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Boris Johnson's taxi bill is eight times more than Ken's
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard02.04.09
BORIS Johnson is spending eight times more on taxis than Ken Livingstone did.
New figures show that the Mayor claimed £1,501 in cab fares in November, December and January as he visited the outer London boroughs where he is most popular.
That works out at an average £16.31 a day, although this would barely take him from City Hall to Westminster.
Mr Livingstone, in his final year in office, spent £729 - an average of £2 a day. It means Mr Johnson is racking up over eight times more in fares than his predecessor.
There has been criticism over a £1,000 transport bill for Mr Johnson's entourage after People's Question Time in Hillingdon on 21 January.
A spokeswoman for Mr Johnson said: "The Mayor cycles every day - to and from work and to almost every one of his meetings.
"Many of those, however, are in remote parts of outer London - areas which often feel neglected by the previous mayoralty and which he is determined to visit on a regular basis.
"Many of those areas are too far to cycle to. Though the Mayor invariably uses public transport when he cannot take his bike, there are times, regretfully, when his tight schedule makes it necessary to use a taxi. When he does so he uses the same taxi firm on every occasion - a company granted the sole contract for City Hall by the former mayor."
Mr Johnson's total expenses claim for November to January came to £4,065. His office said this was in part due to flights to Davos for the World Economic Forum and to car hire in Beijing.
Under new guidelines drawn up by City Hall, staff must get a taxi only when it is "absolutely necessary".
They must travel standard class on trains, while flights must be in economy and economy plus. Previously staff had been able to travel in business class if the journey was more than six hours.
Reader views (64)
When will people wake up and see this whole 'Mayor thing' is just another game for Boris. It is just another game like being school captain, head of Oxford whatever society or writing an article about something or another. It is just another fun escapade for him. I'm sure he wakes up each morning and has to remind himself that he is still Mayor today.
- Sidney Bauer, London
Good Morning Huw Morgan of London; ex Wales……LOL.
Actually; Ken lives in one of those outer Boroughs; and goes home most nights on the Tube; and of course went to work on the tube; I have actually seen him at the Baker Street Tube Station a few times.
- Mickyinlondon, london
The so-called cycling Mayor isn't seen on his bike much these days is he? That's now revealed for what it really was - an election ploy - whilst he gets taxis at taxpayers expense the length and breadth of London. And when is Boris actually going to come up with a policy that Ken hadn't pushed through already?
- Mcw, London
His taxi bill is high because we actually have a Mayor that works and bothers to visit the outer boroughs. A Mayor costs money, travel costs money, as long as it's official business I can't see what the issue is.
- Huw Morgan, London
This result shows that Ken Livingston as a London Mayor for two terms never visited outer London boroughs where he is not popular.
- Muheed Jeeran, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.
One of four children born of Stanley Johnson; Conservative MEP: and employee of the European Commission; and the World Bank.
His mother Charlotte Fawcett a painter; was the daughter of Sir James Fawcett; Barrister and President of the European Commission of Human Rights.
His roots are in Turkey; a long story; but interesting in my opinion; as to the man himself
Ex MP for Henley on Thames, Shadow Minister for Higher Education, editor of the Spectator, Shadow Minister for the Arts, Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Born in New York; USA. Educated Eton and Oxford [Brackenbury Scholar in Classics]
Work experience The Times, Daily Telegraph, etc; where he was leader and feature writer, EU Correspondent, and Assistant Editor.
In his career he has also won many awards for his writing ability; and has published six books etc.
He then became Mayor of London with 1/6th of the capitals population’s votes; 1 million voted for him etc.
I can think of no other Government or local Government politician that had I million votes in their elections?
Boris is used to the finer things in life; so a taxi is like going slumming to him; the least he should have is a GLA Roller.
Ken Livingstone on the other hand is a common sort of Chap; and doesn’t mind using the London buses and the underground with the rest of the riff-raff.
