Dave Hill on Boris Johnson's transport record
A very fair and balanced survey of Boris' three years as Mayor by esteemed Guardian correspondent Dave Hill, though what comes across is the lack of an overall vision and (pardon this) clear direction for London transport since he took over.
Bits and pieces of progress here and there, along with a lot of mangled or broken pledges are what we've seen instead, and it definitely doesn't feel to the average person on the tube or bus like there's a lot to look forward to.
Things to note in the report include:
- How many crowd-pleasing initiatives Boris has done nothng about or quietly dropped. No-strike agreement, anyone? New orbital bus routes? Live CCTV on buses?
His efforts to "put the commuter first" have had limited success: south London commuters have not seen "tidal flow" re-instated in the Blackwall Tunnel because of potential liability in the event of a fatality; any influence he had on Dartford Crossing tolls did not stop them going up; an orbital bus route trial led TfL to conclude they would far too expensive; his commitment to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes has taken the form of a trial which produced increased numbers of collisions with cars and vans... followed by a second trial which is still in progress. No effort at all has been made to honour another pledge, to negotiate a no strike deal with the Tube unions.
- How wrong Boris' sums have been on the things he has done. Add up failed fundraising plans for the bikes, cycle 'superhighways' and the cable car, and with just three initiatives we're about £200m short on promised 'private funds'.
- And Barclay's high-viz bike sponsorship, including the right to brand half our roads with their signature colour must have cost them a fortune, right? No:
Barclays contribution to it and the superhighways combined is to be just £25 million, of which only £3.4 million had been received by the end of 2011.
That's barely more than the advert break during Christmas Corrie - bargain of the century!
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