Request ID: FOI-2934-2223 Date published: 07 March 2023
You asked
Dear Sir/Madam
Under the Freedom of Information Act, please provide information/data to show that bus drivers are adhering to the 20mph speed limit as implemented by the London Borough of Waltham Forest Council; this information should be available as soon as the 'traffic calming measures' were put into place in July 2022.
Despite my numerous complaints to TFL and the London Mayor regarding buses thundering across the speed humps with impunity on Old Church Road, London, E4 and generally within LBWF, the buses drivers continue to ignore the 20 mph speed limit.
This has resulted in our homes vibrating akin to earth tremors throughout the day and much worse during the night; cracks have now begun to appear within our homes since July 2022.
I would like this evidence/data within the next seven working days.
We answered
TfL Ref: 2934-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 8 February 2023 asking for information about bus speeds on Old Church Road.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked:
Under the Freedom of Information Act, please provide information/data to show that bus drivers are adhering to the 20mph speed limit on Old Church Road as implemented by the London Borough of Waltham Forest Council; this information should be available as soon as the 'traffic calming measures' were put into place in July 2022. (bus routes 97, 215 and N26). Whilst I have contacted LBWF Council and TFL on numerous occasions regarding the traffic that speeds past, they are not interested in monitoring this daily and nightly problem.
Please find attached the iBus bus speed data we hold for the bus routes 97, 215 and N26 along Old Church Road for July to September 2022. It should be noted that some sections of Old Church Road have a speed limit of 30mph and some sections have a limit of 20mph. The data we hold cannot be attributed to a specific section of Old Church Road.
The data provided shows all instances where the recorded bus speed was 10% +2mph or more above the road speed for at least 10 seconds. Please note that this data is not intended for use to monitor individual bus speeds and is not subject to the same regulations that tachograph technology must comply with and will not therefore be as accurate as tachograph data. We are working to eliminate the possibility of buses being able to exceed the speed limit through the introduction of our Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology. ISA limits vehicles to the posted speed limit and is required on all new buses entering the London bus fleet, currently around one in four of the fleet is fitted with this technology. As older vehicles make way to new buses, this will increasingly become a standard feature on a growing proportion of the fleet.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
