• Next Met chief 'must keep out of politics'
• Poll: Was Boris right to ditch transport projects?

Reader views (82)

 Add your view

Update on 2nd January 2009 TFL Website announced work on East London Transit would start and below is Boris Johnsons re-action:-

A dramatic improvement

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: 'A huge amount of money has been earmarked to improve transport links in east London and the extra dosh the Government has said we can use to extend the East London Transit is fabulous news for people living or working in the area.
'It will be key to opening up the area to new housing and business developments.
'Transport for London's engineers are all ready to get cracking on a scheme that will dramatically improve services for thousands of local people.'

Funny how they were ready to start a project that had been cancelled?

- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex

Those schemes all seem rather expensive for the localised effect they may have on transport.
About time someone put a brake on the Gravy Train of public spending.
Value for money, that's what we want!
Good on yer, Boris!

- Les, Essex

Mmmmmmm and just how much money is Boris going to spend on the new Routmasters when the Bendy Busses are still serviceable? Money that could well have been spent on some of the projects that he has cancelled !

- David, London UK

Call me selfish but I was never going to benefit from any of these projects anyway so I'm happy to see them axed. If any money (which we don't actually have) is going to be spent shouldn't it to be increase capacity on existing infrastructure? We could start by coming up with a realistic plan to increase capacity on existing tube lines e.g. through longer trains (with longer platforms) and improved signalling. Also couldn't the train operating companies be encouraged to run more frequent services on their extensive suburban networks?

- Nigel, Streatham

The Thames Gateway was opposed by all that live in the area. Livingstone as usual rode roughshot over the peoples views (same as congestion charge) all Boris is doing is undoing his bullying dictatorial method of running London. Funny much the same as President Elect Obama has pleged to do with many of Bush's policys (in the news today).

- Den, London

Another victory for common sense from 'the buffoon'! Feeling happier about my vote by the day. All power to you Boris. Now we just need to teach the rest of the country that you have to live within your means.

- Mark, London

Where exactly could Boris have his fast, congestion-free orbital buses? There isn't the road space, and, given freedom of choice, buses have usually been too unattractive to get the middle classes out of their cars.

What north London (at least) needs is orbital light-rail through the outer London boroughs, using mainly existing freight and old railway routes. Ealing Broadway Crossrail - Brent Cross - Finchley Central, then later at higher expense, maybe next to parts of the North Circular Road to the Lea Valley.

- Jon, London

Top work to Boris. After Livingston did his best to bring London to a grinding stand still with Red Light over phasing, pedestrianisation everywhere and the blocking off of streets (lest we forget the hugely popular and oh so successful Congestion Charge plus Western extension - majority opposed) it's good to see some common sense come into play. Getting rid of these hair brained schemes allows for focus of the infrastructure that is already in place and desperately needs improving, if London is not to be a laughing stock at the Olympics. All these new projects would have not been finished in time and the current system has enough trouble dealing with people just trying to get home, let alone sevaral million extra visitors (if the Government is to be believed) for this Global event. At least now we might not look totally out of our depth with these improvements in place.

If only he can stop the roads from being dug up so often too, then we're in business.

- John Smithson, London

The man is an idiot, spending in Central London and ignoring the dire need for transport improvements in the outer London boroughs.

- Martin, London

Westminster must hate Boris--an honest politician--outrageous!

- Jeremiah, London

The money to fund infrastructure has to come from somewhere, either by increased taxes, tolls or by cuts in social programs, and as for a tunnel under Park Lane, forget it!

- Jon, London

Re Norman Small from Edgware:
The billions spent on the banks have nothing then to do with the failed deregulated financial services industry put in place by the Tories, then?

- John Buckeridge, Harrow

Axing these projects to concentrate funds on renewing current infrastructure seems like a sound idea to me. Spending what you don't have is also an impossibility and imprudent in the current environment. Boris continues to impress with his common sense policies and actions.

- Bruce, London

When budgets are tight, cuts have to be made. Mostly I think he's got it right. The Thames Gateway bridge may be a cut too far, but hopefully it's been cut only in the short term or to put pressure on the government, since it'll be of great benefit further afield than just London as part of the UK road network.

