Hopes of avoiding a car-led recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in London have been dashed as new data shows car usage returned almost to pre-pandemic levels in 2021.
Figures revealed by City Hall on Tuesday show that, while passenger numbers on public transport have struggled to recover since March 2020, car use has been far more resilient.
Ridership on buses is currently at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels while Tube ridership is at 55 per cent, but car usage was close to pre-pandemic levels for much of the second half of 2021.
With many people once again choosing to get around by car, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has warned that the capital is facing a twin threat of “filthy air and gridlocked roads” that could be costing the economy as much as £5.1 billion a year.
Image: PA
Mr Khan said: “Whilst we have made huge strides in increasing walking and cycling in London throughout the pandemic, car use has remained consistently high. If we do not double down on our efforts to deliver a greener, more sustainable future we will replace one public health crisis with another – caused by filthy air and gridlocked roads.
“The cost to both Londoners and the capital cannot be underestimated, with days wasted stuck in traffic, billions lost to the economy and increased road danger and health impacts. Most traffic is caused simply by there being too great a demand for limited street space, meaning the only long-term solution can be to significantly reduce car use in favour of greener means of travel.”
During the pandemic, the number of journeys made by cycling increased by 22 per cent compared to 2019, while TfL’s Santander cycle hire scheme saw record-breaking months in September and October 2021.
But the slow recovery of public transport ridership saw the total number of journeys made by “active, efficient and sustainable” transport fall by as much as five per cent between 2019 and 2020, with more journeys being made…
Source : times
