London

===Roads===

Although the majority of journeys in central London are made by public transport, car travel is common in the suburbs. The [[London Inner Ring Road|inner ring road]] (around the city centre), the [[A406 road|North]] and [[A205 road|South Circular]] roads (just within the suburbs), and the outer orbital motorway (the [[M25 motorway|M25]], just outside the built-up area in most places) encircle the city and are intersected by a number of busy radial routes—but very few motorways penetrate into [[inner London]]. The M25 is the second-longest ring-road motorway in Europe at {{convert|117|mi|adj=off}} long.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Highways Agency |date=25 June 2018 |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/key-roads/m25/ |access-date=25 June 2018 |title=M25 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180626030215/http://www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/key-roads/m25/ |archive-date= 26 June 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]] and [[M1 motorway|M1]] connect London to [[Leeds]], and [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] and [[Edinburgh]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/f99/1.shtml|title=SABRE - Road Lists - The First 99 - A1|website=Sabre-roads.org.uk|access-date=14 June 2023|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115121242/https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/f99/1.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Black London Cab.jpg|thumb|right|The [[hackney carriage]] (black cab) is a common sight on London streets. Although traditionally black, this is not a requirement with some painted in other colours or bearing advertising.]]
The [[Austin Motor Company]] began making [[hackney carriage]]s (London taxis) in 1929, and models include [[Austin FX3]] from 1948, [[Austin FX4]] from 1958, with more recent models [[TXII]] and [[TX4]] manufactured by [[London Taxis International]]. The BBC states, "ubiquitous black cabs and red double-decker buses all have long and tangled stories that are deeply embedded in London's traditions".<ref name="London traditions"/>

London is notorious for its traffic congestion; in 2009, the average speed of a car in the rush hour was recorded at {{convert|10.6|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mulholland |first1=Hélène |title=Boris Johnson mulls 'intelligent' congestion charge system for London |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/16/boris-johnson-congestion-charge |work=The Guardian |location= London |date=16 March 2009}}</ref> In 2003, a [[London congestion charge|congestion charge]] was introduced to reduce traffic volumes in the city centre. With a few exceptions, motorists are required to pay to drive within a defined zone encompassing much of central London.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://theconversation.com/london-congestion-charge-what-worked-what-didnt-what-next-92478 |title=London congestion charge: what worked, what didn't, what next |last=Badstuber |first=Nicole |website=The Conversation |date=2 March 2018 |access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref> Motorists who are residents of the defined zone can buy a greatly reduced season pass.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/congestion/ |title=Central London Congestion Charging, England |website=Verdict Traffic |access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref> Over the course of several years, the average number of cars entering the centre of London on a weekday was reduced from 195,000 to 125,000.<ref>Table 3 in Santos, Georgina; Button, Kenneth; Noll, Roger G. "London Congestion Charging/Comments." Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs.15287084 (2008): 177,177–234.</ref>

[[Low Traffic Neighbourhood|Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN)]] were widely introduced in London, but in 2023 the Department for Transport stopped funding them, even though the benefits outweighed the costs by approximately 100 times in the first 20 years and the difference is growing over time.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |title=Health gains of low-traffic schemes up to 100 times greater than costs, study finds |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/08/health-gains-of-low-traffic-schemes-up-to-100-times-greater-than-costs-study-finds |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=The Guardian |location= London |date=8 March 2024}}</ref>