More than £1.8 million will be saved from the cost of maintaining traffic signals on London’s borough-controlled roads next year – a drop of 14.4 per cent.

The savings are the result of a re-tendering process which secured new contractors to carry out the maintenance work, cutting the cost to boroughs to £10,863,463.73 for 2015/16 – down 14.4 per cent from £12,688,395.73 in 2014/15.

Members of London Councils’ Transport and Environment Executive Sub-Committee today approved the budgets for the maintenance work, which is managed by Transport for London (TfL) on behalf of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London.

Cllr Julian Bell, Chair of London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee (TEC) said:

“London is the home of traffic lights in the UK – the first electric lights were installed on Piccadilly in the mid-1920s – and they have saved thousands of lives.

As public budgets face ongoing pressure these savings show London’s councils are committed to delivering essential public services while getting the best deal for the taxpayers.”