Mayor defends lack of data on taxi access restrictions in London bus lanes
- Perry Richardson
- Jun 27
- 2 min read
The Mayor has again come under pressure from Reform UK’s London Assembly Member Alex Wilson to provide a list of London bus lanes and streets where taxis are barred, following a demand for transparency over longstanding restrictions.
In a formal written response to Mayor’s Question Time this month, Wilson called the Mayor’s previous answer to a question on the topic “unacceptable” and insisted on publication of both the list of affected locations and the evidence behind each decision.
According to the Mayor, Transport for London (TfL) confirmed that their default approach is to allow taxis in all bus lanes, unless safety or bus operational issues require otherwise. They noted that decisions have been made case by case over decades and that the data is not held in a format that allows for a comprehensive list of restrictions or justifications to be published.
TfL said the taxi trade had identified 25 locations where access is currently denied. Of those, 17 fall under TfL’s control. So far, access has been granted at 11 of those sites. The remaining six were not progressed, citing safety and bus flow concerns.
No timeline or further details were offered on the nature of the concerns or the data behind the decisions.
The Mayor’s team maintained they are willing to continue discussions with both the taxi trade and elected members regarding specific locations where access remains restricted.
Sadiq Khan said: “Transport for London’s (TfL’s) default position is to allow taxis in all bus lanes unless there are specific safety or bus operational issues that would make this impossible.
“The taxi trade has raised 25 locations with TfL where it would like access, of which 17 were on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN). TfL has been able to make changes to allow taxis access at 11 of the TRLN locations. The others have not been progressed due to safety or bus operational concerns.
“The decision to permit taxis to use bus lanes on the TLRN would have been taken on a case-by-case basis over decades. Unfortunately, as outlined in the previous question, that information is not in a format where a list of taxi access restrictions and justification can be provided.
“However, we are more than happy to continue engaging with the taxi trade and you on specific locations.”
