Non-emergency bluelight vehicles given access to bus lanes

Non-emergency ambulances, police and fire vehicles will now have access to bus lanes on London’s roads.

The move is expected to benefit more than 8,000 emergency service fleet vehicles from the Metropolitan Police Service, the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service.

The decision by Transport for London (TfL) follows a successful trial with Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust that saw fewer missed appointments, and no negative impact on bus journey times.

It found that the number of missed NHS appointments fell by around 20% and saved the Trust money, with no impact on bus journey times.

Christina Calderato, director of transport strategy and policy at TfL, said: “Bus lanes have a proven track record of speeding up journeys, and we’re delighted to see further benefits in this trial for Guy’s and St Thomas’ and thousands of its patients.

“We look forward now to more patients across the capital being able to get to their appointments on time and supporting the vital work of the other emergency services, be it a forensics van needing to get to a crime scene or London Fire Brigade equipment needing to be in the right place at the right time.”

During the trial, more than 150 non-blue light patient transport vehicles were given access to in excess of 25km of bus lanes in Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and Lewisham on the TfL road network (TLRN).

It also included bus lanes managed by Lambeth Council and took place over 12 months from February 2022.

TfL will be working closely with London Councils to encourage all London boroughs to adopt the same approach to bus lanes on borough roads over the next few months.