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London bus speeds fall, threatening demand and passenger journeys

Transport for London cited research indicates a 10% drop in speed can cut demand by 6%, while London passenger journeys have fallen 16% since 2013.

Reported · Written up by our desk · North America

The Guardian reports that London buses are getting slower, contributing to longer journeys for riders and raising concerns about declining bus use. The outlet says 16% slower average speeds on one route meant an hour-long trip would have taken 51 minutes a decade ago, and a June trip to Oxford Circus involved the bus being stationary for 40 of 108 minutes.

The article also highlights slower performance on other routes, including a 14% slowdown on the 207 to White City and a 5% reduction on the 243 to Waterloo, while noting that 578 of London’s 700 bus routes have seen average speeds fall over the past decade. In 2025, the route examples were associated with 9.8 million passengers.

According to the Guardian, research cited by Transport for London suggests a 10% fall in bus speed leads to a 6% drop in demand, and that passenger journeys in London have fallen by more than 300 million a year, or 16%, since 2013 despite population growth. It also warns of a potential feedback loop, where slower buses drive passengers away and could lead to reduced service frequencies and routes.

The outlet quotes London mayor Sadiq Khan saying bus speed and reliability concerns are linked, pointing to speed as a factor behind reliability issues. The Guardian adds that similar slowdowns have been observed in other global cities including Paris, Brussels, and Lisbon.

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