- Nigel, London

A mixture of common sense and mistakes. The Thames Gateway bridge is desperately needed to relieve congestion on the Blackwall and Rotherhithe Tunnels. It is unrealistic to expect growth and development in East London and South East London without providing adequate connections. All the people complaining about the DLR extension being scrapped, I do agree we need to improve connections to Barking and the proposed Barking Riverside area however is the DLR really the way to do it effectively, given the long distances involved and the well known slow pace that the DLR travels at? We should propose an extension spur to the mainline into Fenchurch Street or a further extension to the Jubilee Line as these would be far more effective solutions.

- Graham, London E1

Following the posibility of my Mazda falling into the £25/day charge (it is NOT a 4 wheel drive) I bought an economical Fiat which fell below the 120g.CO2 limit.I'm not a regular town driver but with bulky equipment public transport is not allways feasable. Sadly that is also abolished. Who can I trust to guide us with expensive Capital purchases? I now seem to have an uneccessary purchase.

- George B, London

Re James from London's comment.
The billions being spent on the banks are the result of Gordon Brown's fiscal policies.
If labour had been more prudent then maybe and I mean maybe we may have been able to save some of the Projects.
But as Labour went into overdrive for spending our money and Ken Livingstone also, we are now Bankrupt UK PLC.

I take it that all South and East Londoners would not mind a large hike in their council tax bills to pay for all this regeneration. Get Real and do not blame Boris. If you have to put the blame on anybody then blame Labour and Livingstone. SPEND SPEND SPEND...

As for Seven Sisters tube station upgrade. It all takes time, and remember patience is a virtue.

Boris for a knighthood.

- Norman Small, Edgware, uk

Persoanlly I think Boris has got it right - apart from the bridge!

The Blackwall tunnel just can't cope with all the traffic, and has been a nightmare for years - even at weekends!

The bridge would have eased some of the congestion, so I say this should be thought out again, and basically paid out of general taxation & not from London council tax payers. Incorporate enough lanes for the DLR in the future, as we need to think about the extention in teh near future, but not the present.

- Scott B., London

What a shame then that Tube fares will increase above inflation... for the next eight years. If Zone 1 wants improvements Zone 1 can pay for them. Once again the suburbs suffer.

There's nothing worse than being right about someone.

- B Shearer, London

How utterly predictable. This fool will seriously damage London with his short-termist meddling which will have long-term consequences. At a time when public transport is becoming ever more important, he is cancelling necessary projects in the name of populist penny-pinching, while wasting millions on designs for a bus from a bygone era.

Expect the end of the congestion charge soon and a return to the 1950s with traffic clogging the streets and a decline in public transport.

- John Buckeridge, Harrow

Elect a clown and you get joke policy.
Unfortunately, the effects of these disastrous cancellations will only be felt gradually and over a long period of time.
In 20 years, when London is a grid locked , pollution affected dying city you idiots who elected him will be moaning most of all.

- Michael Gerald Weinberg, Milton Keynes

Once again South London gets Shafted. Cheers Boris.

- Stephen W, Camberwell, London

London is, as ever, caught by budgeting arguments between local and central government about who is responsible for the funding shortfall. What cannot be disputed is that these projects are of NATIONAL significance in this capital city and primary generator of UK wealth.

The Gateway Bridge is scrapped - thank the Lord and God of all that is Green. Now let's extend the C Charge EAST where there is far worse congestion than anything around Hammersmith, whatever happens to the western section, and make better use of ferry services to regenerate that part of London.

Shame about the tram - Camberwell and Peckham, the hives of knife crime which it would serve, are in desperate need of cross-fertilisation with other areas.

- Reg, London

But Boris does think spending £150 million on a new routemaster is a good use of taxpayers money?

- Martin Caldwell, London, UK

Can someone please tell me how the Thames Gateway bridge will benefit East London.
Newham is congested enough, the A13 is at full capacity.
People that comment dont evan live there, Listen to Ian from Croydon and stop haring on about Ken.
He's gone and good riddance.