One Day Boris will be the Conservative Prime Minister If you all vote for him. IF; said a greek
- Mickyinlondon, london
Boris is plainly doing more work than Livingstone who stayed in his glass bubble with his mate Lee Jasper.
- Annabelle, london
Melvyn is back!!!
Whilst his statements are often not grammatically correct, and are often just a reiteration of soundbites, they provide more than a good chuckle.
As for the actual issue here, I have no issue with Boris's taxi usage.
- Sasha, NW3
#Carl, London
What Ken got from Venezuela was a one off gift of oil to the people of London from President Chavez, enough to keep the fares down in London. When Boris was elected, he cancelled the oil, and the fares are to be increased. That wont bother Boris, he doesn't use public transport.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain
Boris is the self-styled Mayor of Outer London, so I don't have a problem with him using taxis to go there and meet his supporters. he has precious few in my locality.
My support is conditional though. As there is now a Mayor of Outer London, can we also have a Mayor for Inner London?
Maybe if Boris was a full time Mayor, instead of spending part of his time on his outside interests, he could be Mayor for Both. Until then I would like a new Mayor for Inner London. One that understands the importance of and problems faced by Inner London.
- Andrew, London W1
Proves that he's working harder in the constituanies than Ken ever did.
- Tony Bennett, Morzine France
Hmm, I wonder why the Taxpayers' Alliance are keeping quiet about this. Perhaps we could be told.
- Austen, London
This is cutting expenses is it ?.Bring back Ken
- Mark Robson, london
I thought he rode a bicycle
- Alexis Dogilewski, London England
Boris is able to spend more money on taxis to do his job as he has cut out loads of waste elsewhere in the GLA. We have him to thank for keeping our council tax bills down, in contrast to Ken who saw usas cows there for the milking.
- Jools, London
I didn't vote for boris
- Soosie, london
Fourth largest economy in the world, Mayor of the Capital represents 10's of millions of people and we want him to walk to his appointments instead of getting on with the job of running our capital city.
Boris - buy yourself an emmissions friendly hydrogen bus, run it on us and equip it with best mobile office and work on your way to your appointments please.
I want value for money from you, not hanging around at bus stops and railway stations waiting and being unproductive for a bit of political gain.
- Steve, London
This is the man who claimed would be an improvement over 'Red Ken'? Bring back Ken - he got the job done and the job done well.
- Dominic, London, England
David, London - You should be aware that Boris Johnson is ultimately responsible for all public transport in London.
Therefore, using the excuse that it is unreliable and he should use taxis instead is a complete joke.
Rather like Boris himself, now starting to show his true colours with displays of rather petulant behaviour.
- Jim, London, UK
Is he going for some kind of taxi record now?
What happened to all that cycling he's supposed to do?
I suppose he needs the taxis to get to all those right wing clubs he's in.
- John Evans, London
Typical Tory hypocrite. Complains about public sector waste and spends tax payer's money taking Taxis whenever he can.
- Mick, London, England
In defence of Boris,have you looked at the pathetic state of London transport.I often wait over an hour for the two buses to get me home,how our third world transport system thinks they will cope with the Olympics I have no idea.If my company paid for cabs,I would not use London transport.
- David, london
Boris Johnson clearly has the attitude that he is a king and above the law.
As he showed to the Commons today, he thinks he is above having to answer for his pathetic response to the snow or anything.
Just listen to him babble away..It is mostly pure childish idiot talk anyway..Just as he behaves like a little child if any authority treis to question or discipline him.
His past known behavuiour shows he is clearly unfit for any public office or any managerial responsibility. No company would ever emply such a buffoon in any capacity except maybe as a clown at the office Xmas party
- Nicky, London W1
Good on Boris, shows he's in the capital getting around, trying to make positive changes for London, unlike Ken who thought his remit was more global.... what did happen from meeting Chavez in South America???
