Skip to main content

Mayor’s lane rental scheme cuts roadwork disruption

A new study into London’s lane rental scheme shows that since its introduction the amount of serious and severe disruption caused by planned roadworks has been cut by 46 per cent on the capital’s busiest roads, reducing delays for all road users. The scheme, which came into effect in June 2012 on the busiest parts of London’s road network, is designed to encourage utility companies to avoid digging up the busiest roads at peak traffic times. Following the introduction of the scheme, around 90 per cent of
April 11, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A new study into London’s lane rental scheme shows that since its introduction the amount of serious and severe disruption caused by planned roadworks has been cut by 46 per cent on the capital’s busiest roads, reducing delays for all road users.

The scheme, which came into effect in June 2012 on the busiest parts of London’s road network, is designed to encourage utility companies to avoid digging up the busiest roads at peak traffic times. Following the introduction of the scheme, around 90 per cent of utility works and 99 per cent of works carried out by 1466 Transport for London (TfL) in the lane rental areas have avoided disrupting these busy roads at peak times.

All surplus money raised through the lane rental scheme is reinvested into measures to further reduce the disruption, including: automatic roadwork monitoring cameras, allowing TfL to better determine whether work is taking place on worksites; automatic number plate recognition cameras and automatic traffic counters to capture the effects of a scheme to ensure that it continues to reduce disruption; further investigation into innovative ways of reducing disruption.

Isabel Dedring, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “We are delighted by the success of this scheme - which was both a First for London and the UK when it was introduced by the Mayor in 2012. It has already saved Londoners thousands of hours spent stuck in traffic and is set to save them many thousands more.”

Alan Bristow, Director of Road Space Management at TfL, said: “The introduction of the UK’s First lane rental scheme in London has already delivered significant benefits across the capital. By using this scheme to help fund more innovation and world-leading technologies, we can continue to reduce disruption and keep all road users on London’s road network moving.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TomTom: Congestion costs on UK businesses increase by £148m
    December 14, 2017
    UK Congestion is costing businesses £915m ($1,229m) a year in lost productivity, according to the latest figures revealed by TomTom’s (TT’s) Traffic Index. Findings showed this figure is an increase of £148m ($198m) from last year’s £767m ($1,030m).
  • London transport to get contactless payment
    July 28, 2014
    Millions of customers are set for easier and more convenient journeys from 16 September, when Transport for London (TfL) will introduce contactless payments for all pay as you go customers on the Tube, London Overground, DLR and trams in addition to the capital's buses. The new option means that passengers will no longer be any need to top up Oyster card balances because fares are charged directly to payment card accounts. Contactless payments - credit, debit, charge or pre-paid cards or devices - work i
  • Hitachi Rail Europe wins UK first traffic management contract
    July 28, 2015
    Passengers on some of the busiest commuter lines in the UK can look forward to more frequent and more reliable trains following a deal to provide new traffic management technology on the Thameslink route through central London. Network Rail and the Thameslink Programme have signed a contract with Hitachi Rail Europe (HRE) to deliver a step-change in technology through state-of-the-art traffic management technology.
  • High-speed road assessment vehicle launches at Intertraffic
    February 8, 2016
    WDM, the UK’s leading manufacturer and provider of highway survey and monitoring equipment, will be exhibiting its RAV (road assessment vehicle) for the first time at Intertraffic Amsterdam. The RAV carries out high-speed data acquisition and recording of surface conditions, including measurement of radius of curvature, gradient and crossfall; the automatic recognition of surface cracking; plus geometric longitudinal profile, accurate at speeds down to 0kph.