- Chris, Newham, London

Problems getting the right shoe size Johnson you clown? This man does not care about London, but if the public votes for fools, then fools make decisions.

- Laurence Taylor, Woolwich, London

The buffoons are those who think London is lined with money trees. Wake up Ian of Croydon; Gordon has cut them all down!

- Nick, East Grinstead, UK

All Boris Is Intrested in is Zone 1 but what he doesn't realise is that South Londoners need Transport improvements as the Population in South London is Increasing so why cant we have more investment in South London to help the Victorian Rail services that have had no expansion of services over the years

- Stephen Aselford, Croydon

At least he's not making empty promises, unlike the nutcase that he ousted.
You can't spend money that you don't have without borrowing, i.e. taxation, and we've had quite enough of that!

- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster

Good on Boris! We should think what is affordable and the city centre now needs doing not the fringe.

- Georgie, Islington, London

how come there is not funding? where is going all this money TFL raises every single day. They say they have 6 million bus users a day plus 4 million underground users. It looks like the improvements for london transport system over the next 20 years is just about a few more cycle lanes around London and bringing from the dead the routemasters. No new roads, no new railways, no trams, no new bridges, no nothing and in the meantime the London population is estimated to go up year on year. Chaos for London commuters is here to stay for years to come.

- John Span, london

As someone else has pointed out how can you claim to save money if the funds didn't exist in the first place?

This is not a question of spending money with no return but an investment in the future of London by regenerating one of the most deprived parts. The Thames Gatway Bridge would not only create new jobs and business but also help to alleviate traffic in Central London for those travelling from North and East London to South East London.

I susect this has more to do with Boris trying to diminish Ken's legacy.

- Ashiq, London, UK

Where's your bold vision, Boris? This is a massacre of beneficial projects, a bottling-out based on suburban cowardice and cow-towing to the road lobby, whose 'solutions' would lead us to more gridlock, exhaust pollution and road-deaths. Get back to Henley & TV comedies.

- Sean O'Conor, London, England

Where's your bold vision, Boris? This is a massacre of beneficial projects, a bottling-out based on suburban cowardice and cow-towing to the road lobby, whose 'solutions' would lead us to more gridlock, exhaust pollution and road-deaths. Get back to Henley & TV comedies.

- Sean O'Conor, London, England

Given what budgets do in this country, a lot more than £3 billion has been saved here. Trams were always a bad idea. One problem noone seems to mention is how much harder it is to cross the Lea than the Thames, which is ridiculous

- Mdj, Leyton, e10 london

Well I think Boris is a practising financial realism.

Ken practised what all the nutty and idealistic left wing always attempt to do, spend spend and spend again without a thought for the decent and hard working ordinary family rate payers of London.

one major problem though,I do see is a lack of extra crossings across the Thames the Thames Gateway was vital to South London it would have helped enormously the terrible congestion that takes place at places like the Blackwall tunnel.

What the this will do to Londons much vaunted Olympic
aspirations one can only guess.

- Pliny, London

Kev of London, dear. Your little note contains at least five grammatical and spelling errors. Do learn to write properly, then others may take your comments seriously. For example, "there" in the context of which that word is used by you, is spelt "their". OK? Meantime, Boris is doing a great job! Unlike the Labour education system [sic].

- Annabelle, london

I note the Evening Standard puts these down as "savings", but in the long term this bonfire will COST London.

- Prj45, London

If there is anybody here that voted for Boris who is now questioning what they did SHAME ON YOU!

- Prj45, London

thankfully people like Paul Hopkins are in the minority.

only a very unique perspective would say, in the middle of the credit crisis, screw it we can't afford it but I want it anyway.

if there is not enough money, there is not enough money. what is so hard to understand?

the irresponsible buffoon is the person who wants to spend what they don't have.

- Scott, London

Ken thought money grew on trees and he could always spend other people's money. Boris is being much more realistic, scrapping silly ideas that have little in the way of benefits or value for money, and realising that it is our money any way. I just wish he could scrap some of Waltham Forest's nutty ideas on 'traffic calming' - as if we need to go any more slowly than we do now!

