Gauge

Putney Bridge Traffic, 1986 to 2026

Motor vehicles per day across Putney Bridge (A219) from 1986, combining DfT AADF, the TfL Thames Screenline, monthly Vivacity camera counts and ATC tube counts, with a 3-year trend line.

Motor traffic on Putney Bridge is broadly flat to slightly down over the long run. Pre-closure 2018 (42,498) to 2024 (37,313) is a 12% fall, not a rise.

Data last updated 1 February 2026 Sources: DfT Road Traffic Statistics (Putney approach AADF, CP 36823)TfL Thames Screenline (FOI 4078 2425)Vivacity AI camera counts (Putney)

Common questions

How busy is Putney Bridge?

Daily two-way motor traffic across Putney Bridge has run in the tens of thousands of vehicles for decades, around 37,000 to 42,000 in recent years. The chart shows the year-by-year totals from 1986. Source: DfT AADF (CP 36823) and TfL Thames Screenline.

Is traffic on Putney Bridge increasing or decreasing?

Long-run motor traffic on Putney Bridge has been broadly flat or slightly declining since the 1990s, with a sharp dip in 2020 and a partial recovery since. Source: DfT AADF (CP 36823).

Was motor traffic on Putney Bridge up 16% from 2020 to 2023?

That claim (32,083 to 37,239) compares 2020, the lowest traffic year in 38 years of data, during COVID lockdowns and itself a DfT estimate, with 2023. Measured like for like, traffic fell: pre-closure 2018 (42,498) versus 2024 (37,313) is down 12.2%; manual-count years only, 2017 (42,511) versus 2023 (37,239), is down 12.4%. Sources: Wandsworth Council, 27 Jan 2025 and DfT CP 36823.

Did morning-peak traffic on Putney Bridge rise 25% between 2019 and 2023?

The 25% figure compares a 2019 PCU value (where a cyclist counts as 0.2 and a bus as 2) against a 2023 vehicle-plus-cyclist count: 2,457 to 3,104, or +26.3%. Comparing like for like (same day of week, same hours, same metric), morning-peak traffic was roughly flat, and the evening peak fell. Source: FOI WBC-FOI-12247 (Wandsworth Council), analysis by Professor Tom Pike.

Linked charts

Putney Bridge Bus & Traffic Speed

AM-peak bus speeds on the nine routes at the Putney Bridge junction (TfL iBus), with weekday traffic speeds across Putney, Chiswick, Kew and Wandsworth bridges.

Putney Bridge

Putney Bridge Traffic by Vehicle Type, 1986 to 2024

Putney Bridge traffic split by vehicle type, cars, LGVs, HGVs, buses, motorcycles and pedal cycles, from DfT and TfL sources with a combined smoothed view.

Putney Bridge

Putney Bridge Traffic North & South, Vivacity Camera, Jul 2023 to Jan 2026

Daily vehicle counts from Vivacity cameras on Putney Bridge by direction and vehicle class, July 2023 to January 2026, shown as a 28-day centred rolling average.

Putney Bridge

Putney Air Quality, 2010 to 2026

Annual NO2 at the Putney High Street kerbside, the high-street diffusion tube, and background sites in Putney and Barnes, with markers for the bus upgrades, the Low Emission Bus Zone, and ULEZ phases.

Putney Bridge