The report says perceptions of Zone 3 as “suburban, distant and undesirable” risk deterring both home buyers and businesses from moving into the area and that including Stratford in Zone 2 would better reflect its proximity to central London.
It would also help tackle perceptions that the Olympic Park is ‘too far away’, boosting visitor numbers.
The rezoning is suggested by David Leam in Go East: Unlocking the Potential of the Thames Estuary, a collection of essays edited by Labour Peer Andrew Adonis and set to be published next week.
Leam said: “The Olympics brought massive investment into east London’s transport links, bringing Stratford significantly closer to central London. The Tube map now needs to catch up with this new reality, by redrawing the boundary of zone 2 to bring Stratford within its orbit”
Collection editor Andrew Adonis said: “During the Olympics many people were surprised to learn just how quick and easy it is to get to East London. By including Stratford in Zone 2 the Mayor would help many Londoners realise just how close the east of the city really is. We would see a huge boost to the area in terms of business and custom at very little cost.”
ASLEF shrugged says
Wish they’d have done that 13 years ago when the JLE opened.. Back then Stratford had a ticket barrier across the Jubilee Line platforms, we were forever getting people travelling to Canary Wharf or North Greenwich on a Zone 2 ticket and had to tell them they needed an extension to go through Zone 3.
Steven Bunney says
By moving Stratford to zone 2 this will push up the cost of using public transport for those who can least afford it. Let’s not forget the lower the zone number the higher the tube fares are
ASLEF shrugged says
Steve Bunney – wrong, only Zone 1 is more expensive than the others, the rest are all the same price for a single Zone journey.
Antonio says
I strongly believe that making Stratford part of zone 2, or zone 2 and 3, would certainly help attract more visitors into the area. The area is in desperate need of regeneration and although we had the Olympics back in 2012 that has not yet been enough to transform the neighbourhood into a better place to live. Various zones around Stratford still look very rough, and the commuter often does not feel safe walking at night. There is still a lot left to do. West Ham should also be made zone 2 and 3 as to show that London is extending eastwards onto Stratford and West Ham/Canning Town.