From London Travelwatch, the capital’s official transport-users’ watchdog, come ten policy themes for helping people get around the place more efficiently and pleasantly. They hope these will catch the eye of mayoral candidates. Three in particular have caught mine.
One concerns London’s roads and the irritable state they’re in. Congestion has been rising. Cab drivers are cross. Bus journeys are taking longer and Boris Johnson is getting grief over disruption caused by the construction of his cycle superhighways. He’d like to build more roads in tunnels underground but that looks like a non-solution future fantasy. Travelwatch deals with the here and now.
It recommends “a planned and co-ordinated approach to reducing road traffic demand” which should include considering more road pricing. Quite right too. Everyone except the Clarkson Right knows that such measures are the way to go, and that does not exclude the outgoing mayor. In fact, as his official transport strategy shows, he’s known it for years. Shame he halved the size of the congestion charging zone.
The problem is that neither of the two men most likely to succeed Johnson, Conservative Zac Goldsmith or Labour’s Sadiq Khan, are making a big noise about lessening traffic on London’s roads. I suspect they have their reasons. I believe them to be fear, fear and fear. Car ownership in the capital has plunged and private car use is falling, but motorists would still rage against further limits on their freedoms, as would many high street businesses.
They always do and often win. Look what happened to the now former leader of Westminster Council when he proposed expanding parking charges in the West End. Liberal Democrat Caroline Pidgeon and Green Sian Berry are the mayoral runners advocating measures to discourage cars. They are right to do so but, being outsiders, it is a stance they can better afford.
Travelwatch also speaks up for the needs of pedestrians, argues for lowered speed limits and the remodelling of dangerous junctions. It calls for a full assessment of the pros and cons of the cycle superhighways. The mere suggestion that the latter might just possibly have some downsides has already got bicycle trolls screaming hellfire on social media.
This is entertaining but showcases a mentality the next mayor should resist. It has infiltrated the outgoing one’s administration. The future management of London’s streets, including the encouraging of more cycling and walking, will require the pursuit of various desirable objectives, which sometimes come into conflict and need to be ably reconciled. It is too important to be placed in the hands of fundamentalists.
The two other items on Travelwatch’s list that jump out address the bus service and the fares system. People forget that the London bus is the workhorse of the city’s public transport, carrying many more people each day than the Underground. Travelwatch calls for continuous investment in the service, more priority for buses and representation for bus passengers on Transport for London’s board. It observes that bus services “must adapt to keep up with housing development, employment growth and other changes.” Good point. As London’s human geography evolves, buses need to meet the resulting shifts in transport need.
Travelwatch seeks the further simplification of the fares structure and wants urgent attention paid to the high travel costs faced by low paid workers in the suburbs. A report it co-published at the end of last year found that many Outer London commuters feel trapped and penalised by heavy transport costs or else lengthen their journey times in order to hold them down.
All ten of the Travelwatch policies have much to recommend them. Read them by way of here.
