Mayor of London’s plan for city transport aims for zero emissions by 2050

London could be a lot more green by 2050 – Mayor Sadiq Khan has outlined a plan for transportation service (via Engadget) in the city that would make the whole system, including taxis, cars and buses, totally emission free by that year. Even though that’s over 30 years away, it’s still an incredibly ambitious plan that will require a lot of pieces to fall into place.

Those pieces are also taken into consideration, as Khan’s “Transport Strategy” draft describes how this would include stages like making all taxis and for-hire private vehicles zero-emission “capable” as of 2033, then buses and all other road vehicles meeting that same standard by 2033 and 2040 respectively.

Also included in the plan are staged introduction of emission-free city zones, which start small in 2025 and grow eventually to cover the whole city. And the plan isn’t just about encouraging emissions-free cars; Khan suggests walking, cycling and public transit should grow from making up 64 percent of in-city transport today, to 80 percent by 2041. That alone would help with the metrics.

This isn’t a plan that’s set in stone or binding at this stage by any means, but it’s an interesting sign of where regulators and top city officials are thinking in terms of ensuring cities remain livable as they swell and grow even more densely populated.