Travel in London Travel in London

8. Transport connectivity, physical accessibility and understanding London’s diverse communities
destination, vehicle capacity or service quality. For this reason PTALs should not be
used to estimate how many people will actually use public transport. Two sites
with the same PTAL scores will most likely offer different levels of public transport
service.
8.5 Using PTALs – TfL’s WebCAT tool
What is WebCAT?
TfL’s web-based Connectivity Assessment Toolkit (WebCAT) was launched in April
2015. The toolkit currently contains two main tools: PTAL and travel time mapping
(TIM). WebCAT allows users to create their own PTAL maps and view PTALs for
future scenarios. PTAL values are pre-calculated using a grid of points at 100 metre
intervals across the Greater London area. TIM complements PTALs by providing
travel time analysis for any point in London. Users of WebCAT have a wide variety
of different scenarios they can use and compare travel times for a chosen location
now and in the future, based on the following parameters:
• Year: 2011, 2021, 2031
• Mode: All PT, bus, step-free
• Time of day: AM peak, inter-peak, PM peak
• Direction: to, from, average.
It also includes new features such as PTAL values estimated for future scenarios
based on suggested improvements to the transport network. WebCAT can be
accessed at: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/urban-planning-and-construction/planningwith-webcat/webcat
Using WebCAT – an example of improved connectivity – Ilford town centre in the
weekday AM peak
Figures 8.3 and 8.4 demonstrate the capabilities of WebCAT and also illustrate the
scale of connectivity improvements that are expected to arise, primarily in this case
from Crossrail, over the course of the current decade. The maps both show the
‘catchment’ of Ilford town centre, in terms of locations in London that are
accessible within a series of 15 minute travel time contours. The boundary between
the blue and green areas represents the 45 minute contour – a travel time that is
regarded as a reasonable reflection, on average, of an employment catchment.
Looking at the position in 2011, being broadly reflective of 2008, the large majority
of central and east London is accessible from Ilford town centre within 45 minutes,
largely reflecting the main railway line into Liverpool Street and onward connections
from there. In 2021, following the opening of Crossrail, the 45 minute contour is
clearly extended to cover more parts of west London, reflecting the new direct
services provided, as well as more generally to parts of south and north London.
144 Travel in London, Report 8