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Town transport
Town transport in London is a comprehensive public transport network that is supervised by the Transport for London (TfL). It is a local government body that oversees the transport system throughout the City of London and Greater London in the United Kingdom. The role of TfL is to be an integrated body responsible to implement the transport strategy for and to manage transport services across London. This is one of the most extensive, complex and sophisticated public transport system in the world.
Transport for London (TfL) is one of the four areas of policy under the Mayor of London. However, the mayor’s financial control over it is only limited. TfL is directed by a management Board whose members are chosen for authority on transport matters as they are appointed by the Mayor of London himself, who chairs the Board. The Commissioner of Transport for London reports to the board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities.
TfL replaced what used to be London Transport, from which it inherited most of the above functions and modes on transportation in 2000. TfL responsibility encompasses the London’s buses, the Underground, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and the management of Croydon Tramlink and London River Services. They run London’s Transport Museum and Victoria Coach Station as well. TfL also promotes a range of walking and cycling initiatives across the Capital.
Along with this, TfL is also responsible for a 580km network of main roads and all of London’s 4,600 traffic lights. In addition, we manage the central London Congestion Charging scheme and regulate the city’s taxis and private hire trade. TfL co-ordinates schemes for transport users with impaired mobility, as well as running the Dial-a-Ride scheme in conjunction with the London borough’s Taxicard.
London town transport is a bustling affairs with over 1 billion journeys each year on the Underground alone. Every day, about 30 million journeys are taken in Greater London with 6.3 million by bus, 3 million by Tube, 1.4 million by rail, 150,000 on the DLR, 11 million by car or motorcycle, 7 million on foot and 333,000 by bicycle.
TfL is broken down into a set of functional units, each with responsibility for different aspects and modes of transport. These are: Docklands Light Railway, London Buses, London Dial-a-Ride, London Rail, London River Services, London Street Management, London Trams, London Underground, Public Carriage Office, and Victoria Coach Station. Each of the main units has its own corporate identity.