I read the recent article regarding Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s praise for the 200 electric buses in the capital and lamenting the “shameful health crisis” of London’s toxic air. Has nobody at City Hall realised that it is the problem?
City Hall has promoted a 20mph speed limit in almost every borough. Some of those boroughs boast that they are now entirely 20mph zones.
Is there anyone at City Hall who can do maths? If you drive at 20mph, your vehicle selects a lower gear. The engine is now working just as hard as it would at 30mph. It is also pumping out fumes at the same rate.
However, it is taking 33% longer for every journey. That has wiped out every gain that has come from switching to Euro 6 vehicles. So the “benefit” of lowering the speed limit is to increase pollution by 33%. Well done, TfL.
Jeremy Reese
The Little Bus Company
