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 [...]

Newslinks | Envionment & Transport, 2012 Costs, K&C Join Porsche

The BBC covers the spiralling cost of the 2012 Olympics.

Kensington and Chelsea Council have joined Porsche in their battle against the Congestion Charge expansion. [link]

Newslinks | BAA, Chris Bolt, London – Lincoln, £75 Parking, & Paddick

BAA’s ownership of seven airports is criticised by the Competition Commission. (BBC News Online)
Rail Regulator Chris Bolt is to stand down at the end of his first term, in July 2009. Mr Bolt was heavily involved in the Metronet collapse. (Contract Journal)
A direct rail route between London and Lincoln could be in place by 2010. [...]

Newslinks | Olympic Transport & Paddick on Trams

The Olympic Delivery Authority has launched the PACE document, detailing the delivery of its transport plan. Apparently, so far, so good.
Brian Paddick has been speaking more about how trams would fit into his plans as Mayor.

Freight & The Candidates

Road Transport carries a detailed Q&A with the candidates on their views on the policies affecting the sector.
The interview is certainly worth reading, and the comfort level of the different candidates in talking on the subject quite evident. Ken Livingstone’s grasp of policy in this area is impressive.

Brian Paddick and Trams

One of the updates to our policies page, as mentioned in the previous post, was with Brian Paddick’s further commitment to introducing a serious tram network into London.
When this site interviewed Mr Paddick a few months ago, he spoke of his “love affair with trams” – it is clear that he sees such a network [...]

Updated Policies

We have updated our tally of the candidates’ transport policies this morning, with significant contributions from Brian Paddick, Sian Berry and Ken Livingstone.
You can find the updated policy page here.

Weekend News Round-Up

The news this weekend has been dominated by Boris / Ken spats, and the back and forth by various outriders of their campaigns.
The Mayor wrote an impassioned defence of his position, and of the logic behind the Ken/Sian pact, in Comment is Free. He also managed to stick the knife, not-so-subtly into his Conservative opponent:

Boris [...]

Newslinks | Transport Battles & Bendy Buses

Following our analysis of Ken Livingstone’s article on transport in Comment Is Free yesterday, Brian Paddick, Sian Berry and George Galloway all waded into the debate. You can read the amusing Guardian article on the back-and-forth here.

The BBC carries a balanced report on the pros and cons of the Bendy Bus.