Traffic congestion is hardly a new issue for the world’s cities to face, and especially for London.
The English capital introduced its Congestion Charge in 2003, over 20 years ago, in an attempt to clear its roads, but data suggests it hasn't entirely worked.
A report from Inrix, a supplier of traffic data, London is the most congested city in Europe in 2024, a position it has held for three years in succession now. Globally speaking, only New York and Mexico City are more congested than London.
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Evidently charging people for causing congestion hasn’t worked (we’re shocked), and so far Transport for London (TfL) has been short of alternative solutions in the past 21 years, even in a city home to one of the world’s most famous public transport systems.
So, what could be the solution to London’s traffic congestion problems? Well, reducing the number of SUVs, which have become increasingly prominent over the past few years, would obviously be a start, but to go the whole way a more significant change is needed.
A study presented at the 2012 ACEM (Association of European Motorcycle Manufacturers) found that, if 10 per cent of private cars on the road were replaced by powered two-wheelers (PTW), the total time loss to traffic for all vehicles would reduce by 40 per cent, while the total emissions were reduced by six per cent. Additionally, the study found that replacing 25 per cent of private cars with PTWs would erase congestion completely.
Additionally, the Leuven Report, published in 2011, found that a 10 per cent shift from cars to PTWs would result in a 40 per cent reduction in congestion for all road users.
These make clear the answer to the congestion issue, then, surely? Encourage people to swap their car for a PTW and see both congestion and pollution fall.
