Continued investment in London’s transport infrastructure is “vital” if the capital is to continue to prosper, Boris Johnson told business leaders on Tuesday.
The Mayor was addressing delegates at an event organised by London First which has published a new report suggesting modernisation of the Tube could be worth up to £24 billion in additional GDP.
The report, which draws on Transport for London’s own data, finds that a failure to invest would see journey times increase and public transport suffer from “much more” overcrowding which in turn could see passengers put off using the Tube altogether heralding an increase in car use and congestion on the roads.
Addressing delegates Johnson sought to reassure them that a future Conservative Government would support the Crossrail scheme.
Baroness Jo Valentine, Chief Executive of London First, said Tube modernisation was “starting to bring tangible benefits to passengers” but warned it “must not falter, or we risk sentencing Londoners to decades of Underground misery, with cattle class conditions every morning.”
Johnson said he’d had to make painful decisions including on fare increases but that these “mean a multi-billion pound investment: safeguarding key projects and bringing major improvements now and in the future.”
