About London

London is a city of some 8 million people and is unique in England in having its own elected assembly and mayor. 

The mayor is elected for a fixed term of four years and has general power to do anything that will promote economic and social development, and environmental improvement in London.  This includes setting out plans and policies for transport in the city.

The Mayor of London works with a number of key governing bodies to manage services within the capital.

Click here to see the main governance structure for transport in London

Transport in London is controlled by several bodies:

  • Most of London’s roads are primarily controlled by the London boroughs
  • London’s strategic road network is managed by Transport for London and the UK core road network Opens in a new window by the Highways Agency
  • London’s surface transport (including buses, trams, the Underground and the strategic walk and cycle network) is managed through Transport for London
  • The UK’s train network is privatised with 12 train operators serving London and Network Rail Opens in a new windowmanaging the tracks. The franchises for the private train operators (known collectively as National Rail Opens in a new window) are managed by the Department for Transport.
  • The London Boroughs are responsible for delivering programmes on areas such as local road safety, improvements to cycle parking, improvements to the streetscape etc.
  • The Oyster travelcard Opens in a new window allows travel across all modes of London transport.

 

Travel patterns in London greatly differ according to location within the city.  For example, only 11% of workers drive to work in central London but 63% drive to work in Outer London (London Travel Report, 2007). 

See Travel and performance | Transport for London Opens in a new window for more information on how Londoners travel.

 

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