Khan makes London the slowest city in the world

City that swung now staggers as mayor’s 20mph speed restrictions put the brakes on flowing traffic

SADIQ KHAN’S 20mph speed limit makes London the world’s slowest city to drive in, analysis shows.

Journeys of 6.2 miles in central London took an average of 37 minutes and 20 seconds last year, location technology company Tomtom said.

This was one minute more than in 2022, and was the longest time among the 387 cities in 55 countries analysed. It makes London the slowest city for the second year in a row.

In second was Irish capital Dublin, with 10km trips typically taking 29 minutes and 30 seconds. It was followed by Toronto, Canada (29 minutes); Milan, Italy (28 minutes and 50 seconds); and Lima, Peru (28 minutes and 30 seconds).

In the UK, Manchester was ranked second (23 minutes and 30 seconds), followed by Liverpool (22 minutes and 50 seconds), Bristol (22 minutes and 40 seconds) and Edinburgh (21 minutes and 30 seconds).

Travel times increased last year in 21 of the 25 UK cities analysed. Tomtom based its analysis on journeys in a three-mile radius of city centres. Stephanie Leonard, the company’s head of government and regulatory affairs, said: “London really is the slowest place in the world to drive a car.

“Especially in the core city centre, you don’t have maximum speed limits of 50mph or higher, it’s a maximum of 20mph. You don’t have the infrastructure for driving very quickly.”

The roll-out of the 20mph limit, which was extended last year, has met with swathes of criticism being described as a “war on motorists”.

Ian Taylor, a director at the Alliance of British Drivers, previously said: “There may be a few places with 20mph justified, such as outside schools, not A-roads, but the Mayor of London seems determined, bit by bit, to turn virtually the whole place into 20mph maximum areas.”

He added the situation is “getting to the stage where you’ll get cycles and scooters going as fast or faster than the cars, which could have problems of its own.”

Keith Prince, the Conservatives’ transport spokesman at the London Assembly, said: “Sadiq Khan and some London boroughs have forced through 20mph limits on roads that don’t need it against the wishes of residents.”

Transport for London (TFL) said the extension of the 20mph limit would bring the total length of roads with a 20mph limit to 87 miles, making them “safer for everyone”.

In October last year, the Government published a Plan for Drivers which included an intention to curb the use of such limits. It stated: “We will make it clear that 20mph speed limits in England must be used appropriately where people want them – not as unwarranted blanket measures.”

It followed Wales becoming the first country in the UK to drop the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads and those commonly used by pedestrians.

Tomtom found that as well as London’s city centre roads being the world’s slowest when traffic is flowing freely, they are also where motorists lose the most time because of congestion. The study also noted that London had the world’s third highest fuel prices last year.

Ms Leonard said: “Our analysis of the economic impact of congestion showed that London’s slow-moving traffic and higher fuel consumption made it one of the most expensive cities in the world for driving.

TFL and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan were approached for a comment.

‘It’s getting to the stage where you’ll get cycles and scooters going as fast or faster than the cars’