Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN), a controversial traffic measure, is wreaking havoc on bus journeys across east Oxford, according to a new report.
A joint study from Oxford Bus Company, Thames Travel and Stagecoach West found that LTNs had severely “jeopardised” public transport in the city.
The three coach companies pointed out that some bus routes have seen maximum travel times “almost double”, The Telegraph reported.
LTNs are residential areas where vehicles are discouraged or not allowed by using either cameras, planters or lockable bollards.
The damning report said that LTNs had caused “chronic” gridlock on some roads and led to “exasperatingly” slow bus journeys.
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The controversial scheme particularly hurt bus passengers “who are unable to walk long distances or cycle because of physical limitations”.
The report was filed ahead of a crunch council vote on Tuesday on whether to make three LTNs permanent.
The three bus companies said that the changes to traffic measures were “unprecedented in the last 50 years” in their damage to the bus services.
The report comes just a few months after an Oxfordshire County Council investigation found that LTNs were also impacting ambulance wait times.
The traffic changes were delaying emergency vehicles by between 35 and 45 seconds.
The measures were initially implemented during the COVID lockdown in 2020 when the Government handed the county council £3million to set up six LTNs.
Cllr Liam Walker, the Conservative shadow for transport, said the LTNs have proven “embarrassing” for Oxfordshire’s Lib Dem and Green coalition.
He said the council has made a “complete mess” of a policy meant to improve public transport, which has instead caused “misery for motorists and bus passengers”.
A council spokeswoman said new traffic filters will be introduced to “alleviate congestion, make bus journeys faster and more reliable, and to enable new and improved routes”.
Meanwhile, last month, a London council bowed to pressure and scrapped most road closures introduced under LTN schemes.
Tower Hamlets Council, which introduced the traffic calming measures during the pandemic, said LTNs had divided communities.
Lutfur Rahman, mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “While LTNs improve air quality in their immediate vicinity, they push traffic down surrounding arterial roads, typically lived on by less affluent residents.”
Meanwhile, in August, it was revealed that London councils had to repair more than £850,000 worth of damage caused to LTN infrastructure since 2020.
