All new buses across London are to be fitted with speed-limiting technology in a bid to improve road safety in the capital.
TfL ran trials of the Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology on two bus routes that included a variety of road environments and differing speed limits.
On 18 March it declared the trials a ‘success’ in demonstrating that the technology can be used to control speeds on London’s bus network.
TfL says during the trials buses fitted with ISA remained within the speed limit 97-99% of the time, with the rare incidents of excess speeds occurring on downhill sections of road.
TfL also says the technology was particularly effective when travelling through 20mph zones – which it says cover around a quarter of London’s roads – helping to ensure other vehicles in the area adhered to the limit.
ISA will become mandatory on all buses entering service from 2017, and will supplement the iBus system* currently fitted to all of London’s 9,000 buses.
Isabel Dedring, London’s deputy mayor for transport, said: “The use of this cutting-edge technology is just one example of how we are harnessing the latest technology to reduce the number of fatal and serious injuries on London’s roads.”
Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: “These trials have proven that speed limiting technology can contribute to safer roads and streets.
“We’ll now work with manufacturers so that all buses coming off the production line can be fitted with the technology from next year.”
Photo: George Fox Evangelical Seminary via Flickr. Licenced for use under Creative Commons.