Just before the budget…
…was the little matter of PMQs. There was a slight set-to over the election for Mayor of London. Emily Thornberry, the MP for Islington South, asked the PM about transport in London; his answer highlighted Boris Johnson’s failure of accounting over conductors:
Bus usage in London is at its highest level since 1965. In other words, there are more people using buses in London than at any time for 40 years. I understand that that would be put at risk by proposals that would cost £100 million if applied by the Conservative party. That would mean that bus fares rose. It would discourage ordinary people from using the bus service. We are determined to maintain bus services in London.
It’s worth remembering that increased bus usage has a few implications. Firstly, it means more people at the bottom end of the socioeconomic scale are able to access transport, increasing, in effect, their ability to access jobs, services and social activities; transport poverty is reduced. Secondly, it means that there is, at the other end, less congestion on the roads. Thirdly, there is less pollution, both in terms of carbon and in terms of particulate & other ground-level emissions. This last benefit will be increased if Ken is re-elected with the introduction of hybrid buses that have lower consumptions and emissions.
Boris Johnson, later on in PMQs, seemed to take umbrage at the PM’s highlighting of the cost implications of his plan for conductors. I suspect that this is as much because it shows Johnson’s lack of understanding of transport in London – one bus route is not the same as another and the Heritage routes are low-frequency, low-density routes – as much as the cost implications. The PM reminded everyone of something that Boris Johnson has said:
“We have got to be absolutely clear where the scope for real economies is and the real big ticket for spending is the Metropolitan Police and Transport for London. That’s where the real savings, believe me, are to be found.”
The text of PMQs can be found here.
xD.
