London to require ISA on all new buses from next year

Transport for London (TfL) has completed trials of Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology fitted to buses, proving that the technology can be used to control speeds on London’s bus network.

The trials form part of the city’s commitment to halve the number of people killed and seriously injured on London’s roads by 2020. The technology was fully tested on two bus routes that included a variety of road environments and differing speed limits.

All buses fitted with ISA remained within the speed limit 97-99 per cent of the time, proving the effectiveness of ISA. The extremely rare incidents of excess speeds were seen on downhill sections of road.

The trials were particularly effective when travelling through 20mph zones – which are being widely introduced and cover around a quarter of London’s roads – helping to ensure other vehicles in the area adhered to the limit.

TfL intends to require all new buses from 2017 to have this technology fitted.