- Shaun Hexter, Walthamstow, England

I am glad to read that sensible budget decisions are being made.

The GWT in particular was a waste of money whose time had passed as it had been superceded by better plans. Why though has GWT phase 1 been retained ? It is just a watered down version of the original plan such that it is nothing more than a very expensive glorified 472 bus. The residents of the Royal Arsenal, whose estate and quality of life will be damaged by the plan, with no benefit to them, have stated overwhelmingly they do not want it.

Do the whole job get and get rid of all phases of the GWT - there are much better ways to spend London's transport money which bring real benefit.

- L Smith, London SE18

Thank goodness we have at last elected someone who will make decisions based on reality and not fantasy. Where do all the knockers replying on this forum think the money comes from ? and do they not realise that we have a serious recession caused by Ken and his ilk spending money they do not have. Ken was a disaster for London and everyone knows that. Keep up the good work Boris !

- Michael, London

Where on earth did the £1.3bn cost of the Cross River Tram come from? The Cross River Partnership's estimates were £455m - has the figure in TfL's press release been inflated to make it appear for justifiable to can the project, which had wide cross-party support across South London?

All of the 'good' projects outlined in the article - improvements to Victoria, TCR & King's Cross stations, and the tube line upgrades, were all projects agreed and funded long ago - there is no new good news whatsoever.

- Mark Lee, Vauxhall

Well done Boris, who on earth needs to spend £500 million on trams in Oxford Street, better to tax chewing gum companies and use money to clean the street. One company has 98% of market in UK.

Boris is actually saving Londoners money and upgrading existing structure is critical.We are like a third world country when it comes to trains except we have Rolls Royce prices. I use London Transport it needs to be well maintained.

- Ren, London

Ian the extension of tramlink to Crystal Palace was to i link with the East London Line its known as Joined-up thinking, the daft thing is this project costs far less than the daft plan Boris has for new routemaster buses which like all buses have a limited life. In fact the money Boris wants to waste on replaceing new buses would pay for ALL the proposed tramlink extensions, what a waster Boris is.

As for Manaifesto well BOJO refused to say what he would do beyond his routemaster plan and NOBODY questioned him so all those who voted for him signed a blank cheque.

Just think he has only been in power for 6 months imagine the damage he will do and the billions of cost to the London economy he will clock up after 4 years.

- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex

One of the reasons livingstone was rejected was the complaint that he was only interested in Central London and ignored the rest. Plus ca change, plus ca reste la meme chose.

- Jake, London UK

Johnson is going to add to the misery of Londonners by scrapping all those plans. Trams down Oxford St the Lower Thames Bridge, etc. He's saving the money to build an Airport in the Thames Estuary. Fat that of good that will be for commuters.

- Dhanraj, Basildon Essex

Let's not forget that Boris has also cancelled the special fuel deal that Ken negotiated to ensure that transport costs were kept as low as possible. No doubt the extra fuel costs now being incurred have had an impact on the funds available (together with the projected loss of revenue for the western Congestion Charge).

- Andy, London

London needs to grow up, and that means giving jobs, building new transport, not by stopping everything for saving money which is not hers, but that cames from our bloody taxes.....
What do they plan to do with the money they want to save?
I think I can guess, and so do they!

- Angelo, London

Can someone tell me what a tory ever has done for benefit and the investment of public goods.
The solution to everything is cut, cut slash, burn and cut.
As if it is possible to create or move forward in any ways by having such an easy solution to everything.
No wonder why this country always have been particularly bleak under their govern.

- Croydon, London, UK

Well done Boris!

The CRT was an expensive joke.
Make sure you get the ELLX phase 2 built though.
South London actually NEEDS that.

- C George, Nunhead

When can we get this no hoper and his friend West-London-Malthouse out? But there is always a silver lining, now it is clear what Dave and George would do with the country before it is too late.

- Richard, London England

Boris is not a buffoon but a pragmatist. He is prioritising the tube and Crossrail. If he can sort those out, he will have achieved much.

