Congestion in London

A flurry of articles have appeared over the last couple of days discussing the various merits of the Mayor’s embryonic transport agenda.
First, James Daley in the Independent wrings his hands of the absence of pip-squeezing Green influence on the Mayor’s budget, which pushed Ken Livingstone to support a cycling agenda. Mayor Johnson, he says, does [...]

Manifesto Pledges

Boris Johnson continues to fulfil his campaign pledges at breakneck pace.
Since our last update, Mr Johnson’s announcements include:

Changing the inspection regime for black cabs to be from once to twice a year, a move applauded by cab drivers and seen as cutting red tape.
Moving to put 440 extra police on the transport network and at [...]

It’s Boris

The BBC carries an interview with him and a profile of his career thus far.
LondonUnlocked looks forward to working with his administration, which will hopefully have a more open attitude to progressive transport than under Ken Livingstone’s control.

Election Day and Our Verdict

Voting has begun across the country in local elections and in London in the Assembly and Mayoral elections.
The BBC is updating its coverage throughout the day and will be issuing results as soon as they are made known.
Meanwhile, there is a final flurry of activity in the Mayoral race:

The Mirror offers Ken Livingstone’s 20-Point-Plan for [...]

Reviews of the Race

Three different publications run articles on the state of the race, the candidates and their policies today.
Firstly, Time has a thoughtful outsider’s view on the race, available on-line here.
Secondly, Dave Hill writes another excellent piece in Comment is Free, singing the incumbent’s strengths over those of Boris Johnson.
Thirdly, Johann Hari defends Ken Livingstone’s record in [...]

A Major Blow to Ken Livingstone

Brian Cooke, Chairman of London TravelWatch, has endorsed Boris Johnson as the best candidate to run London’s transport network.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, Mr Cooke based his decision on the politically motivated holding back of information on fare rises (as covered by us here), a lack on consultation, and arrogant management style.
This is [...]

Fare-gate

The BBC and Evening Standard are both carrying damning allegations that Ken Livingstone was involved in a conspiracy to deceive Londoners over planned-for increases in transport fares.
The projected increases in fares are due to the burden of large capital projects such as CrossRail, the Olympics and the East London Line extension.
As Andrew Gilligan writes in [...]

Understanding the Mayor

The Mayor laid out his transport plans in typically forthright fashion yesterday, attacking Boris Johnson – his closest rival in the polls – as showing “complete incoherence”.
The Mayor’s record, he says, speaks for itself – fighting against PPP, turning around the Tube, improving the buses and implementing the Congestion Charge.
However, it is a disappointing facet [...]

Boris Johnson’s Team

In a debate on ITV last night, Boris Johnson pledged that an administration headed by him may continue to include such figures as Peter Hendy and Tim O’Toole.
Given that experts have argued that aside from a few minor changes to policy, Johnson’s transport plans largely echo those of Ken Livingstone these re-appointments would make sense. [...]

The Power of Tube Strikes

The RMT unveiled details of their proposed – and now cancelled – strike over pensions and travel provision for its 2,500 ex-Metronet workers on Friday afternoon.
The BBC carries all the details, though the union picked the politically sensitive date of the 28th April for the 48 hour strike. With that proposed strike scheduled to end [...]