As you may remember, Boris’s 2008 Mayoral Election manifestos mysteriously disappeared from his website soon after the election; the Guardian’s Dave Hill very helpfully retrieved them to aid our memories of Boris’s election promises.
I’ve been re-examining Boris’s Transport manifesto, Getting Londoners Moving, to see how he’s done after more than 18 months in the job. His claims of meeting his manifesto promises can be compared here: http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/priorities/transport.jsp
A few promises that seem to have fallen by the wayside or have otherwise been quietly forgotten:
After talking to local people across outer London I believe there is untapped demand for a select number of new direct, frequent, and reliable services to link key locations in South London.
That is why I will commission a trial of orbital express bus routes for outer
London. I believe they should be designed as a distinct mode of transport,
connecting, for example, key rail terminals initially across South London with coach style vehicles and a limited number of stops. The fares should be no more expensive than current bus fares and should include full Oyster access.
Boris currently claims that doubling the frequency (from hourly to half-hourly) of the existing X26 Croydon-Heathrow bus route is “part of this trial” – that’s it.
I want the Tube to open for one hour later on Friday and Saturday nights, so Londoners can get home safely late at night.
Currently: “The Mayor has asked LU to investigate the potential for delivering an extra hour of tube service on Friday and Saturday night.”
I will introduce live bus mapping to coincide with the introduction of
iBus. There will be an interactive map on the TfL website which will allow users to access a map of their local area, and see where their bus is in real time. This will enable people to know about any delays immediately, and change their plans accordingly.
Currently: “An additional 2,000 Countdown signs are scheduled for roll-out across the network by 2013, which will double current numbers” – no mention whatsoever of the promised live bus-mapping, despite the fact that all London’s buses have been fitted with iBus since April this year.
I will also fight for the long-term investment that London needs, for projects such as a tram for Oxford Street.
Cancelled.
We aim to have new Routemasters, with conductors, running in London by the end of our first term.
Currently: “A new Routemaster fit for the 21st Century will be in service in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.” This has changed from conductors, to staff who won’t be TfL employees but possibly PCSOs to no mention of them. Plus, the cost of development varies between zero and £3m.
Getting around town quickly and cheaply will become much easier when London has a bicycle hire scheme. We will broker a deal with a private company to bring thousands of bikes to the capital at no cost to the taxpayer.
Boris’s cycle hire scheme is due to be fully operational by next summer. However, the scheme will cost Londoners £140m over 6 years and the start-up costs have risen from £52m to £71m.
I leave you with:
After 8 years of a Labour Mayor, we pay the highest fares in Europe
So says the man who has just increased bus fares by 20%.
Tags: 5 Comments
5 responses so far ↓
“Boris currently claims that doubling the frequency (from hourly to half-hourly) of the existing X26 Croydon-Heathrow bus route is “part of this trial” – that’s it.”
More on the X26 fiasco later, it’s one of my many unblogged bits of research I have on a file here.
London Underground were asked about changing the times of last Underground trains on Friday and Saturday several years ago. This was consulted on. I understood that draft timetables, drivers’ duties, train working diagrams etc etc had been prepared. Since Boris came along it has all gone silent. If he asked LU about the potential for this when he came into office, I would guess that Boris received quickly a report on the various options, their costs and their other implications. It must be sitting in a pending tray somewhere.
Fares. Fares in London have always been high compared to other cities in Europe. This has very little to do with a Labour Mayor. Under Ken, though, bus fares were kept down to a level comparable to other cities in Europe. Under Boris, who knows?
You forgot my favourite one:
That went well, didn’t it?
Broken promises – well how come the people didn’t see that one coming????
I think I can answer the ‘extended tube hours’ because I seem to recall this was dumped because negotitating with the RMT and staff for the extra hour was going to be difficult – and due to the behind schedule repair work this time would have to be removed from the following morning’s schedule.
Fortunately the people who have to catch the tube on Sunday mornings for work won out in the end over the few drunks who can’t find their way to Trafalgar on a Saturday night.