Catching a number 12 bus from the Elephant and Castle yesterday I witnessed what can only be described as a series of raids by ticket inspectors, accompanied by florescent clad PSCOs and Police.
Embarrassingly after watching the inspectors pull one passenger off for not having a valid ticket I boarded the bus only to discover my Oyster only had 20p on it so had to jump back off and top it up in the tube station.
As I came back I witnessed a second 12 also get the raid treatment and another passenger or two apparently caught fare evading. The whole thing looked more like public order policing than an exercise in fare dodging but the fact they caught a few evaders probably justifies the tactics.
Is London ‘Ungovernable?
That’s the question barrister Thom Dyke asks in the law section of today’s Times. I happen to think not, it just looks that way if you delegate your entire job to unelected staff who then fail to tell you the decisions they’ve made in your name.
Cycle numbers
Is it just my new-found enjoyment of cycling or are there more bikes on the roads? Yesterday as I bused it to Victoria for a meeting it seemed every third or fourth vehicle was pedal powered.
BA’s Snub to Boris
As if the summer sun wasn’t enough to enjoy, the Troll’s relishing BA’s ‘snubbing’ of Mayor Johnson
by denying him an upgrade from economy class. Boris made a big point of publicising his decision to downgrade the planned travel and hotel arrangements so expecting to bag a freebie is a bit unseemly.