- Carl, London
I think Boris is not tipping enough, the bill should have been higher. 3 months travelling around the outskirts of London for £1500, the good thing is that he is at least saying hello to the outer boroughs.
- Mr S.Port, London
I think that Boris should be forced to walk barefoot everywhere, and I also believe that he be ripped of all his possessions and should be forced to live on alms.
But no, that is too generous for the swine, robbing the people of London.
- Graeme, Tyne and Wear
So other than the obvious, what's wrong with public transport? The majority of the working public are now obliged to use it by their companies - or they can taxi it, but at own cost.
- Matthew, london
I suspect Boris uses nore cabs tahn Ken did as the drivers will take him! Many a cab driver has told me that they would leave Ken standing in the rain rather than allowing him in their cab.
- Stephen, London
Johnson wont be re elected next time round so he is making hay now while the sun shines like the rest of them.
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK
Maybe it's just London taxi fares that've gone up?
- Huggy, Cumbernauld Scotland
So what? A mayor has to travel in the job and Boris is at least proving he is up and about on the job.
- Ralph, London, England
These pathetic Tory Boris groupies will go to any lengths to defend this useless mayor. It wouldn't really matter even if the clown did a Fred the Shred, these idiots would defend him. Bozo earns about three quarter of a million pounds a year, you would imagine he could pay his own fares out of that tidy sum.Johnson, still believes that there should be no regulation when it comes to his city friends and bankers.That about sums him up.
- James Hennessy, london england
Do you think he is a good tipper?
- Mike Melbourne, Bedford England
Bigger taxi bills just mean that Boris works harder than KL ever did. 16 quid a day is nothing.
- Caroline, London
He is setting an example. A City or Nation of sheep will beget a Nation or City of wolves.
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK
wasn't livingstone caught out and fined on public transport for not paying the fare, you wouldn't get away with that in a taxi!
- Anon, London
Why hasn't Boris been given his own car? I was watching the G20 coverage and Obama gains a lot of respect by making an entrance from a large chaffeur driven car. It shows he is a statesman and a person of importance, which Boris is. I'd be proud to see him being driven around the city in style.
- David, Notting Hill, London
Isn't that just typical. What money he doesn't spend on the London people will pay for his fancy lifestyle.
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK
Considering Boris has done at least 100 times more than old Ken ever did, his taxi fares should be much more than just eight times Ken's
- Peter Thurgood, London SE13
Ian / Chesham
"Well, Ken used to take public transport almost everywhere whereas Boris clearly doesn't know one end of bus or tube from another."
That's because he uses a bicycle, dummy.
And whoever it was said that Ken didn't give a damn about the suburbs - dead right. We suffered taxation pretty much without representation. Come to leafy Chiswick, Boris - you'll be more than welcome and enjoy it, even though we do suffer the ghastly and useless Ann Keen as MP - for the moment. Still, you can't have everything
- Robert, London
Oooh, the Mayor of London, (a city of nearly ten million people) spends sixteen quid a day on travel expenses to go about his job!
How dare he!
How VERY dare he!!!
He'll be wanting his own office next, the cheeky blighter...
- John T, London
Well, Ken used to take public transport almost everywhere whereas Boris clearly doesn't know one end of bus or tube from another. I'm glad to say that I don't pay London council tax, but those of you who do should realise that Boris' tenure as Mayor is costing you a fortune. And that ignores the long term damage he's doing to London's reputation.
- Ian Bartlett, Chesham, UK
Ken Livingstone hated drivers and so chose to choose our pathetic public transport system, by using taxi's doesn't necessarily mean a waste of tax payers money, since he is working for londoners and not as the case was for ken livingstone who milked the public purse to fun unscroupulous business men and go on jollies around the world.
Boris may appear to be a clown, but his interests do lie with londoner's interests.
- Raminber Bhalla, Northolt
When did Ken ever take the Tube around London? I've used it every day for eleven years and never saw him once. At least Boris is using our transport system, Ken just stayed in his glass egg when he was Mayor.
