Key stakeholders have said Boris Johnson’s transport strategy, which was published in May for consultation with the London Assembly and Greater London Authority group, “still has a way to go” in meeting the needs of Londoners.
Earlier this week the London Assembly’s Transport Committee published its response, which raised a number of points for the Mayor to consider including a call for him to explain how “transport infrastructure and services will anticipate and match potential development in outer London.”
The response also warns that the current plans will reduce CO2 emissions from ground-based transport by only 0 per cent, “well short of the 50 per cent which will be required if the Mayor is to meet his target of a 60 per cent overall reduction in CO2 by 2025.”
Committee Chair Caroline Pidgeon warned the Mayor faced “difficult decisions” if he is to “effectively tackle congestion, overcrowding and carbon emissions, which will only get worse without the right intervention.”
A response from London Councils, the body which represents the capital’s local councils and funds the Freedom Pass and Taxi card schemes, has said the published strategy “still has a way to go” and has called on the Mayor to give greater priority to walking and cycling.
In a statement released on Thursday, the body warns that “plans to increase the use of electric vehicles could detract from measures to encourage walking and cycling.”
Councillor Mike Fisher, chair of the London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee, said the body “want to work closely with the mayor to improve transport across the capital but clarity is needed about how this will be done.”
“A clear list of priorities should be drawn up which must put much more emphasis on encouraging people to walk wherever they can.”
