Skip to main content

London launches new team to crack down on congestion

A new team of Road and Transport Enforcement Officers is being deployed to key traffic routes across London to crack down on illegal or inconsiderate behaviour and other problems that cause congestion. The new 40-strong Transport for London (TfL) team, which will rise to 80 by next spring, will help deal with problems such as illegal stopping or unloading of deliveries, which can cause delays to drivers and bus passengers. It will work closely with the TfL-funded Metropolitan Police Roads and Transpo
November 30, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A new team of Road and Transport Enforcement Officers is being deployed to key traffic routes across London to crack down on illegal or inconsiderate behaviour and other problems that cause congestion.

The new 40-strong 1466 Transport for London (TfL) team, which will rise to 80 by next spring, will help deal with problems such as illegal stopping or unloading of deliveries, which can cause delays to drivers and bus passengers.

It will work closely with the TfL-funded Metropolitan Police Roads and Transport Policing Command and will help to move unlawfully stopped vehicles, issue Penalty Charge Notices to illegally parked vehicles and clear unnecessary or poorly set-up roadworks.

It is the first time that TfL will have its own officers who will have the power to direct traffic around congestion on London's roads. This includes issues such as breakdowns and collisions. They will also access real time information and data and send intelligence back from the street to TfL’s control room.

The ten key locations the team will be deployed are on roads that between them carry 110 different bus routes and are used by half a million bus passengers, in addition to 300,000 car and taxi passenger journeys every day.
 
The team will be alerted to congestion build ups both through TfL’s network of traffic cameras and through utilising the eyes and ears of the almost 25,000 bus drivers, who are calling in any issues to the TfL control room so that they can be reacted to swiftly and intelligence can be analysed to prevent problems from recurring.

In addition, they will work with businesses along the routes to help improve the way they receive and manage deliveries, giving advice on re-timing or consolidation to reduce the impact of deliveries during peak times.
UTC

Related Content

  • May 18, 2016
    Car traffic in London is down but congestion is up, says new study
    London Congestion Trends, an in-depth study of the causes of traffic congestion in London between 2012 and 2015 published by Inrix, indicates that congestion in London is increasing, with journey times in Central London growing by 12 per cent annually. Inrix says this is consistent with data that shows that the London economy and population are growing, which normally results in an increase in gridlock. Further, unemployment and fuel prices are down, both of which usually mean a rise in traffic. Despite thi
  • September 15, 2014
    CCTV brings transit safety into view
    David Crawford looks at camera-based vulnerable road users protection systems.Safe and efficient operation of road-based transit depends on minimising the risks of incidents involving other vehicles or vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and passengers boarding or alighting from buses or trams. The extent and quality of the visibility available to drivers is crucial in preventing and avoiding incidents. Conventionally, they have had to rely on fairly basic equipment - essentially the human
  • August 1, 2014
    TfL to trial new bus sensor technology
    Transport for London (TfL) is to trial detection software to enhance bus driver awareness of pedestrians and cyclists. The six-week trial will start later this month as part of a continued drive to improve road safety in the capital. Four buses will be fitted with brand new pedestrian and cyclist detection software which directly alerts bus drivers when pedestrians and cyclists are moving close to their vehicles, helping to reduce collisions. TfL is trialling two systems, CycleEye from Fusion Processi
  • October 21, 2014
    London’s strategy to tackle air quality problems
    Colin Sowman talks to Matthew Pencharz, the man charged with charting London’s path between catering for traveller needs, conserving ancient buildings and conforming to modern air quality standards.