- Sean, London

Bravo, Boris!

At long last a leader who will cut the suit according to the cloth.

If only the Labour Government had done this for the last ten years, we would be in a better state now.

Public spending has to matched by public income, not excessive borrowing.

- John, Westminster, London

What about scrapping The Three Ugly Sisters as well, Boris? The sisters are the three ugly massive structures that developers want to build in Lambeth and which will totally destroy the view of the South Bank. I'm afraid that Boris 'speaks with forked tongue' if you compare his recent announcements with his pre-election promises.

- Phil Jones, London UK

yet again thamesmead has been left to rot its neighbour is getting the dlr and cross rail.thamesmead is not even going to get the much needed GWT all thamesmead central north and west has are four bus services and two of those are single deckers.is this the future under the next Tory party.the thames gateway protect is dying on its feet i for one regret ever buying here on the promise of better transport links.

- Tyrone Sequin, west thamesmead uk

No surprise there - whilst I accept a tram down Oxford Street may not be necessary some of these projects are essential to ease congestion and improve travel conditions for the millions of commuters every day. Business and commuters/residents will suffer as a result. But given that the Tory voters do not generally live in these areas there is no reason for this fool to worry about the impact of his decisions.

- Andy, London

Goodness me, so many of you got sucked in by Ken Livingstones massive spending promises without ever questioning if we could ever afford them. Thankfully Boris and his advisors have looked further into them and saved us a lot of money, and co-incidentally thrilled environmentalists all with one master stroke.

It doesn't take many of you (obviously) non Boris supporters to jump back down his throat again. Any excuse to pass judgement on his quite successful start as our Mayor. I am thrilled he has seen through much of Kens big budget plans and delivered us some fiscal prudence - something London needs a good dose of!

- Clint Heine, Shepherds Bush

This is very disappointing but to be honest without having the facts in front of you its hard to make a judgement as to whether this is really Boris' fault or not. Whether or not Ken sincerely believed all this could be delivered I suppose we'll never know.

- Edward, Winchester

Cheers Boris,the extension to Dagenham Dock was vital for this area.Those of us that knew he was just a waffling buffoon have been proved right.

- Colin, barking essex

Long term planning for a major world city. Nothing. That's what comes of electing an Old Etonian upper class Twit. This man has no idea about how the average Londoner lives. Yet they were fool enough to elect him. Now we will have to live with the gridlock.

- Mick, London, England

Shouldn't this have been in Boris's Manifesto. Surely he did some work on the project before he stood. This is what will happen if Cameron and Good time George get elected.

- Tommy Cockles, Ealing England

The proposed extension to Croydon Tramlink was foolhardy to say the least. A very good bus & rail link already exits, Croydon could never cope with the extra trams which would increase waiting and therefore travelling times to New Addington, Wimbledon & Beckenham. Where's the logic in starting new transport schemes when the old infrastructure's desperately need funding and updating? I'm with you, Boris!

- Ian, Croydon

Please come back Ken all is forgiven. We currently have a disastrous mayor who doesn't give a damn about London's long term prosperity. He is nothing but a buffoon.

- Paul Hopkins, London, England

This is what you get for electing someone who previously trundled around Henley on a bike.

- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx

If there is no funding for the pedestrianisation of Parliament Square, how come there is money for the pedestrianisation and a new underground tunnel for Park Lane? Where is that money coming from? Is it just Ken's vision bad, Boris's vision good? Or could it be there is no money because he intends to cancel the congestion charge in West Kensington and Chelsea?

- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa. Spain

Silliest thing London ever did voting Ken out.

- C May, Bromley

Good - there's no money for them and they're probably not necessary. Let's improve what is already there, like the Victoria Line upgrade and Crossrail, and then think about new schemes.

- Sarahn., London, UK

Finally, common sense. London can't afford every expansion plan, and you KNOW that nothing ever gets done on budget. Pick the ones that bring the most value and get on with it!

