Public Information Exchange

Mayors Vision for London
17/10/2009

Boris Johnson’s recently announced plans for London met with a scathing response from the press, focusing on the increase to travel fares, Re-drawing the underground map, “Pound per Mile” for drivers in the congestion zone and rumours that a member of Cameron’s inner circle instigated a Mafia-style vendetta against Johnson in a late night text message. Whether members of  "Camp Cameron" stayed up late watching Goodfellas whilst pouring over the minutes from the recent Party Conference remains to  be seen, but more importantly citizens across London are now faced with the daunting task of uncovering the real impact that the transport strategy will have on their day to day lives.

Millions of commuters in London who possess Oyster cards will be pleased to know that the fares for 2010 travelcards will be pretty much frozen, with a couple of exceptions. There were stories published earlier in the year that the freedom pass and free travel for school children would be scrapped.  This is not the case, our children and seniors will continue to travel for free as normal, and discussions are taking place with private transport operators in order to consolidate the concessionary travel times across the network, and integrate oyster fares into rail travel. 

The congestion charge will increase from £8.00 to £10.00 per day, but if you register your credit/debit card then it will be £9.00. (No doubt the moneysavingexperts will be taking advantage). There is always a price to pay, but there can be no doubt that the residents and businesses currently within the Western Extension  will be clapping their hands after Boris announced that the scheme would be scrapped. Research indicated that businesses suffered dramatically since it's intorduction, with  congestion in the area showing next to no improvement. So by cutting the £50million a year revenue from the congestion charge  in West London,  the shortfall had to come from somewhere.

If we are to consider the increases to travel fares of recent years, a 20p increase to pay-as-you-go fares is not such a big pill to swallow. The proposed increase reflects the exact same increases implimented by the previous Mayor. The people who will generally experience the increase will be tourists and infrequent travellers to the Capital who use paper tickets and cash for their journeys.

As for the “Pound per Mile” news break, this is still under consideration and may be proposed as an alternative to the current congestion charge as far ahead as 2031, but as for now – nothing has been put in place for such a toll to be introduced. This option is considered as a last resort, and very much in the long term - so rest assured it won’t be happening in the foreseeable future…

Whilst some slam the new draft plans as “Fatally flawed with over-romanticised notions,” Johnson has proposed a number of significant changes that will hopefully pave the way for a brighter more inclusive future for London’s diverse road using communities. Please see below for those plans summarised.

Johnson wrote:

"I want London to be the best big city on earth. That means a place that brims with opportunity, talent and economic activity, but also a place where children can grow up in safety, and where all Londoners can get around their city with ease as they share equitably in our city’s success. We need to nurture our environment to enhance our quality of life and be at the forefront of action to tackle climate change."

Economic development and employment growth

• Managing public transport crowding and highway congestion

• Preparing for further population and employment growth

• Strengthening the role of outer London in London’s economy

Quality of life

• Addressing poor air quality and climate change

• Ensuring that journeys are as comfortable as possible

Safety and security

• Maintaining and improving safety and security of streets and the transport network

Transport opportunities for all

• Improving the accessibilty of the transport system

Climate change

• Cutting C02 Emmisions and preparing for change

Key improvements

• Bringing about a revolution in cycling in London

• Creating better, more attractive streets

• Implementing Crossrail

• Carrying out major upgrades to the Underground – and potential extensions

• Improving suburban and national rail links

• Improving intergration between bus, underground, rail and other forms of transport

• Providing travellers with better information to help them plan their journeys

• Taking into account the needs of business when planning London’s transport

• Making more use of the river for transporting people and goods

• Promoting and encouraging new, cleaner technologies such as electric vehicles

• Managing the roads better with new traffic control systems and better coordinated road works

If you wish to express your views, you have until January 2010 to submit these to the Mayor. Follow the link for further details, full strategy document available for download here.

 

Ed.