Request ID: FOI-2030-2324 Date published: 06 October 2023
You asked
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please could you advise on how many sections of bus lanes across Greater London have been replaced with cycle lanes in each of the past five years (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and so far in the year to date?
Could you also provide the total length (or near approximation) of the bus lanes that have been replaced with cycle lanes in each of those years.
Many thanks.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-2030-2324/GH Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 11 September 2023 asking for information about bus lane removal. Transport for London (TfL) is working to increase the number and hours of operation of its bus lanes and regularly re-optimises the signal cycles. TfL has increased bus lanes across London and is working to add 25km of bus lanes by March 2025, and has recently made most bus lane 24 hour on the Transport for London road network. We do though have to achieve a wide range of outcomes, these include improving safety on our streets through the Vision Zero goal to eliminate death and serious injury from London's transport network, increasing the uptake of active travel in the capital by delivering quality cycle and walking infrastructure and improving bus speeds across the city to ensure buses are an attractive form of public transport.
Transport for London has adopted an integrated approach to scheme planning and design, whereby strategic data is used to understand competing pressures and priorities on different roads across the city and schemes are developed in a way that seeks to address different modal requirements and deliver a range of objectives, all while maintaining the current level of service. TfL also continuously monitor bus speeds across London to understand the impact of changing network conditions. For schemes delivered by Transport for London, the impact of new cycle lanes on buses speeds is monitored so that TfL can introduce any necessary mitigation measures needed, for example introducing more bus priority at signalised junctions within a scheme area or upstream or downstream of a scheme to reduce the overall journey time impact on bus passengers using affected routes. Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. However, to provide the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with requests if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’. The requested information is not centrally recorded. Often when bus lanes have been replaced by cycle lanes, new bus lanes have also been introduced as part of the scheme. In order to compile this information we would therefore need to manually check all projects for the 5 year period requested, and this would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. This work would only relate to the Transport for London Road Network which we are responsible for, and would not include any bus lanes on borough roads. Identifying any relevant information for borough roads would be a huge additional task. To help bring the cost of responding to your requests within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider refining your requests to concentrate on matters which are important to you. For example, we are more likely to be able to answer your request if it was focussed on specific roads or locations. Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, TfL does not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request. If you have specific questions relating to these topics we may be more easily able to respond to these than to a request for any information held. If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal. Yours sincerely Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
