What’s the future for Streetspace? London Assembly quizzes Deputy Mayor following taxi access ruling

The London Assembly Transport Committee has written to the Deputy Mayor for Transport asking what the future for Streetspace now holds in the city and what Transport for London (TfL) will do in the short and long term to respond to the recent High Court ruling.

The capital’s transport regulators launched its Streetspace for London scheme in May 2020. TfL’s aim was to accommodate for a planned increase in cycling, up to ten times pre-COVID levels, and growth in walking across the capital.

The scheme involved introducing bus-only corridors, developing the cycling network, and repurposing footways to provide more space for social distancing.

In the landmark High Court ruling on 20 January the Mayor of London and TfL were deemed to have “acted unlawfully” in their treatment of licensed taxis, in the Streetspace for London Plan and associated Guidance and the A10 Bishopsgate Traffic Order.

In the case, heard at the High Court’s Planning Court on 25 and 26 November 2020, Senior High Court Judge, Mrs Justice Lang DBE found overwhelmingly for the Claimant taxi trade bodies, United Trade Action Group (UTAG) and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA).

In a lengthy and detailed judgement, Mrs Justice Lang underlined a series of failings by TfL and the Mayor, describing their decision-making process as “seriously flawed”, with the decision to exclude taxis being based on “superficial” and “inadequate evidence”.

The Judge noted that denying taxis access to London’s roads could have “severe consequences” for passengers who cannot walk, cycle, or use public transport and that “the needs of people with protected characteristics, including the elderly or disabled”, were “not considered”, before the Plan was announced or the Guidance published.

In the letter to Heidi Alexander, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, it details four key questions asked by the London Assembly Transport Committee. These include what immediate steps TfL are taking in response to the judgment and when will TfL seek to appeal the judgment.

The regulator was also asked what impact the judgment has on the status of existing Streetspace schemes in London and on the developments of schemes that are planned to be implemented in the next three months.

Dr Alison Moore AM, Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, said: “The High Court judgment on TfL’s Streetspace for London expansion has left many questions unanswered about the knock-on effects for schemes across the capital. The future of Streetspace could well be hanging in the balance.

“The Transport Committee has today written to the Deputy Mayor for Transport asking how TfL now plans to respond to the ruling and what will happen to existing Streetspace schemes.”