PTAL and public transport accessibility.
What a Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) measures, what it controls in a London planning application, and what to do when the published score undersells a site.
PTAL is usually the first number a London borough looks at. It sets the starting point for car parking, it frames whether car-free development is expected, and it often decides how much other evidence an application needs.
What PTAL measures
PTAL rates a location on a scale of 0, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6a and 6b, from lowest to highest. It combines the walking time from a point to nearby bus stops and rail, Underground, Overground, DLR and tram stations with how often services run. TfL publishes PTAL values for a grid across London through its WebCAT planning tool.
PTAL measures how easy it is to reach the public transport network, not where the services go. Two sites with the same score can offer very different journeys, which is why boroughs increasingly ask for travel time and active travel evidence alongside it.
What it controls in an application
In the London Plan 2021, car parking for new homes is set as a maximum that falls as PTAL rises, with car-free development expected in the most accessible locations and in central London. Boroughs use PTAL when they ask for car-free or permit-free homes, and when they decide how much weight to give to parking stress evidence.
- Residential and non-residential car parking maximums.
- Whether a car-free or car-lite scheme is expected or acceptable.
- The scope of the Transport Assessment or Statement.
- How the case for density and design-led optimisation is framed.
When the published score does not fit the site
The published grid value is a starting point. It can understate a site where the real entrance is closer to a station than the grid point, where a new bus route or station has opened, or where a pedestrian route shortens the walk. We calculate PTAL from the site access using TfL’s method and explain any difference clearly, so officers can follow it.
Where TfL publishes forecast values that reflect committed transport schemes, we set those out alongside the current score.
How we use it
We confirm the PTAL, set it against the borough’s parking policy and the London Plan, and decide what else the case needs. For a flat conversion or small HMO that might be a parking stress survey to the Lambeth method. For a larger scheme it is usually an Active Travel Zone assessment and a Healthy Streets Transport Assessment.
The new London Plan
The London Plan 2021 remains the adopted plan. The Mayor published a draft new London Plan on 16 July 2026, with consultation running to 15 October 2026 and submission for examination expected in 2027. Until it is adopted, its policies carry limited weight, so we apply the 2021 plan and borough policy, and flag where the draft points in a different direction.
Often needed alongside.
Car free and low car development
Read
Active Travel Zone assessments
Read
Cycle parking to the London Plan
Read
Related services: Parking stress surveys · Transport Statements · Transport planning in London.
Guidance and sources
- TfL: WebCAT planning toolLondon. PTAL and travel time mapping.
- TfL: guidance for planning applicantsLondon. The Healthy Streets Approach and Vision Zero in planning applications.
- GLA: draft London Plan published for consultationLondon. Draft plan published 16 July 2026; consultation to 15 October 2026.
Sources checked 8 November 2026. General information, not advice on a specific site.
Is your PTAL telling the whole story?
Send us the site and what is proposed. We will check the PTAL, the borough’s parking position and what evidence the application needs.