Hundreds of thousands of Londoners have cut back on driving due to the cost of parking, congestion or bills for running a car, according to a new poll.
The Savanta UK survey for the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London, found that one in four ((24%) of adults in the capital said they were driving less this year than in the previous 12 months.
A further five per cent had totally abandoned driving.
So in total, three in ten Londoners have reduce their driving in a year.
The detailed figures showed 25% of motorists in Outer London were driving less, and 21% in Inner London.
Six per cent in Outer London had ditched their car, taking the total in these boroughs driving less to 31%.
In Inner London, four per cent had stopped driving, taking the total cutting back on driving to 25%.
The main reasons people gave for changing how often they drive were the ‘cost and availability of parking’ and ‘congestion, traffic, or journey time’ with 34 per cent of respondents including them amongst their top three factors.
The ‘cost of driving,’ which includes fuel, insurance, repairs and other charges was the third most common reason at 28%.
Fourteen per cent of Londoners reported driving more this year than last.
As for frequency of getting behind the wheel, 15% of Londoners reported driving daily with 65 per cent saying they used a car at least once a year.
Food shopping was the primary reason for driving in London, named by 52%, followed by visiting friends and family, 47%.
Just over a third, 36%, gave the reason why they drove as ‘carrying shopping, equipment, or bulky items’ and ‘convenience’.
There are more than three million licensed vehicles in London, according to the Centre for London, and the average car is parked for at least 95 per cent of the time in the city.
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan’s Transport Strategy aims to reduce daily car trips by three million and cut car ownership in London by 250,000 by 2041.
The decline in driving in the capital comes as many households are still struggling with cost-of-living problems.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that the nation’s economic situation will “get better” this year.
But while many workers are seeing wage rises, they will also be hit by an increase in an array of taxes in Chancellor’s Rachel Reeves Budget, including the freeze on income tax thresholds.
The capital is also facing increased congestion in some parts of the city, partly due to low traffic neighbourhoods.
Dame Meg Hillier, Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, raised this issue in the Commons on Thursday, and the impact on bus services.
She stressed: “In London we have been at the forefront of improved bus services, but unfortunately some aspects of that, such as low-traffic neighbourhoods, have had an impact on main routes, and now the No38 bus route is under threat of curtailment.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, a former London deputy mayor for transport, responded: “Best practice when establishing schemes such as low-traffic neighbourhoods requires consultation with bus operators about projected impacts on bus routes, bus frequencies and bus journey times.”
Putney Labour MP Fleur Anderson piled pressure on the Government to do more to get Hammersmith Bridge re-opened.
“Commuter services are extensively disrupted in Putney by the six-year closure of Hammersmith Bridge,” she emphasised.
Ms Alexander replied: “I recognise how disruptive the closure of Hammersmith bridge has been to people.”
She added that the Hammersmith Bridge taskforce would meet “in the near future” to discuss how to progress plans to re-open it.
* Savanta interviewed 1,006 adults online in London between December 16 and 21. Data are weighted.
