More than half of lighting in London’s bus shelters now LED as part of TfL’s journey to net-zero

05 April 2023
More than 50 per cent of TfL's bus shelters now converted to LED lighting reducing energy consumption by 57 per cent

Transport for London (TfL) has now converted more than 50 per cent of lighting in bus shelters across London to Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting to reduce waste, energy consumption and associated carbon emissions. This is just another step TfL is taking towards decarbonising its operations by 2030.

Across London, there are around 12,100 bus shelters that have long relied on traditional lighting to keep them illuminated. However, advancements in technology have meant that TfL has been able to roll out greener, more environmentally friendly LED lighting.

Before and after testing by TfL showed that the new lighting uses around 57 per cent less energy, but provide 10 per cent brighter lighting, making the shelters both more welcoming and improving safety for customers, especially at night.

TfL expects to have converted all lighting in bus shelters, including those used in advertising panels, to LED lighting by the end of March 2024. Once complete, this will mean that TfL will have reduced associated carbon emissions by more than 1,000 tonnes CO2e annually.

In addition to bus shelters, TfL is working across its entire network to upgrade lighting to LEDs to help further reduce costs while improving customer benefits and minimising its long-term impact on the environment.  At least a quarter of all Tube stations across London have been converted to only use LED lighting, with more planned for conversion in the coming months and years. Customer lighting at tram stops served by London Trams have been converted to LED lighting, and work is also taking place to upgrade lighting at bus stations across London, as well as at a number of Tube depots, and the London Trams depot in Croydon. Around 50 per cent of all lamp columns on the TfL Road Network are also now LED lights, with work underway to convert more of these lamps as soon as possible..

Lilli Matson, Chief Safety, Health and Environment Officer at TfL, said: "Reducing carbon is a critical part of our work to reduce the impact of public transport on climate change. Not only does LED lighting provide a brighter, more welcoming environment at our bus stops and stations, it helps us reduce maintenance costs, and helps make London a greener and more sustainable city for us all.

"The conversion to LEDs is one of many measures we're taking across our transport network and buildings to help further decarbonise public transport. London leads the way towards achieving net zero and we are committed to doing what we can to ensure our services are the most sustainable way to move around the city."

Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, said: "The roll out of greener, more environmentally friendly LED lighting at bus shelters across London marks another important step forward as TfL continues to decarbonise its operations in the run up to 2030. The new lighting will be clearer for customers whilst using nearly 60 per cent less energy, reducing waste and carbon emissions- and contributing to a greener London for everyone."

TfL and the Mayor of London are determined to reduce these emissions by as much as possible and as soon as possible to help reduce the impact transport has on the environment and to help London reach Net Zero Carbon by 2030.

Reducing carbon is essential to limiting the impact of climate change and saving the planet. The most recent pre-pandemic figures from the Greater London Authority show that London alone produced around 31.5 million tonnes of carbon in 2019. While this is a reduction from carbon emissions in 2000, enormous challenges remain to reduce this figure to zero by the end of the decade.

The effects of climate change are being felt worldwide and London is already dealing with hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. By reducing emissions TfL is helping to limit the effects of climate change. In the meantime, it is also considering how to futureproof the city for the already present and future changes in our climate.

In March 2023, TfL published its Climate Change Adaptation Plan, which shows how TfL will take measures alongside its partners to prepare London's transport network for future extreme weather events, such as those seen in 2021 and 2022 where localised flooding closed stations and cancelled services. The plan builds on TfL's 2021 Corporate Environment Plan which sets out its ambitions to address the climate crisis and support London's green and inclusive recovery so the capital can become an even more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable place to live, work and visit.

The work TfL is doing to get to net zero is also bolstered by the expanding number of zero-emission buses across London, currently standing at more than 950. It follows the Mayoral commitment for all new buses in the city to be zero-emission, with TfL aiming to convert the whole fleet by 2034. With sustained Government funding, this could be brought forward to 2030. Continued investment in London's bus network not only makes buses more attractive to passengers in the capital but creates 3,000 green jobs around the UK.

Investing in new buses - which are cleaner, safer and encourage sustainable travel - is essential to growing bus use in London. Electric buses cut congestion, with a double decker carrying more than up to 80 times the number of passengers as a car and with no harmful emissions from their exhausts. Electric buses help Londoners breathe cleaner air and are central to the national decarbonisation agenda. In 2022, it is even more important that TfL makes the bus network attractive to encourage more people to use it, ensuring revenue is maintained and reinvested into the network, supporting the Mayor's target of 80 per cent of people walking, cycling or using public transport by 2041.

For more information about TfL's continuing work to be environmentally sustainable, go to: tfl.gov.uk/sustainability

Notes to editors