The pilot priority (red) route in north and east London has been assessed by `before' and `after' surveys. Illegal parking has been drastically reduced on the route and has not increased on neighbouring streets. Parking enforcement is costing about £0.9M per annum of the resources available to the police. Traffic delays have been considerably reduced with journey times falling by over 10 per cent on average for both buses and other traffic with peak reductions of over 10 minutes in a 55 minute bus journey. The variability of journey times has fallen by one third. Vehicle flows along the route have increased by about 8 per cent, mainly by attracting traffic out of residential roads. Personal injury accidents in the corridor have reduced by 17 per cent in the first 18 months compared with the corresponding period before the start of the pilot route. Shopping activity has declined as it has generally in London owing to the recession and there is no evidence that red route measures of themselves have affected the patronage of shops. (A)
Abstract