- Sv, London

East london has been let down again! This will continue the East West divide in London. All well and good getting the Olympics into East London but we have to have infrastucture after that to deliver the benifits to East London, on both sides of the river.
Dartford crossing made a £47million profit in 2007 why is that money not being put into the new bridge crossing? It has been making a profit for over 5yrs and yet London still pays.

- Bob, London, Bexleyheath UK

At a stroke that Eton toff has just cost London businesses millions.Its a fact that to have a efficient economy you need a efficient transport system and you need to invest to grow.not to mention staff arriving late and stressed at there places of work,not good for business or society in general.

- Kev, London

James, the first new Victoria line train has been delivered and is being tested. The rest will follow from next year. The existing trains were completely internally refurbished in the late 90's.

- Len, London

The disaster that is Boris Johnson better known as NOGO BOJO especially if you want to cross the river east of Tower Bridge goes on. Remember all the fuss when Battersea Bridge was closed for a few weeks a brige which exists in the sea of bridges in TORY WEST LONDON!

As to the DLR extension well the success of the DLR has been built on it always having a new scheme ready to start as each extension is comlete. Oddly this month's Modern Railways contains both the Dagenham Dock extension and a long term plan to extend from Bank to Victoria re-using the abandoned Jubilee Line platforms at Charing Cross along the way.

What the does show is that Boris has no real long term interest in London's future unlike Ken had and as for new Routemaster buses well just like any bus they will only have a short life compared to major transport upgrades that Trams and Light Railways bring.

What this also shows is he has no clue of how to run London and the fact that infrustructure like the DLR has to be built to get developers to build in inaccessable areas like dockland.

Ah well the standard can now drop its seat for every commuter campaign as it will NEVER happen without a mayor commited to expansion of ALL public transport.

Carry on standing whether on trains or at bus stops because that is what you voted for!

- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex

James, haven't you wondered why the Viccy line has been closing early in the evenings for the last umpteen months? It's to test the new trains for it! Thankfully they were ordered by Ken long before BoZo got in.

- Roy, England

If they didn't have funding, it's not a cost-cutting drive, is it? Therefore saying Boris is 'saving' money by cancelling useful and necessary projects is like saying you're going to 'save' your cat from cancer by shooting it in the head.

London will be stuck with a half-completed vision and nothing in the pipeline come 2012.

- Tom, London

Common sence at last !!!

- Chris, London

Boris is great and he is doing the right job. Go for it!.

- Muheed Jeeran, London

Maybe a bit of financial sense comes to London's governance. Amazing!

- Antoine Desmoines, London, UK

I have always said that Londoners will regret the day they elected this man as mayor.
This city desperately needs some of these projects, particularly the DLR extension and the new Tramlink route.
This self-destructive attitude must stop - most Londoners will moan incessantly about the appalling public transport situation, and yet they elect a man who simply wishes to make things worse.
There are limitless billions available to bail out private banks, but no money to fund public transport which would have genuine, long term benefits.
Nothing ever changes.

- James, London,UK

I am somewhat concerned about the lack of refurbishment on the Victoria line in these schemes; admittedly it is getting some new tracks laid but seeing as statistically the Victoria line is the busiest line on the network surely we should have new trains? The trains were made in 1967 and haven't been updated since. They are disgusting, smelly, overcrowded and frankly inadequate. This is before I even mention the tube stations - particularly Seven Sisters which is probably the dirtiest tube station I've even been in. When I visit Knightsbridge (or should I say Harrods) tube station and I see marble floors and pillars and I think back to Seven Sisters with the plastic floor and broken turnstiles I think thank God Boris is here to fix this imbalance... oh wait no - that's wrong. I'm hearing all sorts of things about regeneration of London but, in all honesty; I'm not seeing the results of it, not in South Tottenham anyway, all I'm seeing around here is another business shut down and another car being pulled by the police. I suggest that Boris come down off his Eaton Tory pedestal and have a bit of a stroll around Seven Sisters road before he makes his next decision over public spending.

- James, London, England

Links between Nort-East and South-East London still need to be improved. How that can be done without causing local congestion I do not know - but the need for more capacity will not go away.

- W R Stevenson, London SE26

Add your comment