7:07pm Wednesday 7th March 2001
London Mayor Ken Livingstone wants to tax motorists and restore confidence in our ailing public transport system. JULIAN HILLS assesses the road ahead
Everyone has their own nightmare transport story, whether it be the joyless experience of being stuck in a traffic jam for hours on the North Circular while 'essential roadworks' are carried out, or getting soaked waiting for what seems like an eternity for your train to turn up.
Now, in a new round of public surveys, everyone will have the opportunity to tell London Mayor Ken Livingstone exactly what they think of transport in the capital and what should be done to make things better, with results expected before the end of March.
He is presently seeking views on his draft Transport Strategy for the capital, addressing issues such as the proposed part-privatisation of the Tube, congestion charging for central London and links to national rail services.
Mr Livingstone plans to freeze bus fares for the next three years, then introduce a flat 70p fare next year, tag Underground fare increases to inflation and review taxi fares. Of course, for public transport to be stablised and modernised, there needs to be massive investment, which is where the spectre of private involvement comes in.
Transport for London (TfL) estimates that £10billion of investment over 15 years is needed just to bring the Tube into a decent state of repair, with a yearly capital injection of £700million.
Some of this will come from fares, and £250million a year is expected from Government grants, but private investment and the drive for competitiveness that entails is, TfL believes, essential to make the Underground something Londoners can be proud of.
There is the view, however, that no matter how attractive public transport is, people will always prefer the comfort and convenience of the private car, and the only way to get people out of their cars is to force them out which is where the idea of congestion charging comes in. Tory Councillor Brian Coleman, Conservative GLA member for Barnet and Camden, believes the charging scheme, which will cost motorists £5 a day to travel into central London, will impact disproportionately on outer boroughs including Barnet.
He said: "Barnet in particular will suffer due to its proximity to the proposed boundary zone. Congestion would no longer be the preserve of the city centre as vehicles are forced around the boundary zone. It would become far more difficult for residents even to park outside their own homes.
"The problems with proposed improvements to bus services arise from giving buses and bus lanes increased priority, and further congesting the city with more cars in fewer lanes. Ultimately the excessive burden is once again forced out of the city into the boroughs."
But the potential knock-on effects of congestion charges on outer London boroughs have been overestimated according to Cynthia Hay from the Capital Transport Campaign group. She said: "Barnet is a long way from the congestion charging area. It is more likely to effect areas right outside the area. It requires a sound plan for sustained investment in the Underground and rail services.
"People are more concerned that the plan is more devoted to improving public transport in central London. There is considerable concern from outer London over the poor performance of the Underground."
There was support for that view from Susan Kramer, the former Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate and TfL board member. During a visit to Finchley Central Tube station this week, she said congestion charging was necessary to tackle gridlock in the capital.
"Congestion charging will make people think twice about getting in their car. People will then have very high expectations that improvements are coming, but people have to understand that improvements are not going to happen overnight."
A leaked report from the Health and Safety Executive this week highlighted 69 key safety issues in the present Tube network including overcrowding on trains and platforms and emergency evacuation, which have to be resolved before the Government's plans to hand over the Underground to a public-private partnership can go ahead.
Leading the Lib Dem campaign against Labour's plans for the part-privatisation of the Tube, Ms Kramer said the best way of getting finance into the Underground was through bonds, without involving the conflicting aims of several private firms.
"Nobody feels they get good value for money at the moment. People object to the fact that the Tube doesn't work properly, but they have seen what happened with privatisation in national rail."
Aside from the roads and the Underground, customer confidence in the railways has plummeted since the Hatfield disaster last October and the latest tragedy on the tracks near Selby. Ken Livingstone will have a job on his hands getting people out of their cars and onto trains, given concerns over safety and reliability.
The draft Transport Strategy is available on the GLA website at www.london.gov.uk or phone 0800 0191199 a copy. Alternatively, a summary document and the full draft are available at Hendon Library in The Burroughs.
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