Transport for London unveils five-year plan to cut congestion

This year, TfL will also be expanding its lane rental scheme from red routes to borough roads. The scheme charges utility companies and others a fee to dig up the busiest roads at the busiest times, reducing congestion and providing funds for innovative new ways to reduce delays on the roads. This has been proven to reduce congestion, improve journeys and enhance air quality.

TfL is working with the London boroughs to expand the scheme and its associated benefits onto borough roads. As of January 2026, four boroughs have already received approval for schemes by the Department for Transport. These are Camden, Enfield, Lambeth and Merton, with a further 22 boroughs progressing towards making applications.

The Government is also in the process of devolving authority to the mayor to approve lane rental schemes, which will allow for more schemes to come forward with consistency across London.

Key innovations and measures that TfL has committed to as part of the plan include:

• Improvements to London’s world-leading Fusion traffic control system. Already one of the world’s most innovative traffic control systems, Fusion will allow TfL to use more data and greater computing power to ensure that traffic signals can react faster and smarter, avoiding congestion and helping people to move around the city better than ever. The system will be updated to analyse a broader range of data when making decisions about signal timings and can be upgraded in future to take advantage of artificial intelligence sensors. The changes could reduce delays by up to 14 per cent and deliver £1bn in benefits through reduced journey times

• TfL is expanding the use of Vivacity cameras across London to better understand how people and vehicles move through the city. Unlike traditional monitoring systems, Vivacity technology uses AI to distinguish between different modes of travel including walking, cycling, wheelchair use, taxis, and heavy goods vehicles. This will provide more inclusive data and will support smarter decisions around things such as pedestrian crossing times. TfL is working closely with boroughs on a data-sharing agreement, which will give access to insights from over 1,000 cameras, highlighting the importance of collaboration in shaping London’s future mobility

• Accelerating bus priority measures to improve bus speeds for millions of customers. A total of 2,080 traffic signals are now equipped with bus priority technology. Utilising new technology, TfL has ambitious plans to expand this to all 3,500 signals which buses pass through by 2030

“By harnessing data, technology and the benefits of new infrastructure, our 2030 vision will see a better, safer street network that is better suited to the needs of Londoners today and tomorrow”

• Carrying out signal timing reviews of entire bus routes instead of specific areas for the first time. Comprehensive reviews of signal timings across entire bus routes will ensure that buses and the millions of people who rely on them can move across the road network efficiently as possible

• Expanding the use of BusSense, a partnership with boroughs that reduces the impact of high-impact roadworks on bus routes through better coordination. Early results showed a 3.5 per cent improvement in bus journey times where it has been deployed, and TfL is planning to partner with all boroughs by this autumn

• Working with the boroughs to rollout vital new roads infrastructure to tackle road danger across London and trialling the use of new technology to reduce road danger, such as near miss detection cameras

• Since 2019, TfL has made significant progress in improving safety and sustainability across the road network, with the number of people killed or seriously injured at the lowest level on record outside of the pandemic-affected years. During the same period, there has been a 43 per cent increase in cycling journeys, achieved with minimal impact on bus journey times compared to pre-pandemic levels. TfL’s new five-year plan will build on this progress and ensure that an even safer and more efficient road network can deliver for Londoners’ health and the economy.  The plan will closely align with TfL’s forthcoming Vision Zero Action Plan 2, due to be published in the coming months, strengthening the citywide efforts to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads.

“I’m committed to making London’s transport network as safe, efficient, and sustainable as possible. Congestion is annoying for everyone, and it costs our economy millions of pounds a year. This innovative new strategy will tackle the causes of congestion head on,” said mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

“This bold new approach to managing the capital’s streets will ensure they work for everyone: harnessing cutting-edge technology and infrastructure to reduce congestion, keep Londoners safe, and speed up journey times on London’s bus network.

“These improvements are vital to achieving my ambition for 80 per cent of journeys to be made by walking, cycling or public transport, as we continue building a greener and better London for everyone.”