90. Mr. Jenningsasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, whether he is yet in a position to report the views of the Road Research Laboratory on the extent to which the flow of London traffic was affected by the bus strike.
§ Mr. H. NichollsMany of the observations on traffic taken by the Road Research Laboratory during the bus strike cannot be properly evaluated until corresponding observations are completed now that the buses are running. Some preliminary conclusions can, however, be drawn. Firstly, results were variable according to the route; on some journeys there was a decrease in journey20W speeds and on others there was an increase. Secondly, a comparison of speeds on certain routes in Central London during the bus strike with speeds on the same roads in September 1956 showed little change of speed during the peak period and little change at the beginning of the bus strike but an increase of speed of 17 per cent. towards the end of the strike. The increase of speed was accompanied by an increase of traffic flow of 7 per cent. The increase in journey speed was largely due to a reduction in the time spent at controlled intersections.