- Paul, Knightsbridge, London
Surely the filming of Boris "getting on his bike" to promote cycling in london was more than a publicity ? or perhaps a new meaning to the motto don't do as I do do as I say such as.....do as I say!
- Linda, Southend
Boris obviously works harder than Ken. Ken employed numerous unnecessary people to do the job for him, and they spent the money on all manner dubious schemes and fiddles.
- Xtremely Worried, UK
Ken was busy squandering money on Lee Jasper and questionable overseas trips, while Boris is busy running London and concentrating on what Londoners need. I'd say that a higher than usual taxi bill is therefore justifiable, especially for borough visits where Boris may have tight schedules.
Let's also not forget that Boris peddles to work each day. I doubt whether Ken has peddled about in anything other than a murky pond with his newts.
- Fiona, London
So he travels by taxi when his schedule doesn't allow him to take public transport or cycle. No different to a lot of the directors at the company I work for then.
Be interesting to know how productively he uses the time in the cab - conference calls, required reading, catch up with staff whilst en route?
- Lone Gunman, Anywhere but Here
BUY HIM A BOLT ON ELECTRIC MOTOR FOR HIS BIKE
- Alan Green, Woodford Green
So really the story is "Boris Johnson takes representing the whole of London 3 times more seriously than Ken Livingstone". Which is not exactly hard - Ken thought London finished at Zone 2.
By all means let's go after politicians' expenses but not when they're clearly and provably using them to do their jobs.
- Kevin T, Beckenham, Kent
Well its payback time to all those taxi drivers who handed out "Vote Boris" leaflets during the Mayoral election!!!
Now you know why he hasn't the faintest idea about buses, tubes and trains (which all reach the suburbs).
Remember Ken travelled by Tube all Boris does is cut the investment on the tube to waste on Toy Buses and cycle lanes where Tory Councils don't enforce parking!
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
Beatriz, I AM unfortunately still eligible for UK tax ... and believe me when I say I wish I wasn't !!!!
- Marianne, SW France
Lets get back to the real stories such as Second Home allowances for those sniveling politicians who add no value to society and are worse than Fred Goodwin. They don't deserve a pension either.
- Barrsy, London
Yes, but it's still Ken's fault as he is the clod that put the fares up.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
Boris takes his bike to and from his office whenever possible. Do people really expect the Mayor of London to ride his bike to official visits to outer boroughs? As for Marianne (SW France) who cares what she thinks, she does not pay taxes in London. I do and I think Boris is doing just fine. Ken's friends should get a life.
- Beatriz, London
Marianne, SW France, Peter Guinness, London, Marco, Notting Hill - Did you not read the article?
It CLEARLY states that he cycles everywhere he can except the outer reaches of the London which were neglected by the previous Mayor.
As somebody who lives in these outer reaches yet still has to pay the taxes, I welcome Boris' approach.
- Sally King, London
Marco,
I cycle every day in London, but I most definitely do not have the physique of a daily cyclist. To keep the pounds on like this takes a lot of practice, I can tell you!
- George, London
I would rather see Boris in a secure, safe taxi that gets him to his destination on time and in a decent state than use public transport which is dirty, unattractive and at danger of terrorist attack.
- Kimberley, London
What happened to the bike that comes out for all those photo opportunities? Boris, I'm shocked.
- Marianne, SW France
So the bike is just a publicity stunt?
- Peter Guinness, London
I am sure Bojo takes out his bike only when he sees journalists and paparazzis around. He definitely has not the physique of somebody who cycles every day.
- Marco, Notting Hill
Didn't take Boris long to climb onto the gravy train did it.
- David, london uk
If Boris is curbing corruption and stopping funding to dubious groups who produce no accounts or known output, perhaps the taxi bill is a price well worth paying.....
- Ab, London
I am really trying to get angry about this. You're going to have to try a bit harder.
- Bloke, London
