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Today's London Assembly report on the shortfall in the capital's transport funding is deeply worrying.
It warns that, over the next nine years, Transport for London faces a black hole of between £400 million and £1.7 billion, largely as a result of declining revenue from fares.
The savings will probably have to be made through above-average fare increases and cuts in planned improvements to the Tube.
Coming on top of the row over the cost of Tube upgrades, and £2.4 million of cost-cutting already planned for TfL by the Mayor, it paints a bleak picture for our transport system over the next few years.
TfL is taking less in fares partly because fewer people are using the network daily in the recession.
In addition, whereas the normal annual fare-increase formula of Retail Price Index plus one per cent brings in steadily growing revenues, when inflation is negligible or even negative, as at present, that means less money for TfL.
It can increase fares by more than that, but inflation-busting increases as the economy comes out of recession would hit commuters hard.
Meanwhile, putting off or scrapping improvements to stations or, for example, Tube air conditioning would save money but leave the capital's main transport network in a sorry state.
But the biggest underlying problem is the unravelling of the Public Private Partnership for the Tube.
Already there is a row between TfL and contractor Tubelines over the cost of upgrades due between 2010 and 2017: Tubelines is demanding at least £500 million more than is on offer.
Such sums could be dwarfed by cuts imposed by central government, however: whichever party wins the next election, the strong temptation will be to cut back on the £1 billion-plus that the Treasury currently pays out every year as part of the PPP agreement.
The blame for this complicated and costly arrangement lies squarely with Gordon Brown, who imposed it as Chancellor.
It is hard to see how TfL will avoid some cuts and higher-than-average fare increases.
But the next government must foot the full bill for modernising the Tube.
The transport system of London, the motor of the nation's economy, is too important to be damaged by penny pinching and ideological whims.
Journalism's best
The contrast between a video journalist who helped expose the human-rights abuses of the Burmese regime and the antics of a few British journalists could not be more striking.
As we report today, the man known only as Joshua risked imprisonment and torture to shoot footage of Buddhist monks being slaughtered by Burmese security forces during the protests of 2007.
He will be the guest of honour at a screening of his film in London next week.
Many other Burmese journalists are now in prison or in hiding but they hope that their work will help topple the repressive regime.
This is journalism at its best and most vital to democracy, work which is truly in the public interest.
By contrast, the defence of those at the News of the World who now defend illegal mobile-phone tapping of various politicians and celebrities on the grounds that such investigations were in the public interest looks very thin indeed.
Free societies need journalism to hold the powerful to account; when journalists abuse that role, we all lose.
Flower power
Even on the rare occasions when it functions properly, the M25 is hardly a place of beauty — which makes the creation of the country's biggest wildflower meadow a stone's throw away all the more uplifting.
An ambitious project has turned 20 acres next to a junction in St Albans into a blaze of colour, with 250,000 sunflowers at its centre.
It may not be quite enough to encourage people going to St Albans to wear some flowers in their hair — but it will surely delight weary motorists.
Reader views (1)
The qustion about fewer people is a rigged question as one needs the real actual usage figures to see whether more or less are using the system.
Anyway the rise in users in the last decade is such that a small decrease should still mean far more people are still using the transport network than say 10 years ago.
Boris only has to 2012 and there is enough funding to cope at least util then. If Boris is trying to cover cuts an incoming Tory Government would make by trying to blaim GB then the prime minister needs to stand firm on no more funds within this term.
Boris should have not wated 3 million in extrax costs of 3 artic routes and what about cancelling the change to the western c-charge zone? If Boris goes ahead and withdraws the zone it will show he is just playing politics with Londons commuters.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 12/07/2009 21:01
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