY HALL TOLD
The roll-out of 20mph speed limits on main roads has had a “devastating” impact on London’s taxi trade, City Hall has been told. Steve McNamara, general secretary of the LTDA, said on 23 January that reduced speed limits have led “many, many dozens” of his members to lose their jobs. TfL argues that lower speed limits are making London’s roads safer by reducing deaths and injuries. The issue was discussed at a meeting of the London Assembly’s transport committee, where Mr McNamara was asked to describe the impact of 20mph limits on taxis. He said: “In a word - devastating. The argument for lower speeds is obviously clear,
the safety
arguments are clear and unequivocal, really, on secondary roads.
“[On] all of the side streets, I don’t think anyone would argue against 20mph speed limits, certainly not us. But since the mayor’s introduction onto the TLRN [Transport for London Road Network], we’re looking at roads like the Finchley Road, which is a three-lane dual carriageway
in
either direction. “We are now seeing a situation where I have got, it’s not hundreds yet, but it’s many, many dozens of members, who are now out of work and unlicensed, some of whom have been driving a cab for 40 years with an absolutely faultless driving record. [These drivers] have found themselves with 12 points in absolutely no time at all. “Of course, during the day, it’s quite easy to maintain 20mph -
52
but at 4am, if you’re coming down Park Lane - which was previously 40mph as recently as a year ago - you’re coming down Park Lane at 20mph and the vehicle creeps up to 24mph. “I can literally give you multiple examples of drivers that have been caught at 24, 24, 24 and 24, at all hours of the night, and have lost their licences.” He added: “I accept the simple argument [of] ‘well you shouldn’t have done it’, but of course in the real world, these people aren’t a danger to anyone. They’re not driving recklessly. These have had a major, major impact.” TfL runs about five per cent of London’s
roads. The highways
under its control are known as ‘red routes’ and form the arteries of the capital’s road network. The rest of London’s
streets are run by
borough councils. As part of mayor Sadiq Khan’s “vision zero” aim of reducing road deaths to zero by 2041, TfL has been working to
gradually
introduce 20mph limits on 140km of its roads. Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall, along with Reform UK’s Howard
Cox and some
independent candidates, have all called for the limits to be removed from main roads.
Mr McNamara also told the committee that TfL had introduced a number of “ableist” traffic reduction schemes, which he claimed had made it harder for elderly and disabled people to get around London by taxi. He said: “There are numerous videos doing the rounds of elderly and disabled people, having to walk from the front of Liverpool Street station, 200 yards to the cab rank, and then having to be taken on a circuitous tour of London to go in the opposite direction. These schemes are ableist, that’s what they are.” Christina Calderato, TfL’s director of transport strategy and policy, said to committee members: “Our job at TfL is to balance the needs of all our users, and that includes dis- abled people reliant on public transport, people who want to walk and cycle.”
She said that when weighing up that balance, TfL does “take into consideration” the fact that taxis provide a door-to-door service for people with reduced mobility. Mr McNamara later said taxis have had to “fight tooth and nail” to be allowed to access roads where traffic reduction schemes have been installed, “when the opposite should be true”. Ms Calderato responded: “Taxis have access to 95% of bus lanes, and the default will be [that] taxis will be included, unless there is a specific reason. “Borough schemes are individual schemes decided by the boroughs, but we have worked with them about supporting taxis, and what initiatives can be done to do that.”
FEBRUARY 2024 PHTM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
