Ambulances, police and fire vehicles across the capital can now use bus lanes on London’s main arterial roads, even when they’re not dealing with an emergency.

The trial found the number of missed NHS appointments fell by around 20%

While bus lanes have always been used when responding to an emergency, the move means vehicles such as liveried NHS patient passenger transport will use them too.

The move is effective from today (Friday 19 May) and follows a trial by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust that saw reduced journey times and fewer missed appointments while having no negative impact on bus journey times.

Carried out over 12 months from February 2022, the trial gave more than 150 non-blue light patient transport vehicles access to more than 15 miles of bus lanes in Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and Lewisham on the TfL road network (TLRN) and bus lanes managed by Lambeth Council.

It found that the number of missed NHS appointments fell by around 20%, with knock-on savings for the trusts themselves, and improved health outcomes for many patients.

Christina Calderato, director of transport strategy & policy at TfL, said: “Bus lanes have a proven track record of speeding up journeys, and we’re delighted to see further benefits in this trial for Guy’s and St Thomas’ and thousands of its patients. We look forward now to more patients across the capital being able to get to their appointments on time and supporting the vital work of the other emergency services, be it a forensics van needing to get to a crime scene or London Fire Brigade equipment needing to be in the right place at the right time.”

TfL will now work closely with London Councils to encourage all London boroughs adopt the same approach to bus lanes on borough roads over the next few months.

Seb Dance, deputy mayor for transport, said: “I’m pleased we’ve been able to support our colleagues in the emergency services and help improve patients’ experience too.

“We look forward to working with London boroughs to implement it even more widely.”