Elections 2021: The future of London Transport
Voters across the nation voted for their favoured candidate in the 2021 mayoral elections and whilst ballots are still being counted, the fate of London’s transport system hangs in the balance. So, what is each candidate offering?
CiTTi Magazine (City Transport and Traffic Innovation) summarises each parties’ policies
Sadiq Khan (Labour)
- Open Crossrail, the new line running from Reading to Essex through central London, “as soon as possible”
- Work to change the TfL funding model so it is more “sustainable” over the long term
- Explore the use of “more dynamic fare pricing”, while protecting the “freedom pass” for disabled and older Londoners
- Introduce 4G across the transport network
- Bring forward TfL’s plans to have a zero-emission bus fleet by 2030
- Expand the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) up to the North and South Circular Road
- Affordable transport in London
Shaun Bailey (Conservative)
- Use the London Infrastructure Bank to fund things such as Hammersmith Bridge repairs and tube upgrades
- Introduce 30 minutes’ free parking for outer boroughs
- Allow companies to sponsor tube stations and Underground lines and use that money to protect free travel for the under-18s and over-60s
- Restore outer London bus routes
- Suspend low traffic neighbourhoods in places where they are opposed by the local community
- Make TfL’s bus fleet zero-emission by 2025
- Offer a £6,000 interest-free loan to black-cab drivers who want to transition from diesel to electric vehicles
Sian Berry (Green)
- Merge zones 4, 5 and 6 to “flatten fares” and move towards a single fare zone for all London
- Establish a “smarter, privacy-friendly road-pricing plan” to replace the Congestion Charge and ULEZ
- Aim to reduce London’s overall traffic miles by 40% by 2026 and 60% by 2030. Close streets near schools and play areas to traffic, for “community use” during key times
- Commission a redesign of London’s bus stops
- Work towards zero deaths on London roads
- Cancel the Silvertown Tunnel project, a twin-road tunnel beneath the River Thames in east London, and the Croydon Fiveways road redesign
- Make London zero-carbon by 2030, including establishing a zero-emission bus fleet by this time
Luisa Porritt (Liberal Democrat)
- Build Crossrail 2 and the proposed extension of the Bakerloo Line, and contribute more to the costs of repairing Hammersmith Bridge
- Introduce flexible cards so that commuters can opt for a discounted four-day-a-week pass, saving flexible workers an estimated £520 a year
- Pioneer a “smart, fair, privacy-friendly pay-as-you-go” road-charging scheme
- Scrap the Silvertown Tunnel project
- Double expenditure on cycle infrastructure by 2024, including extending the cycle hire scheme and making its bikes free on Sunday for a year
- Ensure London buses are electric or run on hydrogen by 2028
Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash
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