20mph speed limits make central London roads the world’s slowest

London has the world’s slowest city centre for drivers because of widespread 20mph speed limits, according to new analysis.

Journeys of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in central London took an average of 37 minutes and 20 seconds last year, location technology company TomTom said.

This was one minute more than in 2022 and was the longest time among the 387 cities across 55 countries analysed, putting London top of the slow city centre ranking for the second year in a row.

A spokesperson for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan described the study as “misleading”.

The world’s second slowest city centre was found to be Irish capital Dublin, with 10km trips typically taking 29 minutes and 30 seconds.

It was followed by Toronto, Canada (29 minutes); Milan, Italy (28 minutes and 50 seconds); and Lima, Peru (28 minutes and 30 seconds).

In the UK, Manchester was ranked second (23 minutes and 30 seconds), followed by Liverpool (22 minutes and 50 seconds), Bristol (22 minutes and 40 seconds) and Edinburgh (21 minutes and 30 seconds).

Travel times increased last year in 21 of the 25 UK cities analysed.

TomTom based its analysis on journeys in a 5km radius of city centres.

The company’s head of government and regulatory affairs, Stephanie Leonard, said: “London really is the slowest place in the world to drive a car.

“Especially in the core city centre, you don’t have maximum speed limits of 50mph or higher, it’s a maximum of 20mph.

“You don’t have the infrastructure for driving very quickly.”

Transport for London (TfL) lowered speed limits to 20mph on a further 65km (40.4 miles) of roads in the south of the capital during the final four months of last year.

When the measure was announced in September, the transport body – chaired by Mr Khan – said it would bring the total length of roads with a 20mph limit to 140km (87 miles), making them “safer for everyone”.

Mr Khan’s spokesperson said: “This study is misleading as it only includes analysis from a very small part of the city centre, not the whole of London.

“Comprehensive TfL data suggests that journey times on the TfL road network actually remain at similar levels to those in 2019, while analysis from around the UK suggests that lower speed limits have not increased congestion.

“Roadworks are the biggest cause of congestion in cities, which is why the mayor’s infrastructure co-ordination service is working with boroughs and utility companies to reduce delays caused by roadworks, helping to save London road users over 1,250 days of roadworks since 2019.”

TfL’s director of network management and resilience Carl Eddleston said: “We disagree with this analysis of road speeds and believe it is not representative of London as a whole.

“This report only looks at data collected up to 5km from the centre, regardless of the city’s overall size and density, which means that fair comparisons with other cities cannot be made.”

Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall said: “This is the consequence of Sadiq Khan’s war on motorists, which has gridlocked our roads and made London the worst city in the world to drive in.”

She pledged to “stop these blanket 20mph limits on main roads” if she wins May’s election.

In October last year, the Government published a Plan for Drivers which included an intention to curb the use of those limits.

It stated: “We will make it clear that 20mph speed limits in England must be used appropriately where people want them – not as unwarranted blanket measures.”

This came a month after Wales became the first country in the UK to drop the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads and those commonly used by pedestrians.

TomTom found that as well as London’s city centre roads being the world’s slowest when traffic is flowing freely, they are also where motorists lose the most time due to congestion.

The study also noted that London had the world’s third highest fuel prices last year.

Ms Leonard said: “Our analysis of the economic impact of congestion showed that London’s slow-moving traffic and higher fuel consumption made it one of the most expensive cities in the world for driving.

“Avoiding peak hours could save Londoners up to £187 per year on fuel costs.

“At the same time, local authorities must put support behind programmes that encourage cycling, public transport and other modes to take a larger share in transportation.”

TfL and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan were approached for a comment.

Published: 10/01/2024 by Radio NewsHub