Transport for London: good and sustainable public transport in the capital
Wentao L
The overarching goal of Transport for London (TfL) is to get people from A to B in a more sustainable fashion and, as part of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, to increase access to pleasant, fast and reliable public transport. 1 While London’s public transport network is certainly more environmentally sustainable than private transport, 2 there is still progress needed in general sustainability. Furthermore, improvements are certainly required for better accessibility and quality of public transport. Evaluating sustainability Sustainability is often defined as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’, 3 and it can be assessed through a variety of environmental, social and economic factors. Due to the breadth of the subject, the author will focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the framework set out by the Mayor’s Transport Strategy for a ‘good public transport experience’, 4 which should provide a good insight into the provision and sustainability of public transport in London. Environmental sustainability In 2022, the transport sector accounted for 25.1% of London’s GHG emissions. 5 The TfL network generated 813ktCO 2 e, 6 contributing to 11.4% of the transport sector’s GHG emissions in London. 7 TfL’s total CO 2 e emissions have almost halved from its peak in 2014, 8 helped by reductions in CO 2 e emissions per passenger-kilometre on the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR), 9 although it is largely down to a decline in bus usage. 10 1 Transport for London, ‘Delivering the Mayor’s Transport Strategy 2024/25’, June 2025, 6, https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/the-mayors-transport-strategy#on-this-page-7 . 2 Private transport in this essay refers to privately owned motor vehicles, so does not include bicycles. 3 Amelia Browne, ‘Explainer: What Is Sustainability and Why Is It Important?’, Earth.Org, October 26, 2022, accessed August 21, 2025, https://earth.org/what-is-sustainability/ . 4 London City Hall, ‘Mayor’s Transport Strategy’, November 2022, accessed August 22, 2025, https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/transport/our-vision-transport/mayors-transport-strategy- 2018. 5 Greater London Authority Intelligence and Analysis Unit, ‘London Energy and Greenhouse Gas Inventory - Data Explorer’, accessed August 21, 2025, https://apps.london.gov.uk/leggi-explorer/. 6 CO 2 e = carbon dioxide equivalent 7 Transport for London, ‘Safety, health and environment annual report 2023/24’, July 2024, 44, https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/health-safety-and-environment.
8 See Figure 4 in appendix. 9 See Figure 5 in appendix. 10 Bus usage has fallen from over 2.4 billion journeys in 2013 to 1.87 billion journeys in 2023.
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