ULEZ is all metric unlike UK road signs

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has expressed his commitment to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) this year to make London’s air cleaner and improve public health. Transport for London (TfL) is planning to expand ULEZ across all London boroughs from 29 August 2023. As ULEZ expansion has been in the news recently, we take a look at the measurements that ULEZ is based on. Whatever happens to ULEZ, measurements play a central part in making it work. Unlike UK road signs, the measurements used in ULEZ are all metric.

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DfT holds back TfL from all-metric usage

Transport for London (TfL) uses metres and kilometres to express distances in its press releases with few exceptions and often uses metres elsewhere in public places. However, speeds are expressed in miles per hour, no doubt due to Department for Transport (DfT) regulations and usage. Tariffs for taxi fares are expressed in metres for short journeys and in miles for longer journeys and reflect current regulations. I praise TfL for using metric units wherever they can. It is a pity that DfT regulations and usage are holding back TfL from going fully metric.

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Minutes, TfL and ‘Legible London’

Visitors to the capital may have been surprised by the use of “minutes” to measure distance on many pedestrian signs. Metric Views has now come across correspondence between Ronnie Cohen and Transport for London (TfL) that provides the explanation.

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Inconsistent and confusing distances on public signs

Ronnie Cohen writes about the muddle of measurement units he has found on public signs in London, particularly those related to public transport and cycling. If two measurement systems were not bad enough, he has found there are now three.

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Imperial confusion on new tunnel signs

Transport for London (TfL) was today criticised by the UK Metric Association (UKMA) for bungling the erection of new signs at the Rotherhithe tunnel, including banning all vehicles over 33 inches long from using the tunnel – and for wasting up to £6000 on erecting or amending new signs that will soon be obsolete.

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