Transport for London (TfL) has been accused of deliberately suppressing taxpayer-funded research that contradicted its anti-car transport policies after a £82,095 university study found that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods fail to reduce car use.
Internal emails obtained by The Times show TfL officials expressing concern about publishing the Westminster University findings, with one warning that “all of this stuff is FoI-able” before funding was withdrawn and the study buried.
For Putney residents suffering daily gridlock from the failed junction redesign, this research suppression reveals the institutional mindset that prioritises ideology over evidence – with devastating consequences for anyone trying to navigate SW15.
The buried research that explains Putney’s problems
The study surveyed more than 4,500 residents and found that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods do not reduce car use. Despite areas with more LTNs showing increased cycling, researchers found “none of the models show a significant association between the proportion of LTN roads and minutes of past-week car use.”
When the research proved Mayor Sadiq Khan’s claims about LTNs wrong, TfL officials worried about publication and eventually withdrew funding, burying it. The same evidence-denying approach explains Putney’s junction redesign, which prioritised 16-20% of users (buses, cyclists, pedestrians) over 80-84% car users, ignoring actual traffic patterns.
The research suppression is part of broader data manipulation. TfL has been using “phantom trips” and cancelled services to hide declining bus performance, claiming 20% service increases during periods when Putney routes became among London’s most complained about. TfL’s own monitoring data shows bus punctuality declined after the junction redesign, yet officials continue defending the scheme while suppressing proof of its failure.
Putney Residents Already Walk – So Why the Redesign?
Even more damaging for TfL’s justifications: the Putney Action Group survey revealed that 92% of respondents already walk regularly in Putney. The junction wasn’t redesigned because residents needed encouragement to walk – they were already walking. It was redesigned to serve transport ideology, not transport reality.
Four separate resident surveys have documented the junction redesign’s catastrophic failure, with 86% of 1,371 residents giving the strongest negative response to the redesign. Even cyclists overwhelmingly condemned the scheme designed to help them, while Putney Bridge Road overtook Putney High Street as the most complained-about road.
The human cost extends far beyond traffic delays. Residents report missing hospital appointments because buses can’t get through gridlock, elderly people feel unsafe when services terminate early, and businesses report customers avoiding Putney because “it’s too difficult” to reach.
This isn’t isolated to Putney. Professor Rachel Aldred, who led the suppressed LTN study, has previously published seven pro-LTN papers funded by TfL, all positive about the schemes. Only when research showed LTNs failing to reduce car use did TfL withdraw support.
Time for Accountability
When transport authorities suppress taxpayer-funded research and ignore comprehensive resident surveys, democratic accountability breaks down. The £82,095 wasted on buried research could have funded transport improvements, but the greater damage is to public trust in institutions that prioritise ideology over evidence.
For Putney residents trapped in daily gridlock, the path forward requires forcing officials to acknowledge evidence they’ve spent months suppressing. The data exists proving the junction redesign has failed: what’s missing is political will to act on evidence rather than defend a political line.
Residents must demand that councillors question TfL’s data suppression, insist on publication of monitoring data, and push for evidence-based solutions. The alternative is continued chaos while transport officials manipulate statistics to avoid admitting their mistakes.
The evidence is overwhelming. The cover-up is exposed. The time for accountability is now.
