{
  "id": 9287338,
  "title": "London buses in decline? Why public transport in global cities is slowing to a crawl – visualised",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/london-buses-in-decline-why-public-transport-in-global-cities-is",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-23T06:00:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2026/sep/23/london-buses-in-terminal-decline-why-public-transport-in-global-cities-is-slowing-to-a-crawl-visualised"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The United Kingdom's capital, London, faces a declining public transport system, particularly its bus network, which experts suggest could have dire consequences for the city's poorest residents. This sluggishness is a global issue, with cities like Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, and others also experiencing similar trends.\n\nResearch from Transport for London (TfL) indicates that a 10% decrease in bus speed can lead to a 6% drop in demand. In London, passenger journeys have dropped by over 300 million annually since 2013, despite the city's population growing by nearly a million people. Mayor Sadiq Khan has expressed concern over bus usage, stating that lack of reliability is a significant issue due to slower bus speeds.\n\nCongested city streets with limited road space have left London in a tough position, deciding which modes of transport to prioritize. When passengers abandon slower buses, service frequencies and even routes may be reduced, leading to a vicious cycle of decline: slower buses, fewer passengers, and increased pressure on services.\n\nData from TfL reveals that the city's average bus speed in 2025-26 was 9.18 mph, the lowest since records began in 2013-14, a 4.8% decline over the period. Scheduled journey times on London's bus routes have increased by an average of 30% compared to 50 years ago, yet buses continue to miss expected arrival times. Delays have worsened, with high-frequency routes now seeing passengers wait 22% longer than expected, up from 18% in 2018. In 2024, bus journeys fell to 1.8 billion, the first decline since the post-pandemic recovery began in 2010.\n\nThe financial implications of these slower buses are significant. Making London's buses 10% faster could generate an additional £70 million annually in fares and reduce operating costs by £214 million. The financial burden on the poorest in society is also notable, as buses are often the most affordable transportation option for those who rely on them for work or lack access to personal vehicles.\n\nLondon's bus slowdown is not unique to the city, as a 2026 report by the Transport Strategy Centre at Imperial College London found a persistent decline in bus speeds across 15 networks in Europe, Asia, and North America. Cities like Paris, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore have bus travel speeds more than 10% slower than pre-pandemic levels. Factors contributing to this decline include growing traffic congestion, limited space for buses, and the expansion of road space for cycling and walking. In Barcelona, for example, the redevelopment of Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes led to journey times rising by over 25% due to traffic being redirected onto surrounding roads with lower speed limits and no priority for buses.",
  "summary": "As experts fear for future of UK capital’s bus network, some commuters are giving up entirely. London is not alone – with worrying implications for the poorest in society Experts warn that slower buses risk driving passengers away: research cited by Transport for London (TfL) suggests a 10% fall in speed leads to a 6% drop in demand. Passenger journeys in London have already fallen by more than…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}